Heavy/Hallmark Chris McNally and Julie Gonzalo.
October 2023 is shaping up to be one of the biggest months in Hallmark star Chris McNally‘s career.
For starters, McNally’s “When Calls The Heart” character, Lucas Bouchard, is at the center of a love triangle that’s stirred up major controversy among the series’ die-hard fans. But the network also just revealed that he and his longtime love, actress Julie Gonzalo, achieved “record-breaking” ratings with the October 7 premiere of their Halloween-themed movie, “3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Chris McNally & Julie Gonzalo Deliver a ‘Ratings Knockout’ for Hallmark
McNally, 34, and Gonzalo, 42, met while filming the 2018 Hallmark movie “The Sweetest Heart,” though they didn’t confirm they were a couple until years later. The duo shares a 1-year-old daughter, born in June 2022. They didn’t team up for another movie until filming “3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost,” which was part of Hallmark’s “Fall Into Love” programming lineup.
In the movie, Gonzalo plays a realtor named Anna who lists her first home, sure that it will sell quickly — until she runs into the ghost of a 1920s flapper named Ruby, played by Madeleine Arthur. Ruby claims that she can’t leave the home and “pass over” until Anna gets back together with her ex Elliot, played by McNally.
Hallmark announced via a press release on October 13 that so many people tuned in for the premiere and watched it in the following three days that “3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost” was the network’s most-watched 2023 premiere since “A Paris Proposal” starring Alexa PenaVega in February.
Calling it a “ratings knockout” with 3.9 million unduplicated total viewers, the network said McNally and Gonzalo’s movie “lifted Hallmark Channel to the number one entertainment cable network spot of the weekend and week in both Total Day and Prime among major demos.”
“3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost” was not only a ratings hit, but has received rave reviews. Decider called it “a seriously great Hallmark movie” and “may be the best movie of the season.” Fangirlish declared it to be “in the top five movies that Hallmark has ever made.”
Over 2,000 fans gave their reviews on the Heavy on Hallmark Facebook page, with the vast majority raving about the movie, such as one who wrote that Hallmark “nailed it” and another who said she “did not want it to end!”
The movie’s success is especially impressive given that McNally and Gonzalo couldn’t help promote the movie, since the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike precludes actors from promoting any of their projects, past or present.
Gonzalo, who uses social media sparingly, shared the strike logo on Instagram on July 14 and captioned her post by writing, “✊🏽#sagaftrastrong #sagaftra”
However, she and McNally did record several videos, including one with behind-the-scenes fun, with the cast and crew before the strike began, which Hallmark Channel and fans shared via social media.
Despite WCTH Plot Twist, Chris McNally Has Bright Future at Hallmark
“When Calls The Heart” fans have been worried in recent days that McNally might be leaving the show, given his character’s shocking breakup with lead character Elizabeth Thornton, played by Erin Krakow, and his campaign for governor towards the end of the series’ 10th season.
But WCTH showrunner Lindsay Sturman has assured Hearties that McNally isn’t going anywhere and has been filming season 11 as a principal actor on the show.
“Lucas is one of our leads and he always will be and he’s an incredible actor,” Sturman said During an interview with Heart to Hearties. “His journey is incredibly exciting in season 11. And I think that … we we get to see a side of him that we didn’t know… We went back and kind of mined what did we know about him, and then … carry those stories through because … there’s so much richness to the stories that we inherited. And then just growing them from there.”
McNally also said he’s excited for his future at Hallmark, particularly for his WCTH character, in a post-show interview with Edify Films, which was allowed because WCTH has an exemption from SAG-AFTRA.
“I’m excited for … the direction that Lucas is going in,” McNally said. “And I think that it is a different avenue of storytelling or different stories that can come in for Hope Valley. It’s a town that is alive and it has a pulse and things shift and change and evolve, and I think it’s great. I’m very optimistic about it.”
Given the success of “3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost,” it’s likely McNally and Gonzalo will continue to be tapped for original movies on the network, too, but neither is scheduled to appear in any of the network’s 2023 Countdown to Christmas movies.