Hallmark Channel announced its Q1 and Q2 programming schedule to attendees of the Winter 2012 Television Critics Association Press Tour on Thursday, a robust slate of programs that consists of no less than 9 Hallmark Channel Original Movies. Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premieres switch to Sunday nights beginning April 15. Among the daytime and primetime soap stars featured in upcoming films are Genie Francis, James Patrick Stuart, Joely Fisher, Victor Webster, Eric Mabius and Gregory Harrison.
The network plans to create more family-oriented original animated holiday specials, a result of the overwhelming success of its holiday outing with Hallmark Cards’ Jingle the Husky Pup. Hallmark Channel also anticipates announcements this Spring on new programming ventures for various dayparts.
“Hallmark Channel has transformed in the past couple of years to diversify its contetnt offering, including robust offerings in daytime, primetime specials and the acquisition of popular classic series,” said Michelle Vicary, EVP, Programming, Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel. “Hallmark channel was built on the TV movie, a business that is thriving and bringing great success to Crown Media Family Neworks. In 2012, we will continue to produce more TV movies than any other network,”
“Hallmark Channel has just come off of its most impressive 4th quarter to date with #1 rated original movies every weekend for 8 weeks from Halloween through the COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS 2011 campaign, and we are enormously pleased with our successes.
“For Hallmark Channel, the key to success is characters that connect in warm, optimistic ways, through stories that celebrate life’s special occasions, holiday and family, and the network has a deep bench of iconic talent that audiences find very appealing,” Vicary concluded.
The network’s movie offerings include:
A TASTE OF ROMANCE, a Hallmark Channel Original Movie, Saturday, January 14 @ 8p.m. ET/PT, 7c, starring Teri Polo, James Patrick Stuart, Bailee Madison and Romy Rosemont. When a handsome former firefighter and single dad opens up a barbecue restaurant, he ruffles the feathers of the pretty but uppity owner of a classy French restaurant next door. As the two grow heated with competition, a romance between them warms up as well, and it takes the man’s precocious young daughter and a restaurant reviewer’s mishap to bring them closer than ever.
CUPID, a Hallmark Channel Original Movie, Saturday, February 11 @ 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7c, starring Joely Fisher and Jamie Kennedy. An uptight TV talk show host is lonely and looking for love just days before Valentine’s Day when she gets a visit from a mysterious stranger who claims to be a love expert. He tasks her with a mission from Cupid to help other couples find true love, and she will be surprised with her own. But soon after she starts playing matchmaker, she finds her own true love has been within reach all along.
CHASING LEPRECHAUNS, a Hallmark Channel Original Movie, Saturday, March 17 @ 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7c, starring Adrian Pasdar and Amy Huberman. A hot shot executive at a mineral company is sent to a small town in Ireland to oversee a new copper plant construction, but construction is held up when the locals claim there are leprechauns living in the land. To overcome their objections, the executive must drop his stuffy suits and befriend the townspeople and the beautiful resident leprechaun expert.
UNDERCOVER BRIDESMAID, a Hallmark Channel Original Movie, Sunday, April 15 @ 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7c, starring Brooke Burns and Gregory Harrison. An agent, who was once jilted at the alter goes undercover to protect a mogul’s daughter, a bride-to-be, from death threats. But the agent soon finds herself embroiled with the groom’s questionable, yet charming best friend, and unable to separate her bitter feelings from her past to survive this assignment. Between the aunt who is depleting the family scholarship fund, the playboy cousin with an inheritance at stake, and a very angry business partner, almost every wedding attendee is a legitimate suspect.
NOTES FROM THE HEART HEALER, a Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere, Sunday, May 5 @ 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7c, starring Genie Francis and Ted McGinley. A recently married renowned author is shocked when a baby is found left at her doorstep by a homeless and desperate teen, awakening painful memories of the own child she gave up years ago and a motherly instinct she never knew she had. Torn between wanting to adopt the baby and wanting to find the mother to help her get back on her feet, she finds her answer in forgiveness.
OPERATION CUPCAKE, a Hallmark Channel Original Movie, Sunday, June 16 @ 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7c, starring Dean Cain and Kristy Swanson. When TJ Carson comes home on military leave, he has trouble acclimating to civilian life. To help give him direction, Carson’s wife asks him to help run her bakery. His new job proves to be a difficult task, but he refuses to give up until finding a way to thrive in his long-absent role as husband and father.
PUPPY LOVE, a Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere, Sunday, July 7 @ 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7c, starring Candace Cameron Bure, Victor Webster, and Zeke, the dog. When a single mom and her lonely only daughter decide to adopt a dog after moving to a new town, they are surprised when a handsome pro baseball player comes knocking on their door, claiming the dog is rightfully his. Agreeing to share custody, the couple clashes over raising the unruly pup, but are soon falling for each other.
LOVE’S PLAYING OUR SONG, a Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere, Sunday, July 14 @ 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7c, starring Eric Mabius, Brooke D’Orsay and Kathy Najimy. An accountant, who never quite grew out of his awkward teenage years, finds himself with a dating coach – she happens to be his high school crush as well. Thanks to his coach, he gets a pretty woman he has his sights on for some time, but realizes they are incompatible. Meanwhile, his dating lessons with his teenage crush reawaken old feelings. Not realizing the feelings are mutual, he finds himself unable to act on them due to his fear of being rejected by the one he truly loves.
KISS AT PINE LAKE, a Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere, Sunday, August 11 @ 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7c, starring Barry Watson, Mia Kirschner and Bill Engvall. An entrepreneur buys his old beloved summer camp to preserve his childhood memories, but is disheartened when he realizes the camp may get shut down for safety code violations. As he tries to fix it up before it is too late, his former camp girlfriend arrives with a plan to make him sell it to her corrupt development company. With the camp at stake, the two start to fall for each other again, and they must learn to reconcile their past with their future.
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These movies sound so cheesy, but I know that if I come across them sometime while flipping the channel, I'll watch and probably smile (or cry). Sneaky Hallmark bastards :-)
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