Sleuthers, are you ready for Hallmark's first mystery movie premiere for 2024? This new film, True Justice: Family Ties, has an all-star cast, that includes veteran Hallmark stars, Nikki DeLoach and Benjamin Ayres, who will likely be joining forces to try to solve this all-new case. Just like last year, before Christmas, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries' new premieres will air on Friday nights at 9pm/8c. An encore presentation will air this Sunday night at 7pm/6c.
And even better news for all of us Sleuthers: a new Curious Caterer is currently filming, and a new Hannah Swensen will be filming soon! Usually, I wait to announce these films when the networks make official announcements, but these two working titles, Curious Caterer: Sticks and Scones and One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery are obviously headed to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. I know many of us are wondering if Cameron Mathison will continue to star in the series as Detective Mike Kingston. Personally, I can't imagine the series without him, but for now, this is still a mystery.
Plus, if you're missing the deluge of Christmas movies night and day, the Hallmark Channel has a little treat for us beginning on Sunday! A marathon of Christmas movies will air ALL DAY on Martin Luther King Jr. Day - spanning Sunday night through Monday and ending early Tuesday.
See details on these movies below...
Friday, January 12, 2024:
Storyline: A law school student (Katherine McNamara) with the help of her friends sets out to prove her brother was wrongfully convicted. The only way to clear his name is by finding the real killer, but the closer they get, the more danger they are all in.
Premieres Friday, January 12, 2024
at 9pm/8c. on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Saturday, January 13, 2024:
Storyline: Lily (Erica Durance) travels to Scotland with her mother and reconnects with Logan (Jordan Young), a childhood family friend. Unbeknownst to Lily and Logan, their meddling mothers have come up with a plan to set them up.
Premieres Saturday, January 13, 2024
at 8pm/7c. on the Hallmark Channel
Sunday, January 14, 2024:
Storyline: When beauty brand Bloom decides to close its flagship store and focus on online sales, content creator Jenny must find a way to deal with the backlash from their loyal fanbase and spin the news into a positive thing via their social media. On top of that, Bloom is pivoting to eco-friendly products and a wellness angle, so Jenny spends the seaside corporate retreat in Miami trying to capture the “life” in “work/life balance.” Her drive to achieve clashes with the chill vibe of activities director Nate. Sparks fly between these two as Jenny realizes Nate is a thrill-seeker who has work/life balance figured out, but there’s one problem… he’s the brother of her boss.
Premieres Sunday, January 14, 2024
at 7pm/6c. on UPtv
Sunday night through Early Tuesday:
The Hallmark Channel has a Marathon of Christmas Movies on Martin Luther King Jr. Day...
Sunday night, January 14, 2024:
Miracle in Bethlehem, PA - 8pm
Crown for Christmas - 10pm
Monday, January 15, 2024:
On the 12th Date of Christmas - 12am
The Santa Summit - 2am
'Tis the Season to be Merry - 4am
Christmas with a Kiss - 6am
Three Wise Men and a Baby - 8am
Christmas Made to Order - 10am
Picture a Perfect Christmas - 12pm
Christmas Island - 2pm
A Season for Family - 8pm
A Biltmore Christmas - 10pm
Tuesday, January 16, 2024:
The Sweetest Christmas - 2am
Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater - 4am
Programming Notes:
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries marathons:
Saturday-
Monk Marathon, followed by a mini-marathon of Martha's Vineyard Mysteries.
Sunday-
Gourmet Detective marathon, followed by an encore of True Justice: Family Ties.
Monday-
The mystery series Carter (2018), starring Jerry O'Connell, begins on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries with a day-long marathon. (I am not familiar with this series. Are any of you?)
Great American Family:
Mystery Marathons-
Saturday - Murder, She Wrote
Sunday - Columbo
Monday - Murder, She Wrote
I hope you all have a great weekend planned. Our temps are going to be dropping drastically, dangerously low, and we have some bad weather coming in - rain, high winds, and snow, possible blizzard-like conditions. Are any of you expecting a forecast like this, too? With weather like this coming our way, it looks like we'll be staying home this weekend and hoping and praying our power stays on.
If I get the chance, I'll be watching some movies I have recorded and want to catch up on, mostly Christmas, of course, and I'm hoping the new mystery is good, as well, because I've really been missing them. 9 out of 10 times I can usually spot the culprit, but trying to fit the puzzle pieces together is rather intriguing.
Please Note: I haven't pre-screened the new movies premiering this weekend. If you'd like to post a review on whether these films are family-friendly, please share in the comments below. Thank you so much to everyone who shares with us.
Keep warm and safe this weekend, everyone.
Blessings to You All!
Net
❤️ SHARING HIS LOVE: ❤️
Let all that you do
be done in love.
~1 Corinthians 16:14
Skipping Hallmark this week. I refuse to get sucked into another mystery series that'll just be canned in the middle of a cliffhanger or too many unanswered questions, and I'm sorry, but I'm getting a feeling there might be a gay couple in Scottish love scheme, and I don't feel like wanting to find out on my own.
ReplyDeleteI'll record that UPTV movie though. -Maria
I agree with you Maria, 100%. I don’t trust Hallmark anymore and have put them in the same category as Lifetime.
DeleteMaria, A Scottish Love Scheme is family friendly
DeleteWhen I read the comments that the viewers are saying there’s woke on Hallmark IG? If you guys watch A Scottish Love Scheme on HMN just before it’s shown this Saturday. II read comments on Hallmark IG, The viewers thought there’s gay couple in it but they’re ain’t so although possibly they’re Brothers or Cousins of Logan.
Oh. Well that's comforting to know. Maybe I'll 1 day watch it. -Maria
DeleteThe guys in the picture are brothers. They are watching their nephew’s rugby game.
DeleteThank you Anons for the clarification. With Hallmark these days, even the most innocent looking photos can end up being inappropriate. At least this time tat wasn't the case. -Maria
Delete3 Brothers in the picture on the wall for Campbell Family Business in A Scottish Love Scheme
DeleteI am so excited for this weekends movies! It’s been so strange to go from like 5 a weekend to 1, but thankfully I have my DVR with recordings to get me by. I am actually making a good dent in it which is great for my husband because now he can actually record his football games while we are at church. I will for sure be tuning into the mystery one and the Scottish one, maybe the Up Tv one. Up Tv is hit or miss for me because of the whole package they present (if the film appears low budget based off of the backdrops/decor, acting, wardrobe etc it’s so hard for me to get into the movie so many times I just delete after 15 min or so) But I love the network so I’ll give it a chance. Wow Net that sounds like crazy weather, stay safe! We are at high 40s low 50s here but for us California people it’s freezing as we are used to the 100 degree weather hahahah we don’t know what to do with ourselves when it’s this cold.
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed weekend everyone !
~Paula
No snow for us, but I can dream about it as I watch the Christmas movie marathon. Build a snowman for me! ⛄️
ReplyDeleteYay! More Hannah Swensen Mysteries and Curious Caterer!!! That is great news! Like you said, Net, I can’t imagine they’d make more without Cameron; I don’t think he’d do that to Alison or the fans.
ReplyDeleteI am very happy to see the Christmas movies back for a few days. I have not seen Miricle in Bethlehem, PA since we do not receive Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Weather on the East coast is rain and more rain. Cleaning up a mess from the last storm.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Maria. I'm afraid to get involved in another movie mystery because of HMM history. They claim they listen to their fans but only if it suits them, because I know they were swamped with request to make one more Mystery 101 to close out the series. I am happy about the surprise Christmas movie marathon! I hope everyone has a great weekend and a safe one.
ReplyDeleteNet, prayers your power stays on and you and your family are safe!
Looks like Laura Osnes is in Canada filming another movie for GAF. 1 of her recent IG Stories has GAF tagged in it at an airport.
ReplyDelete-Maria
Maria, Great catch! That is exciting news! :) ~Net
DeleteThank you. :) -Maria
DeleteLooks like Laura is working with Candy Rock Entertainment for her new movie (per her new IG Stories). :) -Maria
DeleteMaria, I saw that, too! That's very exciting!
DeleteBy the way, I'm not doing a post on it, because I want GFAM to announce first, but the working title for Laura Osnes' movie is "Just in Time."
And, I'm fairly certain Candace's latest filming project was one of the mysteries, "A Case for the Winemaker."
I'm hoping Great American Family will share a press release for these movies soon! :) ~Net
Glad they're putting some of the HM&M movies on HC for this marathon.
ReplyDeleteWatched a couple movies I haven’t reviewed this past week! But for the most part, I have just been watching old Christmas movie favorites… I’m having Christmas movie withdrawal for sure!
ReplyDeleteLOVE ON THE RIGHT COURSE (my assumption is clean as far as I can tell, but I did fast-forward some parts)
This was a bit slow for me. It wasn’t too engaging and didn’t hold my interest. The romance was lacking in depth. No charming meet cute, nothing that portrays sparks, nothing that makes your heart warm and fuzzy. I found myself fast-forwarding a lot. I did love it when Marcus Rosner was on the screen. He looked really good here. Ashley Newbrough appears a bit aloof and honestly didn’t look too believable as a golf athlete. It’s hard to explain but she looked too cutesy… too “put together”, more like a model, not an athlete. I also thought this was an odd movie to be premiered in Winter by Hallmark. It looked more like a Summer movie to me.
MERRY SCOTTISH CHRISTMAS
I wish I could’ve loved this more. To me, a good chemistry is a *MUST* when watching a Hallmark movie. It really make/break a movie for me. Unfortunately, the chemistry here was a flop. Sure this movie was not focused on the romance and more the family aspect, but “World Record Christmas” was heavily focused in the family and could still have amazing chemistry. I don’t think it was Lacey’s fault, but I just don’t think it was a good fit casting-wise. Agreed with others who said Will Kemp would be a better pairing for Lacey. Someone with stronger personality for sure. I haven’t even mentioned the Mom/Duchess. Not a big fan of her character. Everything just didn’t really make sense to me. The writing was a bit lacking. I also could do without Scott and his wife being tense with each other. There were too many conflicts already, ha! I watched Party of Five growing up and was excited to see Lacey and Scott together as siblings, however, the storyline did not do justice to this epic reunion. I also wish the supporting characters (their respective significant others) had been better casted. That said, Lacey and Scott together was great. Loved seeing them banter and interact with each other, but even that couldn’t save the movie for me. Personally, I’m bummed to say that it was a one time watch at best.
CH Mom, Thank you for sharing these reviews. You and I shared the same opinion on A Merry Scottish Christmas. I was also rather disappointed.
DeleteI wonder if Lacey will do two again this year??? ~Net
Didn’t Cameron sign exclusively with GAF recently? So I would assume that means he won’t be doing any more Hallmark movies…
ReplyDeleteCameron Mathison did sign a deal to make movies with Great American Family, but his deal is not exclusive since he's still working with General Hospital. ~Net
DeleteHappy New Year Everyone🥳🥳
ReplyDeleteNet and anyone in the path of bad weather, be safe and take care of yourselfs🙏🙏
I'm just out of houston, late Sunday evening through Wednesday we are going to have incredibly cold temperatures, so I am going to have to be careful from Sunday evening service through the work week pray for me, because Church is almost 30 miles away and Work is over 20 mi away.
I agree with a lot of you, I'm very tired of some of the mystery series being abruptly or just stopping, but I have been a mystery fan since I found my first Nancy Drew book when I was about 5, and turning 58 next month that was a long time ago.
So I will give Nikki's True Justice I know she's probably mostly just background I'll give it a chance, I will also give Erica's movie a chance, scenery for Scotland alone should be beautiful, I just hope it's clean.
Nice surprise on Hallmark doing a marathon of Christmas, but since I will have long travels I may have to skip them.
Again everyone be safe no matter where you live in the country, but especially the ones that are going to be in the path of danger, cold, rain whatever might come we're all praying for you- God bless
Kathy, Thank you for your prayers. We are doing well, in spite of the frigid temps. I'll also be praying you have safe travels this week and throughout the week.
DeleteI hope you enjoyed the new mystery! (I haven't had the chance to watch, yet.)
Blessings to you, Net
It is so nice to know that Great American Family really does not appreciate their movie fans at all. They praise the movie fans for giving them the best season ever and best year ever. Their current lineup is the worst lineup any where on tv. I have not even had this channel on at all since the Christmas movies ended. And the ratings are showing that the fans are not happening. The week ending December 31 they had 191,000 and for the week ending January 7 they had 86,000 viewers. That is a huge drop but yet nothing is being change. I wonder what the ratings will be for this week.
ReplyDeleteThey don't have the amount of movies Hallmark has, and even Hallmark can't air movies 24/7 on either of their networks. I suggest no complaining and just wait until next month when they debut their new show. Remember, there was also 2 union strikes that prevented them from writing new movies, it takes a little time to make these movies. Airing reruns of old shows helps them to pay the bills. (according to a financial friend of mine).
DeleteAnd besides, I'm sure a lot of us could really use a rom com break after being barraged with 1 movie after the other for 2 and a half months! -Maria
I completely agree!!!
DeleteJim, I know just what you mean. Even still, I'm going to enjoy every minute of the wholesome ones! Happy watching!!! :) Blessings, Net
ReplyDeleteI'm excited about the Hannah Swenson Mystery. I'll definitely be watching that one along with the Curious Caterer.
ReplyDeleteI'm tired of Hallmark introducing "Brand NEW" mysteries that never last. So because of that I will pass on those, but if some of them continue in the years I will give it a chance.
The True Justice mystery movie was good, at first I didn’t like it but each member of the Scooby Doo pack but they grew on me, especially the con man who they hired and then invited to join their investigation team. I don’t know why they added Benjamin and Nikki as their roles were so small and I wished to see more of them. The storyline was good and threw me for a loop at the end but it wasn’t great, so just a one time watch for me. Family friendly, don’t recall anything inappropriate.
ReplyDelete~Paula
Benjamin Ayres & Nikki DeLoach as DA Quinn & Professor Ambrose are supporting roles in True Justice: Family Ties
DeleteNikki wrote scripts
Paula, I laughed when I read your "Scooby Doo" pack but that was exactly it! I was actually surprised by this one and liked it more than I expected. Just as you said, at first I wasn't sure, but it did grow on me, the characters were good and the story was well done. It was a nice change from to usual "cop + chef" combo. -Lizzy
DeleteA Scottish Love Scheme- Family friendly. It’s about three brothers trying to save their family business, Campbell’s Distillery. Lily, an old friend of the family, is visiting with her mother Cait and gets pushed into helping with their branding. She is divorced and bonds with Logan who is a widower. The only thing I noticed that was maybe questionable was Caleb (the younger brother) gets a call and says to Logan, “it’s Jimmy, we’re on for dinner.” I don’t know who Jimmy is and I don’t recall seeing him. For me, it was a little slow, at times, but it’s still a nice movie with beautiful scenery. Allie B
ReplyDeleteCaleb calls his Brother; Logan that he & Jimmy are on Dinner when I saw picture in the internet when I notice the blonde lady named Jaimie or Jamie? Jimmy is shortened for Jaimie or Jamie
DeleteThere’s 2 blonde ladies in the picture with Campbell & Reese Families in the Internet
I agree Allie, slow moving but beautiful scenery!
Delete~Paula
A Scottish Love Scheme - I had a chance to watch this as I was somewhat busy on Sunday afternoon, so the call to Jimmy (that Allie mentions above) baffled me. I wondered if I missed something there. Otherwise, it was family-friendly. And, it was enjoyable to see the camaraderie between the three brothers as they worked together on their family business. There is some casual drinking throughout the film. For me, this felt more like a Hallmark Movies & Mysteries sort of film, instead of the usual lighthearted rom-com on the Hallmark Channel. The mothers in the movie were cute, and I liked how they were scheming as matchmakers, to put Lily and Logan together. Even though it is family-friendly, this may not be entertaining for kids, although there is a sweet boy and an adorable dog. Overall, there's something warm and cozy about this film; the romance is subtle, but nice; the film has a wonderful ensemble cast, and the setting in Scotland is gorgeous. ~Net
DeleteLoved True Justice! The characters had great chemistry and it was fun to have Nikki and Ben in small roles. I saw that Nikki and her writing partner wrote the script. They did a great job! They storyline was unique and kept me guessing.
ReplyDeleteI see many complaining about mystery series not continuing. Hallmark has never said any of the last mysteries were going to be series. I’m fine watching a mystery movie for itself. They don’t have to all be series.
Jennifer R
Good point Jennifer, your totally right we can’t assume any of these new ones will be series like the old ones from years ago. Although we would all love new series, hallmark doesn’t seem to want to do that anymore, which who will ever know why…..
DeleteGood thing this new one didn’t end with any kind of cliffhanger or unanswered questions so it probably wont continue :(
~Paula
We enjoyed the mystery/crime/legal movie “True Justice: Family Ties.” It was family-friendly for older kids because it deals with a murder and an affair. The ensemble cast played well off of each other, and it was different from the usual Hallmark Movies and Mysteries movie series. I hope they make another one in this franchise - Laurie
ReplyDeleteThere’s 4 Murder She Wrote Movies on GAFAM on MLK Day
ReplyDeleteI am right there with you Jim, I don’t know how anyone can be all caught up on the Christmas movies! I have about 15 recorded that I still need to watch, plus I will randomly find one that I have never watched on tv. So I watched “A Very Country Christmas” last year on UpTv and then I watched the 2nd one, the wedding & I just see the 3rd one Homecoming is free on my On Demand cable so here I am watching it when I need to get through my DVR recordings Lol
ReplyDeleteAt this rate I’ll have Christmas movies to last me until spring. It’s just hard for me because I’m usually watching one late at night like you, it’s when my kids go to sleep. At least we can keep the Christmas magic going through these dreary cold months.
~Paula
Hello all,
ReplyDeleteLove on Retreat was ‘all kinds of awful’. My husband and I did not enjoy the movie at all. We turned it off after about fifteen minutes.
A Scottish Love Scheme was just okay for me. My husband and I felt it was very slow and kind of boring. The scenery was breathtaking, the accents were cool, and the family dynamic was lovely. We really wanted to love this one because we like anything Scottish. But we did not feel any spark between the lead’s. We did not finish this one either, but we did watch longer than the previous movie.
We did, however, enjoy the True Justice mystery. Great chemistry between all of the cast members. Engaging mystery with several twists and turns. The actors who played the brother and sister was really believable and quite good. If this mystery series continues, we will watch the next movie.
On another note: I am very happy to see we have more Curious Caterer and Hannah Swensen movies on the horizon. YAY! 😊
Joan, totally agree with you and your husband. I made it
Deleteabout 15-20 minutes into Love on Retreat before hitting the delete button. And as much as I love all things Scottish, the Scottish Love Scheme movie just didn't hold my attention. I made it about two-thirds through and the only thing that kept me watching for that long was the beautiful scenery and the lovely Scottish accents.
I've yet to watch the True Justice mystery but I'm hopeful that I'll enjoy it as you did. ~~Jane
Net, kind of a slow time of year. No real comments other than to again thank you for your efforts to keep us informed. Hard to believe half of January has passed. Hope this year brings you and all commenters a peaceful but exciting new year.
ReplyDeleteTried to send this earlier but showed error. It’s a slow time of year and no specific comment. Just thanking all again for your comments and reviews. I look forward to daily updates. I hope for all it’s a peaceful but exciting new year. I join other comments about Christmas movie withdrawal. Have watched all stored movies so it’s back to reruns.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about An Easter Bloom is also GAFAM A- starring Susie Abromeit
Delete