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The Hallmark Channel premiered its first new winter movie for 2021 – Taking a Shot at Love — on Saturday, January 2, and now it’s re-airing. Read on to learn more about the movie, the cast, and where it was filmed.
The movie stars Luke Macfarlane and Alexa PenaVega. It’s re-airing multiple times this season, including on September 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern.
The movie’s synopsis reads: “Former professional ballet dancer Jenna works with NHL star Ryan Cooper to help him recover from an injury using ballet as therapy, and as they grow close, he helps her mend her injured heart. But when it’s time for Ryan to return to the ice and leave Jenna and her small, Connecticut town, they both must consider the paths they want to take and just maybe, love will find its way.”
‘Taking a Shot at Love’ Was Filmed in Canada
Taking a Shot at Love was filmed in Canada, a favorite location for many Hallmark movies. More specifically, the movie was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, according to What’s Filming. The screenwriter, Julie Wolfe, lives in Avon, Connecticut, and wanted the movie to help get the small town’s name out in the public, Hartford Courant reported. But the movie itself had to be filmed in Canada.
The film does include one moment from Connecticut: an aerial shot of the Hartford skyline, Hartford Courant reported. And extras wear Wolf Pack gear to help establish the setting.
They filmed in November and PenaVega dropped hints about the new movie on Instagram.
While she was filming, her husband Carlos PenaVega talked on Instagram about how much he missed her.
On October 25 he wrote: “Shout out to all the single parents out there! @vegaalexa has only been away for a little over 3 days and holy wow! So hard to get anything done besides making sure these two nuggets are taking care of! To the mom I saw last week with her three kids at the store, grocery shopping, feeding one kid and and chasing a another.”
Dan Quinn, a Vancouver-based stand-up comedian, shared that he played the role of a TV delivery guy in the movie.
He joked: “The box was empty so I really needed to act.”
Meet the Cast
Alexa PenaVega stars as Jenna. She has a long list of film and TV appearances to her name, including Twister, The Bernie Mac Show, ER, Ghost Whisperer, Spy Kids, Sleepover, Odd Girl Out, Walkout, The Pregnancy Project, Destination Wedding, and more. She and her husband Carlos headline the Hallmark series Picture Perfect Mysteries, and they’ve starred in Hallmark movies together, like Enchanted Christmas.
In a behind-the-scenes trailer, PenaVega admitted that she knows nothing about hockey, so her character in the movie was pretty true-to-life. In fact, she said that filming the movie marked her first time in a hockey arena. She and Macfarlane both agreed that the candlelight scene was one of their favorites in the movie.
PenaVega recently announced that she’s pregnant and expecting her third child, Us Weekly reported.
Luke Macfarlane stars as Ryan. He’s starred in many Hallmark movies, including A Shoe Addict’s Christmas, Just Add Romance, Chateau Christmas, Sense Sensibility & Snowmen, and more. Macfarlane’s many credits include Killjoys, Mercy Street, The Night Shift, The Birthday Wish, The Mistletoe Promise, Kinsey, Smash, Person of Interest, Over There, Supergirl, Tanner and Tanner, Brothers & Sisters, and Maggie’s Christmas Miracle, and Broadway and off-Broadway plays.
While quarantining in June before filming Chateau Christmas, Macfarlane shared that he brought his cello along so he could pick up his skills again while cut off from society. He demonstrated his cello-playing skills quite masterfully in Chateau Christmas.
Also starring in the movie are:
- Nolen Dubuc (Felix)
- Heather-Claire Nortey (Erin)
- Andrew Dunbar (Matt)
- Kurt Long (Terry)
- Kristina Lao (Laura Clark)
- Nelson Giles (Thomas Juliano)
- Tyler McClendon (Chris WP Coach)
- Dan Quinn (TV Delivery Guy)
- Tiffani Timms (Other Mom)
- Marc Gaudet (Coach Jackson)
- Dayleigh Nelson (Felix’s Dad)
- Candace Chase (Parent)
- Abigail Smith (Little Kid)
- Kaiel Barreiro (Hockey Kid #1)
- Jarrod Evanyshyn (Hockey Player)
- Susie Lee (Mayor Andreen)
READ NEXT: Hallmark’s Schedule of New Movies for January 2021