PASADENA, Calif. – Whatever you’ve enjoyed on the assorted Hallmark Channels in the past, expect to get more of that feel-good programming in 2019.
Saturday night at the Television Critics Association winter 2019 press tour, Hallmark executives announced a deluge of new programming, including 103 original movies for 2019, up from 87 in 2018 (61 on Hallmark Channel, 42 on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries).
In August subscription streaming service Hallmark Movies Now will gets its first original series, “When Hope Calls,” a spin-off of Hallmark Channel’s “When Calls the Heart,” which debuts its sixth season at 8 p.m. Feb. 24. “When Hope Calls” follows Lillian (Morgan Kohan) and Grace (Jocelyn Hudon), sisters who were introduced in 2018’s “When Calls the Heart: The Greatest Christmas Blessing,” as they open an orphanage in a small Northwest town.
“Chesapeake Shores” returns for a fourth season in summer on Hallmark Channel, although it will have just six episodes, down from 10 in 2018. A spin-off movie on Hallmark Channel will follow the O’Brien sisters – Abby (Meghan Ory), Bree (Emilie Ullerup) and Jess (Laci Mailey) – as they travel to Rome for the wedding of a childhood friend.
Hallmark Channel’s “Good Witch” returns for its fifth season at 8 p.m. May 5 as Cassie (Catherine Bell) and Sam (James Denton) finally get married.
A new installment of “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” from writer Martha Williamson (“Touched by an Angel”) is in development for Hallmark Drama featuring returning stars Eric Mabius, Kristin Booth, Crystal Lowe and Geoff Gustafson.
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries launches a rotating Sunday 9 p.m. “Signature Mystery,” including returning franchises “Aurora Teagarden Mysteries (Sept. 15, 22, 29), “Garage Sale Mysteries” (Aug. 4, 11,18, 25), “Morning Show Mysteries” (April 7, 14, 21) and Hailey Dean Mysteries” (May 5, 12, 19) which will be joined by the new “Chronicle Mysteries” (Feb. 17, 24, March 3) starring Alison Sweeney, “Crossword Mysteries” (March 10, Oct. 6, 13, 20) starring Lacey Chabert and “Picture Perfect Mysteries” (June 2) starring Alexa PenaVega.
Although it wasn’t that long ago we finished cleaning up from Christmas 2018, Hallmark is already well into planning the movies that viewers will be sipping cocoa while watching at Christmas 2019.
Kristin Chenoweth (“Pushing Daisies”) will play a youth choir director and Scott Wolf (“Party of Five”) is a widowed father of a choir member (naturally!) in “The Christmas Song.”
The first movie adapted from a Hallmark Publishing novel, “The Christmas Company” by first-time novelist Alys Murray, will be part of the Hallmark holiday slate.
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries ordered a new Blake Shelton executive-produced Christmas film.
The annual “Countdown to Christmas” programming event, which in 2018 made Hallmark Channel the highest-rated cable network among women 18-49 and 25-54 in the fourth quarter of 2018, celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2019 by airing repeats of past holiday films on Friday nights year-round.
AMC Networks updates
BBC America and AMC will both air season two of “Killing Eve” (8 p.m. April 7).
AMC brings back “Into the Badlands” (10 p.m. March 24) and “The Son” (9 p.m. April 27) for their final episodes.
On BBC America, new seasons of “Top Gear” (9 p.m. April 25) and “Luther” (8 p.m. June 2) are on tap.
IFC brings back “Brockmire” for season three at 10 p.m. April 3.
Channel surfing
TBS has scrapped plans for a revival of Michael Moore’s “TV Nation.” … Production has begun on McCandless native Greg Nictotero’s six-episode “Creepshow” anthology series for streaming service Shudder, which will include stories by Stephen King, Joe Hill, Josh Malerman and Joe Lansdale.
Post-Gazette TV writer Rob Owen is attending the Television Critics Association winter press tour. Follow RobOwenTV at Twitter or Facebook. You can reach him at 412-263-2582 or rowen@post-gazette.com.
First Published: February 10, 2019, 2:51 p.m.
