Heavy/Getty Alexa & Carlos PenaVega at a Hallmark event in October 2022
After years of starring together and separately in Hallmark movies and mysteries, Alexa and Carlos PenaVega have found a new home at Great American Family, the media company started in 2021 by former Hallmark Channel president Bill Abbott.
On April 11, 2024, the company posted details on social media about the PenaVegas’ first movie with the organization. On May 24, “Mr. Manhattan” is scheduled to premiere on its streaming platform, Great American Pure Flix, rather than on the cable network, according to a press release.
The couple, who is expecting their fourth child this spring, are poised to film multiple projects with Great American Media.
Carlos PenaVega Says He & His Wife Alexa Are ‘So Excited’ For Upcoming Movie
Great American PureFlix announced its project with the PenaVegas on Instagram, sharing a screenshot of an article from Deadline about their upcoming movie.
The Instagram post was captioned, “We’re so excited to announce that @therealcarlospena and @vegaalexa will star in their first movie for Great American Pure Flix, ‘Mr. Manhattan’, premiering on May 24th! 💙”
Carlos, who will tour again this summer with his boy band Big Time Rush, indicated that “Mr. Manhattan” will be the first of multiple projects the couple has planned with Great American Family.
In the comment section, he wrote, “We are so excited for this one and all that we have coming up with you guys! What a team! 👏🔥🔥❤️❤️”
In the April 11 press release, Abbott reiterated Great American Media’s plans to work with the couple beyond this first movie.
“Carlos and Alexa are audience favorites and so beloved for their commitment to family on and off the screen, which is the foundation of ‘Mr. Manhattan,'” his statement read. “And we are excited about a number of additional projects in development with these two enormously talented actors.”
Great American Pure Flix’s synopsis of the upcoming movie reads, “In ‘Mr. Manhattan,’ Mason Bradley (Carlos PenaVega) makes a promise to his brother and sister-in-law to be godfather to their newborn son (and future children). Mason has exciting news of his own: he’s just been accepted to Columbia Law School, which comes as a shock to his fiancé, Dani (Alexa PenaVega).”
The synopsis continues, “Ten years on, Mason is surround by big city life and obsessed with becoming partner in his firm. He and Dani have broken up. Just when Mason feels personal success is at hand, he receives an unimaginable call. His brother and sister-in-law have tragically been killed in a car accident. Mason is now a single father with two children.”
Fans Divided Over Carlos & Alexa PenaVega’s Move to Great American Family
HallmarkCarlos and Alexa PenaVega in Hallmark’s “Never Too Late to Celebrate”
After years of working with Hallmark, including their three-movie “Picture Perfect Mysteries” franchise, the PenaVegas signed a multi-picture deal with Hallmark Media in October 2022, per Deadline. Their most recent movie together was “Never Too Late to Celebrate,” which premiered on Hallmark Channel in July, during the writers’ and actors’ strikes.
It’s not clear if their prior deal with Hallmark precludes them from appearing on Great American Family’s main channel, or if they’ve already fulfilled their Hallmark contract. Though multiple fans asked whether this means they’re leaving Hallmark, the couple did not reply.
On the post about the upcoming movie, fans were divided, with some thrilled to see the PenaVegas working with Great American Family, while others were upset.
The network has faced a great deal of scrutiny over the last two years, stemming from controversial comments — particularly about the network being unlikely to feature LGBTQ+ couples in its movies — made in late 2022 by actress Candace Cameron Bure, who left Hallmark to serve as the Chief Creative Officer and headlining star of Great American Family in early 2022. Later that year, Variety dubbed her the “Conservative Queen of Christmas.”
On the Instagram post about the PenaVegas’ joining Great American Media, one fan wrote, “this just UPPED gac level. the penavega’s are AMAZINGGGGG.”
Another happy viewer commented, “Ahh!! So excited for this! I love Alexa and Carlos and I was hoping to see them make an appearance with The Great American Family 😊❤️”
The post tagged Carlos and Alexa, so anyone who follows them on Instagram would have seen it in their feed. Among fans who were disappointed by the news, one wrote, “Unfollowed all of you that you are on this hateful channel.”
Someone else commented, “Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and choices. The people that choose Great American are good people. Just with different views than mine. I will never turn my head to those that we’re asked to love. Hallmark is love one another as I have loved you.”
The PenaVegas are the second couple to announce projects with Great American Media this year. In February, actor and entertainment host Mario Lopez signed a multi-picture deal with the network, according to Entertainment Weekly, beginning with a holiday film co-starring his wife, Broadway actress Courtney Lopez.
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Alexa & Carlos PenaVega Announce Major Shift After Years at Hallmark