Kristoffer Polaha on Hallmark’s New Approach to Mysteries & Future of ‘Mystery 101’

The last “Mystery 101” movie that aired on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries left fans with a major cliffhanger. With so many mystery series being canceled, fans can’t help but wonder if this series will ever return. Kristoffer Polaha shared his insight into the show’s future, along with the changes happening with Hallmark mystery movies in general.

He Said Hallmark Is Changing Its Approach to Mystery Movies

When Kristoffer Polaha appeared on The Hallmarkies Podcast in December, he shared some hints about what might be in store in the future of “Mystery 101.”

Polaha started out, around eight minutes into the video above, talking about the changes happening with Hallmark mystery movies. He said there’s a focus on making the movies more interesting and having less redundant storylines.

“I’m speaking so out of school right now, because I do not work for Hallmark other than I am a brand ambassador as an actor for them. … I hope to be in business with them for many years to come,” he started out, emphasizing that he is not speaking for the network in any official capacity.

“I don’t know the ins and outs of what they’re doing day to day,” he continued. “I know that they are rejiggering their approach to mysteries. … As a viewer I think you can see a lot of redundancies between the different mysteries. It’s like a girl with a quirky job meets up with a cop and then they solve crimes together. … I think the idea is, ‘Why don’t we do mysteries and just make them a little more interesting or a little more diverse… Let’s just kind of mix up the formula.'”

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He Believes ‘Mystery 101’ Will Continue

The hosts of the podcast asked Polaha about his thoughts about the cliffhanger, since the “Internet exploded” when the ending aired, they shared.

“I can tell you that we will make more,” Polaha said, adding that he wasn’t speaking in any official capacity.

He continued, saying:

But I do know that ‘Mystery 101’ has performed really, really, really well for the network. They get big numbers rating-wise, and they sell overseas internationally. And I think for a few conversations I’ve had with people at the network that there’s still very much a heartbeat in the show, and still very much love to continue telling the story of Travis and Amy and Graham. And so there will be more. I think that the fans can take a deep breath and know that there is more to come.

He said the cliffhanger ending surprised him when he first read the script.

“I read it and I said, ‘Holy cow, wait a minute, what?'” he recalled.

He added that John Christian Plummer has already written the eighth movie, and Polaha knows what’s going to happen.

“I know what happens, I could spoil it for everybody,” he joked. “…We have number eight. Number eight’s locked and loaded, it’s written, it’s ready. And when you hear what he [Plummer] has done with it, you guys will be…the payoff is worth all of the driving.”

Then he reminisced a bit on how excited he was that Hallmark allowed them to end the last movie with such an unexpected twist.

“How cool is it that we got away with that on a Hallmark Mystery movie?” he said. “…We took something that everyone was expecting to go one way, and did something completely different with it. And yes, people are upset, people have threatened never to watch again… There is anticipation for what’s to come… I think it was a brilliant move on John’s part…”

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