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In an unexpected year-end announcement, Hallmark Media revealed it has acquired the broadcast rights to “Drop Dead Diva” and fans of the show are beside themselves with joy on social media. The dramedy series attracted a large and loyal following on Lifetime during its six seasons, airing from 2009 to 2014, and featured numerous actors who are now among Hallmark’s top stars. Hallmark plans to air the full series, airing two episodes every weeknight beginning on January 2, 2023.
Multiple Hallmark Stars Appeared in ‘Drop Dead Diva’
HallmarkSharon Lawrence, Brennan Elliott, and Brooke D’Orsay are among the Hallmark stars who appear in “Drop Dead Diva”
One of the reasons Hallmark may have decided to acquire and air “Drop Dead Diva” is that several of its top stars appeared on the series before they joined the Hallmark universe, resulting in lots of fun cameos viewers can keep an eye out for.
For starters, the show is about a “vapid, aspiring model” named Deb, who is played by Hallmark actress Brooke D’Orsay throughout the first season. The character of Deb is killed in a car crash but convinces Heaven’s gatekeeper, Fred, to let her be brought back to life. She accidentally reincarnates in the plus-sized body of an intelligent, high-powered attorney named Jane, played by Brooke Elliott.
But D’Orsay isn’t the only familiar face who will be popping up on the “Drop Dead Diva” reruns. Someone who’s also a huge fan of actor Brennan Elliott (no relation to Brooke Elliott) pointed out via Twitter that before he became one of Hallmark Channel’s top stars, Brennan appeared as a guest star on “Drop Dead Diva” during its second season, appearing as Detective Todd Prentiss. Brennan confirmed it by retweeting her message to his fans.
“I’m so excited!” she wrote of the Hallmark acquisition. “It looks like they’re running the series. So, Season 2, episode 10 (2010) is when I first fell in love with @brennan_elliott as Det. Todd Prentiss! Don’t miss it!!”
Sharon Lawrence is also very familiar to Hallmark fans from her appearances in movies like “The Christmas House” and its recent sequel, as well as 2019’s “Merry and Bright.” She appears in multiple episodes of “Drop Dead Diva,” playing the mother of Deb.
In addition, April Bowlby, who appeared in Hallmark Now’s “Married By Christmas” in 2016, is part of the main cast of “Drop Dead Diva,” appearing during all six seasons.
Meanwhile, an actress who starred in Hallmark movies before appearing on “Dropped Dead Diva” was Natasha Henstridge, who starred in multiple Christmas movies for Hallmark in the early 2000s. She was a guest star during season 2 of “Drop Dead Diva,” playing the co-owner of Jane’s law firm.
Fans Celebrate on Social Media About ‘Drop Dead Diva’ Airing on Hallmark
“Drop Dead Diva” attracted such a loyal following that when Lifetime first announced it was canceling the show after four seasons due to budget cuts, fans were so distraught that the network reversed its decision months later and wound up airing two additional seasons. Until now, viewers have had to pay to rent or stream reruns of the show on various platforms, so the news of Hallmark’s acquisition has thrilled diehard fans as well as the show’s creator, Josh Berman.
After Hallmark’s announcement, Berman tweeted his excitement on December 30, 2022, writing, “#DropDeadDiva is coming back to life!!”
#DropDeadDiva is coming back to life!! On Jan 2 at 5pm/4c on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Watch the entire series from the beginning — every day of the week. Happy New Year! @dropdeaddiva @SPTV @hallmarkmovie @OspreyProds @DivaWriters @DropDeadDivaTV
Among the many fans who reacted with excitement was a woman who retweeted Berman’s announcement, writing, “omg omg omg thank you @SPTV @Hallmarkmovie…omg thank you #DropDeadDiva is back!!”
Another tweeted, “I am SO glad this series reruns are going to air again! Love #dropdeaddiva !!!”
One woman who saw the news via a Hallmark spot wrote, “When you just saw the commercial for #DropDeadDiva is airing on @hallmarkmovie starting in the new year!!! Ahhh!!! Now I can rewatch the series and actually watch the last season without paying for it lol!! This makes me so happy!”
Fans were equally pumped on Instagram when Hallmark shared the announcement, flooding the post with likes and comments. For instance, one responded, “wait what drop dead diva is reairing omg omg thank you thank you!”
Another wrote, “Favorite show, empowering before it was a thing , this show was a trailblazer” and added a red heart emoji.
“I just finished watching this,” another fan wrote, “but I’m taping them and making my grandma watch them with me haha I have seen this show countless times and still love it more every single time.”
Beginning January 2, 2023, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will air back-to-back episodes each weeknight from 5 pm to 7 pm Eastern.