Photo: Kim Nunneley/Hallmark Media
Hallmark today announced the upcoming launch of Hallmark+, a new comprehensive streaming service that integrates ad-free viewing with exclusive retail and product benefits. Launching mid-September 2024, the transformation from Hallmark Movies Now to Hallmark+ wil give fans access to all-new kinds of original, heartwarming TV and movie content, plus new membership program benefits, Hallmark+. The patform will allow members to get rewarded for streaming and shopping at Hallmark Gold Crown Stores or online at Hallmark.com.
“Hallmark+ marks a seminal moment for Hallmark,” said Mike Perry, President & CEO, Hallmark. “By intertwining new, rich content experiences with tangible rewards and premium Hallmark gifts, we are delivering a unique, new program that reflects our commitment to spreading joy through our deeply beloved brand touchpoints.”
Examples of new genres and formats debuting on the service will include:
- Hallmark’s first-ever foray into holiday limited series (Holidazed and Mistletoe Murders) and a reality competition series (Finding Mr. Christmas), bringing its pop culture-revered seasonal content to the streaming space like never before.
- Unscripted, aspirational series with an emphasis on heart, home, and community featuring fan-favorite stars like Lacey Chabert (Celebrations with Lacey Chabert), Wes Brown (Ready, Set, Glow!), Ashley Williams (Small Town Setup), and Luke Macfarlane (Home is Where the Heart Is)
- An all-new movie trilogy (Groomsmen) inspired by the success of The Wedding Veil, this time spotlighting the friendship between three leading men played by Jonathan Bennett, Tyler Hynes and B.J. Britt
- An all-new scripted series adaption of KJ Dell’Antonia’s New York Times bestselling novel and a Reese’s Book Club selection (The Chicken Sisters)
Hallmark+ members can alsoenjoy a host of new, exclusive benefits and rewards. Membership perks include monthly $5 Hallmark Gold Crown Store coupons, free unlimited eCards, rewards for shopping, and surprise gifts. Priced at $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year, the membership package delivers a distinctive blend of entertainment and rewards, positioning Hallmark+ as the premier destination for Hallmark enthusiasts.
Check out the slated content below.
Unscripted Content
Celebrations with Lacey Chabert – September 2024
Celebrations with Lacey Chabert follows the beloved Hallmark Channel star and philanthropist Chabert as she surprises deserving members of the community who are making a positive impact on the world by throwing them the celebration of a lifetime. This aspirational and visually rich series combines heart, the spirit of generosity and dazzling events as Chabert and her team plan epic surprise parties to give back to those who are making a positive impact. With the help of professional party planners, loving family members or dear friends and a team of volunteers, Chabert will have just three days to plan and execute a one-of-a-kind event that will create lasting memories for each worthy guest of honor and their families. Chabert will occasionally pull in a few celebrity friends and co-stars from viewers’ favorite Hallmark movies to roll up their sleeves and join in the fun. The series goes beyond the surface to give back to these remarkable recipients in a meaningful way while creating the most memorable parties.
Celebrations with Lacey Chabert is produced by UNConventional Entertainment, a part of Sony Pictures Television Non-Fiction. Executive producers are UNConventional’s Gena McCarthy, Sony Pictures Television’s Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman, along with Jill Garelick-Aron, Ashley Franklin and Chabert.
Finding Mr. Christmas – Fall 2024
Ten aspiring actors compete in a variety of entertaining challenges, with a Hallmark twist, to be crowned Hallmark’s next leading man and take home the title of “Mr. Christmas” in Hallmark’s first reality competition series, Finding Mr. Christmas. Co-created, executive produced and hosted by Jonathan Bennett (Mean Girls, The Holiday Sitter) and starring lead judge Melissa Peterman (Reba, Haul Out the Holly), special guest judges will join this duo throughout the series and put these “hunky” men to the test to determine who has the most talent, heart, authenticity and charisma to be the next Hallmark superstar. At the finale, the winner will receive a special leading role in one of this year’s Countdown to Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel.
Finding Mr. Christmas is produced by Hallmark Media and Super Delicious. The series is co-created by Jonathan Bennett and Ben Roy. Executive producers are Cara Tapper, Adam Cohen, Joanna Vernetti, Bennett, Roy and Trish Gold.
Ready, Set, Glow! – Holiday 2024
Get into the holiday spirit this holiday season on Hallmark+ by witnessing extraordinary light displays across the country in the new unscripted series, Ready, Set, Glow! In this three-episode limited series, host Wes Brown (Haul out the Holly: Lit Up, Sweet Pecan Summer) will travel to some of the most beautiful holiday light displays of individual family homes, groups of neighbors who decorate the full block, or a town’s festive holiday installation. This merry and heartwarming series will enchant viewers as they hear these hometown holiday enthusiasts’ moving backstories and why they spread holiday cheer in their communities.
Ready, Set, Glow! is from Glass Entertainment Partners. Executive producers are Nancy Glass, Danny Passman, Matt Carter and Wes Brown.
Small Town Setup – 2025
Explore the unique charm of small-town America and its welcoming community in this heartwarming unscripted, romantic comedy docu-style dating series, Small Town Setup hosted by Ashley Williams. In each episode, we meet different hometown parents with a big problem – their successful adult child is living far away in a big city – and is still single. The couple gathers their neighbors and asks for help to find a match for their them to go out with. Now, the entire community is on the hunt to find the best three daters for the “city single” to go on dates with, in the hopes that they will fall in love, move back home and live happily ever after.
Based on Keshet Broadcasting’s International Emmy-nominated original format entitled Dear Neighbors. Produced by Keshet Studios, Small Town Setup will be executive produced by Keshet Studios’ Peter Traugott and Rebecca Mayer, Keshet International’s Keren Shahar, and Keshet Media Group’s Avi Nir, alongside Showrunner/Executive Prodducer Ailee O’Neill and Host/Executive Producer Ashley Williams. Co-Executive Producers include Ben Long and Nieshia Crawford.
Home is Where the Heart Is – 2025
Luke Macfarlane, a Hallmark fan favorite and talented wood worker, hosts this heartwarming home renovation series. In each episode, one family invites him inside a once-glorious house that has either been inherited or holds special meaning to them but is long overdue for some TLC. Luke works with a talented team to seamlessly blend the past and the present, creating a beautiful, reimagined space that feels refreshed and welcoming, but maintains the heart, love, and charm that has been present inside its walls for decades.
Home is Where the Heart Is is from Maven Creative Media with Nikki Ray Media as production partner. Jessica Sebastian-Dayeh, Luke Macfarlane, Mike Sheerin, Tanya Linto and Megan Bidner are executive producers.
Movies
The Groomsmen Trilogy – Fall 2024
The romantic comedy script gets flipped as the quest for love is told from the male perspective when Jonathan Bennett (Christmas on Cherry Lane, The Holiday Sitter), Tyler Hynes (Shifting Gears, Three Wise Men and a Baby) and B.J. Britt (A Christmas Serenade, The Holiday Stocking) star as three best friends who stand up for each other on the biggest days of their lives in The Groomsmen, a new, original movie trilogy for Hallmark+ premiering this Fall.
The Groomsmen trilogy takes viewers on the journey of a lifetime as three best friends come together to celebrate their wedding days in the breathtaking destinations of Greece, Italy and Bulgaria. As they navigate complex relationships with friends, love interests and family members, this movie trilogy is filled with heart, humor and charm. Pete (Britt), a kind-hearted pediatrician with a penchant for planning; Danny (Bennett), a baseball coach with a heart of gold; and Jackson (Hynes), a stylish and charming social media agent, lean on each other and draw strength from the bonds they share from the special brotherhood built over the years.
“We can’t wait for viewers to come along on these romantic journeys in new and fresh ways as we tell this story from the groom’s side for the first time ever,” began Philicia Kennedy-Flamer, Manager, Programming, Hallmark Media. “Jonathan, Tyler and B.J. are a dream team. Their performances are infused with a humor and warmth that brings these stories to life beyond our expectations and created something truly special.”
The Groomsmen First Look, The Groomsmen Second Chances and The Groomsmen Last Dance are from Groomsmen Road Productions Ltd. Jonathan Bennett, Tyler Hynes and Ryan M. Murphy are executive producers. Allen Lewis, Ron Oliver and Marnie Young are co-executive producers and Kristina Kambitova and Phillip Roth are supervising producers. Charles Cooper is producer. Ron Oliver directed.
Original Series
Holidazed – (Limited Series) Christmas 2024
Hallmark Media brings its special brand of comfort and joy to the limited series genre with the hijinks, humor and heart of Holidazed. Premiering this holiday season exclusively on Hallmark+, the eight-episode series goes inside the chaos, cheer and challenges that can come with family celebrations, fueled by the sometimes-complex dynamics that don’t always create a picture-perfect holiday. The announcement was made today during Hallmark Media’s session at the Summer 2024 Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, CA.
The series boasts an all-star cast featuring new faces and returning Hallmark favorites including: Golden Globe Award nominee Dennis Haysbert (24), Erin Cahill (Power Rangers Time Force), Holland Roden (Teen Wolf), Ian Harding (Pretty Little Liars), John C. McGinley (Scrubs), Lindy Booth (The Librarians), Emmy Award winner Loretta Devine (Grey’s Anatomy), Lucille Soong (Fresh off the Boat), Nazneen Contractor (24), Noemi Gonzalez (East Los High), Osric Chau (Supernatural), Rachelle Lefevre (Twilight), Ser’Darius Blain (Jumanji) and Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen (Sideways).
Holidazed follows six families from different backgrounds, cultures and generations, all living on the same cul-de-sac, as they gather for the holiday season. During a time when emotions are amplified, each family comes together to celebrate their unique, rich traditions and navigate family eccentricities that ultimately help them discover what they do have in common: LOVE in all its different forms.
“Our Christmas movies are a beloved annual tradition for tens of millions of viewers, which has made us synonymous with the merriest time of the year,” began Lisa Hamilton Daly, Executive Vice President, Programming, Hallmark Media. “When Gina Matthews and Grant Scharbo came to us with Holidazed, we knew it was time to enter the limited series space – the characters are complex yet relatable and the story they’re telling about these families is filled with humor and heart, which fits perfectly with the Hallmark brand.”
Holidazed is from Unity Pictures and Little Engine Productions. The premium series is executive produced by esteemed film and television producer and writer Gina Matthews (Urban Legend, What Women Want, 13 Going on 30, Isn’t It Romantic), Grant Scharbo (Isn’t it Romantic, Missing, The Gates), veteran screenwriter/producer Claudia Grazioso (Are We There Yet?) and Ron French (To All the Boys: Always and Forever).
The Chicken Sisters – Mid-September 2024
Emmy Award-winning actress Margo Martindale (American Crime Story, Cocaine Bear, Justified) brings her voice talent to The Chicken Sisters as the nearly omniscient Narrator. At the start of each episode the Narrator sets up the story as she serves up history and offers country fried context for the characters in the way only the best town gossip can.
The network also announced that James Kot (Christmas on Cherry Lane, Virgin River), Rukiya Bernard (Yellowjackets, One Winter Wedding), Ektor Rivera (Groundswell, Sugar Plum Twist) and Jake Foy (Allegiance, Ride) join the previously announced leads Schuyler Fisk (Sam & Kate, Orange County), Genevieve Angelson (The Handmaid’s Tale, Good Girls Revolt), Lea Thompson (Switched at Birth, Back to the Future) and Wendie Malick (Young Sheldon, Shrinking, Just Shoot Me!).
The Chicken Sisters is a family drama dipped in southern charm and served up with a saucy side of romance. The setting is the fictional town of Merinac, where a generations-old rift between dueling fried chicken restaurants – Mimi’s and Frannie’s – has left the founders’ families fractured and the locals taking sides. When popular cooking competition show Kitchen Clash comes to town, this could be the recipe for ending this feud once and for all. But things are fixing to heat up both inside and outside of the kitchen as the reality show spotlight causes sparks to fly as secrets are spilled and feathers get ruffled.
The Chicken Sisters is from Fox Entertainment’s MarVista Entertainment in association with Lighthouse Pictures and Busy B Entertainment. Annie Mebane, Bradley Gardner, Larry Grimaldi, Ani Kevork, Hannah Pillemer, Fernando Szew, Shawn Williamson and Jamie Goehring are executive producers.
_