🌹 Don't Miss the aMAYzing New Shows This Weekend

Happy First Weekend of May, Everyone!

With the Kentucky Derby this Saturday, it's off to the races this weekend with Hallmark Channel's new rom-com movie premiere, Hats Off To Love, starring Ginna Claire Mason.

Great American Family presents the 5th episode of When Hope Calls Sunday night, featuring some brewing troubles for the ranchers.

And UPtv continues the The Love Club Moms movies on UPtv, with a new rom-com starring Rebecca Dalton and Corey Sevier.

See all of the details below...


***************************


Saturday, May 3, 2025:

Hats Off To Love

Storyline: Stella designs hats and fascinators for socialite Rosalind and meets her son Christian who's training a horse to compete in the Louisville Derby.

Hats Off To Love

Premieres Saturday, May 3, 2025

at 8pm/7c. on the Hallmark Channel

If you love Ginna Claire Mason & Holly Robinson Peete's fashions in "Hats Off To Love," visit here.



***************************


Sunday, May 4, 2025:

The Love Club Moms: Jo

Storyline: As an uptight elementary school principal, Jo’s skills are put to the test when a new young student, Simon, continuously lands in her office for detention. When she learns the boy’s father is her old high school flame Ryan, Jo’s world is thrown for a loop, especially since she has been dating Bernie, the school’s French teacher. Neither Jo or Ryan have forgotten one another and their heated volatile relationship only reveals an intense passion that the Love Club are intent on reigniting.

The Love Club Moms: Jo

Premieres Sunday, May 4, 2025

at 7pm/6c. on UPtv

***************************


Sunday, May 4, 2025:

When Hope Calls

Season 2, Episode 5

Episode 5 - Bringing to Light:

Storyline: Nora and Mountie Fletcher track down a dubious claim; Hannah and Wyatt have a tough decision to make; Maggie tends to the orphans; trouble brews for the ranchers.

When Hope Calls

Season 2, Episode 5

Sunday, May 4, 2025

at 8pm/7c. on Great American Family

***************************

Streaming Changes...

There's been a lot of talk recently about streaming.

Hallmark movie content left Peacock on May 1st.

And now, friendly TV subscribers, have you heard the latest news? (Faithful It's a Wonderful Movie follower Jim just alerted me to this.)

Streamable shared, "Roku, the largest streaming provider in North America, announced that it had acquired the family-friendly streaming service Frndly TV."

See details here:
https://thestreamable.com/roku-acquires-streaming-service-frndly-tv

Let's hope there won't be any drastic changes, for those of us who subscribe to frndly TV. It is already a great service at such an excellent price.



***************************


On My Watch List...

This weekend, I'm looking forward to watching all three of the new programs!

I'm most excited to see the 5th episode of "When Hope Calls"! (Hoping to watch tonight on Pure Flix!) This season has been truly wonderful. Each episode is so beautiful; my only wish... is that each episode and this season could be longer.

And Hats Off To Love looks fun. Ginna Claire Mason is such a joy to watch! I just wish they could've filmed this movie in Kentucky at Churchill Downs, since that is the setting for the story.

I couldn't get into the first Love Club Moms movie, but I've always liked Rebecca Dalton and Corey Sevier, so I'm hoping this one is better, even though some of the reviews on Amazon are mixed.

Please note: I haven't pre-screened the new movies listed above. If you'd like to post a review on whether a film is family-friendly, please share in comments.

I hope you all have a lovely first weekend in May... filled with lots of sunshine and pleasant weather!

Blessings to you all,

Net

***************************

SHINING HIS LIGHT:

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV

Hallmark Announces May 2025 Schedule with New Movie Premieres and Mystery - SEE DETAILS:

Hallmark will be premiering NEW MOVIES in MAY!

FIVE new romantic comedies will premiere on the Hallmark Channel; however, three of these movies previously aired on Hallmark's streaming service, Hallmark+.

And the new May mystery, that is set to premiere on Hallmark Mystery, also first aired on Hallmark+.

See all of the movie details below...


*************************



Hallmark Channel:

Hats Off To Love

Premiere Date: May 3, 2025

Starring Ginna Claire-Mason, Holly Robinson Peete and John Clarence Stewart

Storyline: Stella designs hats and fascinators for socialite Rosalind and meets her son Christian who's training a horse to compete in the Louisville Derby.

Movie Reviews:

👒 Hats off to Love was really good. It was filmed in my neck of the woods, I know a lot of the places. We used to drive by the dog racing tracks a lot when I was a kid cause that was the way to the airport when we had to drop someone off or pick them up. That was the only way to the airport back then cause they did not have the Suncoast Parkway to get to airport. Great memories of my sisters and I in the backseat of the giant cadillac my parents had.

The scene with the ferris wheel was at the Florida State Fairgrounds, and it was the state fair and going on when they filmed. I could recognize the ampitheater behind them where I have gone to countless concerts. My nephews graduation was at the fairgrounds last May. And, I work like a mile from the fairgrounds.

But the movie was also good, I LOVE Ginna. She is so great and I want to go back and watch all her Christmas movies. I liked Christian a lot too and I kept the movie on my DVR to watch again. Sabrina

👒 Hats Off to Love - I liked Ginna Claire, but the other cast? Not so much. Holly’s character was rich/rude, and the horse trainer guy wasn’t always nice. I was in and out of the room a couple times, but from what I saw it’s a safe family movie. ~Allie B

👒 Allie, I am with you on this! It was nice to see the business end of the hat making - I had never thought about it, but it makes sense, if indeed this is how it really works - but the movie didn't grab me. Ginna Claire was good (as usual) in her role, but I didn't care for the attitudes of the other three ladies and how they went back and forth between being rude and being kind. Definitely a one-time watch only for me. ~Mark 25


👒 Hats Off to Love – Ginna Claire Mason, as always, was delightful and lovely! It was also so sweet to hear her sing to Willa the racehorse, even if it was brief.

On the downside, I felt the hats designed for the derby and other festivities were underwhelming and lacked the dramatic flair I anticipated. Similarly, the romantic connection between the leads, Stella and Christian, was underwhelming, as well; it felt flat and underdeveloped.

Holly Robinson Peete delivered a nice performance as Rosalind, the Southern socialite. I wasn’t overly fond of her character in the beginning, but it was nice to see Rosalind evolve from being somewhat snobby and unapproachable to more warm and relatable by the end.

All in all, the film was lighthearted and family-friendly with a sweet, feel-good ending. While it had its shortcomings, it was still a pleasant viewing experience for a one-time watch. ~Net


*************************

Love In The Clouds

Premiere Date: May 10, 2025

Starring Paul Greene, McKenzie Westmore, Gail O'Grady and Lorenzo Lamas

Storyline: Reporter Brooklyn travels to the Balloon Fiesta to meet hot air balloon pilot Jared, who offers romantic balloon rides but is closed off to love himself.

Movie Reviews:

⛅ Love in the Clouds is adorable! So lovely to see Paul Greene working again. –Maria

⛅ Love in the Clouds – While it was most delightful to see Paul Greene and Gail O’Grady on Hallmark once again, the story itself just didn’t work for me. The hot air balloon rides, meant to be the highlight and magical element of the movie, were disappointingly unconvincing, with CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) that looked noticeably fake.

I truly wanted to love this movie. It had all the key points of a feel-good, family-friendly watch, but overall, it lacked the spark to make it great. It was simply a pleasant one-time watch for me. ~Net




*************************


Hallmark+ Movies premiering on the Hallmark Channel:

Love On The Danube: Love Song

Premiere Date: May 17, 2025

Starring Wes Brown and Nazneen Contractor

Storyline: Fellow cruise passengers, Sarah and Jack, play matchmaker with their music loving widowed parents, as they cruise down the Danube visiting European cities.

Movie Reviews:

🚢 Hallmark +'s Love on the Danube: Love Song is... FANTASTIC!! -Maria

🚢 For me, the first one, "Love on the Danube: Love Song," was just okay, kind of slow, at times. Although, I like both Wes Brown and Nazneen Contractor, the connection between the two just wasn't there for me. ~Net

🚢 Enjoyed Love on the Danube. –dstoutholcomb



*************************

Love On The Danube: Royal Getaway

Premiere Date: May 24, 2025

Starring Jessica Sipos and Dan Jeannotte

Storyline: A jilted art gallery manager takes her honeymoon cruise solo and meets a charming prince posing as a European gentleman, who shares her passion for art.

Movie Reviews:

🚢 Hallmark +'s Love on the Danube: Royal Getaway is absolutely darling! Highly recommend. -Maria

🚢 My husband and I really enjoyed "Love on the Danube - Royal Getaway"! We did not like the 1st movie in the series. In fact, we did not even finish it. However, the 2nd movie was much better, in our opinion. Yes, it had the same Royal storyline, which has been done so many times. But, Dan and Jessica had such great chemistry we were able to get past that. Plus, it was funny! The last movie, in the trilogy, also looks good. We are looking forward to that one as well. ~Joan

🚢 The second one, "Love on The Danube Royal Getaway," was sooo much better, even if Dan Jeannotte's beard in the first 5-10 minutes is ridiculously fake. Jessica Sipos and Dan Jeannotte make such a nice pairing, and I really enjoyed the secondary story with the widowed woman who goes on all of the cruises; she's such a fun character. ~Net



*************************

Love On The Danube: Kissing Stars

Premiere Date: May 31, 2025

Starring Brendan Penny and Sarah Power

Storyline: Savannah, a publicist, reluctantly works with Tripp, a celebrity who is having trouble connecting with his fans, abroad a cruise promoting his latest film.

Movie Reviews:

🚢 Hallmark +'s Love on the Danube: Kissing Stars is clean and a beautiful end to the trilogy! Hope Hallmark airs this on the main network and eventually puts this on DVD. -Maria




*************************


Hallmark Mystery:

The Jane Mysteries: Murder At Moseby

Premiere Date: Thursday, May 8, 2025

Starring Jodie Sweetin and Stephen Huszar

Storyline: Jane goes undercover at her alma mater to help her college boyfriend solve a crime he may have witnessed years ago – during the annual Edgar Allan Poe Festival.

🔎 I have seen the mystery The Jane Mysteries: Murder At Moseby via Hallmark+, and I must say it was my least favorite movie of the series. It was rather slow for me personally and just didn't interest me much, but I stayed with the story until the end. As I recall, the Edgar Allan Poe Festival in the movie is rather creepy. It's definitely best for preteens and up. ~Net

🔎 I agree Net, the Moseby mystery was so slow! But I felt that way about all the Jane Mysteries….they just didn’t wow me at all, no chemistry between her and the detective, and her Aunt Sadie is just off to me, always done up in a 3 piece outfit with makeup at 11pm 😂 A lot of these new movies for May look great! ~Paula

🔎 I might be the only one, but I really like The Jane Mysteries. Jodie is not my favorite actress, but I enjoy her in these. I also think she has good chemistry with Stephen. I like her singing, too. The lyrics are cute and get stuck in my head. All 4 movies are clean. Murder at Moseby was a little creepy with the Poe Fest, but not too bad. There were a couple holes in the Too Much to Lose mystery but overall I hope there are more Jane Mysteries to come. ~Anonymous

🔎 I’ve actually been enjoying the Jane Mysteries. I’m not a fan of Jodie, but I like her curiosity as Jane and I like that she and the detective have been working together since the beginning. So far they have been family friendly, but I think her singing is seductive so I skip that. ~Abigail

🔎 Really enjoy the “Jane” series and hope more are being planned. They are different from most of the series that all seem to follow the same theme. Also enjoy the period songs performed. They are probably my favorite part of each episode. ~Anonymous

🔎 I totally agree with you about the Murder at Moseby being dull and uninspiring. Hallmark had such great mystery movie series and they've dumped most of them and replaced them with movies with poor plots and not great acting. ~Anonymous



*************************


First, it's lovely to see Ginna Claire-Mason in another movie! I think she is a wonderful actress, so I'm delighted to see Hallmark continue to work with her. And yes, I've also been seeing the news that she is filming a Christmas time-travel movie with Wes Brown titled Newport Christmas.

Speaking of Wes Brown, it's nice to see the Love on the Danube collection of films come to the Hallmark Channel, especially for those who do not have Hallmark+. I have seen the first two and can you that they are, indeed, family-friendly, lighthearted stories. Of the two I saw, I enjoyed Love On The Danube: Royal Getaway best.

I have also seen the mystery The Jane Mysteries: Murder At Moseby, and I must say it was my least favorite movie of the series. It was rather slow for me personally and just didn't interest me much, but I stayed with the story until the end. As I recall, the Edgar Allan Poe Festival in the movie is rather creepy. It's definitely best for preteens and up.

Have you seen any of these Hallmark movies? If so, please feel free to share your thoughts on any of these movies in comments below.

Happy movie-watching!

Net