Hallmark Hallmark's Alexa PenaVega, Nikki DeLoach and Andrew Walker
Hallmark fans have lots to look forward to in the New Year. The network has already announced the premieres of several original movies in January 2023, including a new trio of “Wedding Veil” movies, but it also just unveiled six new movies scheduled to premiere in February. The original films will debut during Hallmark’s annual “Loveuary” event, including a highly-anticipated sequel to 2022’s popular “Curious Caterer” mystery starring Nikki DeLoach and Andrew Walker. Here’s what you need to know:
Hallmark Channel to Premiere Multiple February Films, Including Romance Shot in Paris With Alexa PenaVega
HallmarkHallmark actress Alexa PenaVega
To celebrate the season of love, according to press materials from Hallmark Media, a new romantic movie will debut each Saturday during the month of February 2023 on Hallmark Channel and two original films will premiere on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
Here’s what to watch for on Hallmark Channel, with each new movie starting at 8 pm Eastern:
First up, on February 4, is “Sweeter Than Chocolate” about a TV reporter who investigates a local bakery that’s rumored to have the secret recipe for finding true love. The movie features Hallmark regulars Eloise Mumford and Dan Jeannotte, along with Brenda Strong, whose best-known TV roles include playing narrator Mary Alice Young on “Desperate Housewives” and Nora Walker in “13 Reasons Why.”
On February 11, popular Hallmark actress Alexa PenaVega stars in “A Paris Proposal” alongside Hallmark newcomer Nicholas Bishop, a British actor who’s had many supporting roles on TV shows including “Truth Be Told” with Octavia Spencer. In the movie, the two play advertising agency colleagues who are sent to Paris to pitch the biggest deal of their careers, but have to pretend they’re married due to a communication glitch.
PenaVega was away from her husband, Hallmark’s Carlos PenaVega, and their three kids for 23 days to shoot the movie. At Hallmark’s October “Countdown to Christmas” kickoff event in New York City, PenaVega told reporters that she was about to leave for a movie shoot in Paris, and in November, she revealed how hard it was to be away from her family, filming a new movie for three weeks.
The next Saturday, February 18, is the premiere of “Valentine, Nebraska,” about a woman heads home to Nebraska after losing her job and boyfriend in the same week. The movie stars Markian Tarasiuk, who appeared in November’s “Our Italian Christmas Memories” on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and new-to-Hallmark actress Kathryn Davis, who has recently starred in romantic movies on Lifetime and UpTV.
On February 25, the fourth and final “Loveuary” movie on Hallmark Channel will be “Made for Each Other,” about a sculptor who uses magic to mold her ideal man into reality. The movie stars Alexandra Turshen, who’s appeared in multiple dramatic TV series including Netflix’s “Partner Track” and Amazon Prime’s “Red Oaks.” It will also feature Matt Cohen, who appeared in 2019’s “Holiday Date,” well-known actress Illeana Douglas who appeared in “Just One Kiss” this past spring, and Aaron O’Connell, who’s new to Hallmark.
Nikki DeLoach & Andrew Walker to Reprise Roles in New ‘Curious Caterer’ Mystery
HallmarkNikki DeLoach and Andrew Walker in “The Curious Caterer: Dying for Chocolate”
Over on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, fans will find two more original movies, including a surprise sequel. DeLoach and Walker return in a follow-up to “Curious Caterer: Death By Chocolate,” a mystery that premiered last April and has had fans asking for a follow-up ever since. According to the It’s a Stampede blog, when the movie first aired, Twitter was flooded with fans asking for the movie to become a series.
They’ll get their wish with “Curious Caterer: Grilling Season,” premiering on February 5 at 9 pm Eastern, in which DeLoach returns as professional caterer Goldy Berry. After throwing a posh outdoor barbecue for a childhood friend who later dies when the backyard grill mysteriously explodes, Berry partners again with detective Tom Schultz, played by Walker, to try to clear up suspicions that she had something to do with the accident and to find the real culprit.
This will be the duo’s fifth Hallmark movie together. Last year, before the first “Curious Caterer” movie premiered, Walker told Southern Living magazine that he and DeLoach discussed the script together and decided it was a definite yes.
“I feel like it was such a gift to be able to do it with Nikki,” he told the magazine. “We said…because we’d already done three movies together, we have the trust of the audience, so let’s try to do something and bring something to people that’s much different than anything they’d ever seen us in.”
In addition to the “Curious Caterer” movie, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will also premiere “A Nashville Legacy,” produced under the Mahogany brand, on February 26 at 9 pm Eastern. Starring Canadian actress Amanda Lewis, who first rose to fame on “DeGrassi: The Next Generation,” her character will dig deeper into the stories her late grandmother used to tell about coming of age in Nashville’s rich music scene during the 1950s. The movie also features Pooch Hall, Stan Shaw and Roz Ryan.