Heavy Hallmark Hall of Fame
While nothing is finalized yet, a Hallmark executive recently hinted that we may be seeing another Hallmark Hall of Fame movie in the future featuring an A-List actor. Here’s what we know so far.
The Movie Would Feature an A-List Actress
In an interview with Decider, Lisa Hamilton Daly, Hallmark’s EVP of Programming, said that she was talking with a well-known actress about possibly starring in a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie.
“I literally had a conversation today about an A-list actress who might want to come do a Hall of Fame [movie] with us,” she told Decider.
Daly shared the news as an example of more and more people wanting to be part of Hallmark after some of the changes the network had recently made, which has helped its reputation.
“I work in Hollywood and I’m getting feedback from the community that it feels different to work here,” she said. “What the output is feels different. We’ve attracted a lot of new creative partners who would never have (worked with Hallmark before.)… I think Hallmark was always beloved, but it’s expanded its audience, it’s expanded what it’s doing, and I think it’s just on a roll right now.”
She said that their deal with Peacock, for example, was helping them get exposure with an entirely new set of people.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what that looks like because there’s a wider audience there that’s coming in for our stuff, is what I understand,” she said.
In addition, Hallmark’s recent comedy-focused movies have also been big hits. “Haul Out the Holly” and “Three Wise Men & a Baby” were both movies focused more on comedy than romance.
“We’d always gone up to the edge of full comedy, and we call them romcoms but they were mostly comedies in that they ended in marriage, that very classic sense of a comedy,” she explained. “And I’ll note that neither of our comedies actually ended in marriage. They were literally comedies in that they were funny, and I think that’s what people wanted.”
“The biggest takeaway for me last year was that our audiences want more comedy, and that may speak to the moment we’re in,” she added.
Hallmark’s Last Official Hall of Fame Movie Was in 2019
According to Hallmark’s webpage, the network’s last official Hallmark Hall of Fame movie was “A Christmas Love Story,” which premiered in 2019. “Love Takes Flight” was also a Hall of Fame movie that premiered in 2019.
The synopsis for “A Christmas Love Story” reads: “Tony Award-winning Kristin Chenoweth stars as a youth choir director who needs to write a big song for a Christmas Eve show. She is distracted from her task when a boy with a golden voice joins her choir, which comes as a surprise to his widowed father, portrayed by Scott Wolf.”
Hallmark had two Hall of Fame features in 2018 — “Christmas Everlasting” and “The Beach House.”
They also had two in 2017: “The Christmas Train” and “Love Locks.”
Prior to that, they had at least one Hall of Fame special every year, sometimes as many as three. In 2001 and prior years, they sometimes aired four specials a year.
Hallmark notes that the Hall of Fame movies have been running for nearly 60 years since kicking off in 1951 with Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” Their version of “Hamlet,” which aired in 1953, was actually the play’s first time to be on TV. The franchise has also won numerous awards, including 81 Emmys.
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