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Hallmark Media made a series of big announcements during the 2024 TCA (Television Critics Association) Summer Press Tour. One of the biggest announcements by Hallmark was news about a new streaming service being launched. It will feature points and prizes based on viewers’ watching certain movies and films. One of the first shows on the new service will be a long-rumored Christmas series.
Hallmark Movies Now Will Be Folded Into the New Service
Hallmark currently has a streaming service called Hallmark Movies Now. That service will be transformed into the new streaming platform, Hallmark+ (or Hallmark Plus), Variety reported.
The streaming service will also see a cost increase. While Movies Now plans start at $59.99 a year or $5.99 a month, the new plans will start at $79.99 a year or $7.99 a month, Variety reported.
The new service will launch in mid-September, but a specific date hasn’t yet been announced.
It will also have a game-ified element to it, Emily Longeretta of Variety shared. Viewers will be able to earn rewards and points as they watch, which will be used as coupons for Hallmark stores.
Members will also get monthly $5 coupons to the Hallmark Gold Crown Store, unlimited eCards, surprise gifts and shopping rewards, Variety reported.
Hallmark CEO Mike Perry said during the TCA panel that he’s optimistic about launching this new streaming platform, even when other networks are pulling back on streaming.
A Christmas Series Will Be Featured on the New Service
The new streaming service is also going to feature a limited Christmas series called “Holidazed,” Variety reported. The series will be about six families who come together for the holiday. Erin Cahill, Holland Roden, John C. McGinley, Ian Harding, and Dennis Haysbert will be among the stars.
Rumors about “Holidazed” have been circulating for awhile. Back in 2022, Hollywood North Buzz reported that the series was starting to film in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The series was directed by David Weaver, and at the time it was believed to be about five families (though now it’s six.) The filming schedule was set for September 19 through December 12, 2022.
According to IMDb, Weaver has directed the Brennan Elliott/Amanda Schull movie “Marry Go Round.” He’s also directed “Butlers in Love,” “Open by Christmas,” “Raise a Glass to Love,” “Wedding March 6,” “Playing Cupid,” “If I Only Had Christmas,” “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas,” “Christmas Town,” Bottled with Love,” and more.
Erin Cahill also teased the series back in December 2022. She posted a photo on Twitter with an envelope that read “Ep 101.”
Because she referred to an episode rather than a movie, many viewers believed she was talking about “Holidazed.”
The Streaming Service Will Also Feature Reality Shows
The app will also feature a number of unscripted reality series, including ones hosted by Lacey Chabert, Jonathan Bennett, Wes Brown, Ashley Williams, and Luke Macfarlane, Variety shared.
Chabert’s series will honor real-life heroes and it will be called “Celebrations with Lacey Chabert.” Chabert said she was “slightly terrified” on her first day of filming.
Brown’s series will travel to impressive festival displays and Bennett’s will search for the next leading Hallmark man. Bennett joked in response to press questions that since he’s gay, the winner could be gay too, but he’s not going to spoil the ending. His series will be called “Finding Mr. Christmas,” Hallmark shared during the panel.
Williams’ series will try to set up adult kids in small towns. Macfarlane’s will be about home renovations.
The new series “Chicken Sisters” will also premiere exclusively on Hallmark+, shared @insidethetube, who writes for TV Guide and other publications.
But Hallmark Media representatives also noted that productions that premiere as exclusives on Hallmark Plus will get secondary runs on linear cable too, shared Marisa Roffman, who attended the event.
Hallmark’s deal with Peacock will also not be affected by the new streaming service.
The announcement of Hallmark+ also doesn’t mean that TV programming is ending. Hallmark’s main focus will still be linear cable networks, and they’re planning 100 movies and series throughout the year, including 40 for Christmas, Hallmark Media shared during the panel.
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