Is Hallmark Changing the Channel?

By:  | April 30, 2021 |  Entertainment | 

FEATURED PHOTO:  Jocelyn Hudon and Steve Lund in Baby, It’s Cold Inside (Photo Credit: Property and by permission of Crown Media)

Rumors are circling that Hallmark Channel is moving in a new direction.

The cancellation of hugely popular daytime talk show Home & Family, along with recent movies that seem to be moving away from the brand, have many wondering if the new brass at the network are steering in a different direction.

On May 8, Baby, It’s Cold Inside will premiere during what is typically the period between Spring Fling and Weddings Every Weekend or June Weddings. The channel typically promotes seasonal offerings through taglines such as Fall Harvest, Spring Fling, Summer Nights etc. But this movie is set in Iceland in the same ice hotel as was the setting for a previous film called Winter Castle that debuted in 2018 during the winter months or Winterfest.

Though movies airing in May are often caught between two seasonal promotions, on May 15, Sweet Carolina, starring Lacey Chabert, will depart from Hallmark Channel’s romance-based storylines and offer more drama than romance. Normally these types of movies are labeled as Hallmark Hall of Fame offerings and shown at special times and sometimes on both Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.
 

Kavan Smith and Pascale Hutton in You Had Me at Aloha. Photo Credit: Property and by permission of Crown Media
 

To confuse matters, Hallmark Channel is debuting You Had Me at Aloha on June 5 as part of Summer Nights. Summer Nights has always happened in the actual summer months, usually July or August, and is followed by Fall Harvest beginning in September. Why would the network move its summer season up by nearly two months? Is there a different seasonal offering planned?

It leaves us wondering, are the rumors true? Is Hallmark Channel changing the types of movies that will air? Is it eliminating some of the seasonal offerings – such as wedding themed movies during the month of June? Or is this all a result of COVID-19 and the network being unable to follow their normal routine due to less movies being made in the past months?

With a new President and CEO in charge at Crown Media, the parent-company for all three Hallmark channels, and major lay-offs, cut-backs, and executive changes…only time will tell.