Heavy/Getty Cameron Mathison will be replaced by Victor Webster as Alison Sweeney's "Hannah Swensen Mysteries" co-star
Plot twist! Two months after actor Cameron Mathison surprised Hallmark fans by signing a movie deal with Great American Family, the fledgling network started by former Hallmark Media CEO Bill Abbott in 2021, TV Insider revealed on February 1, 2024, that Victor Webster will “replace” Mathison in its popular “Hannah Swensen Mysteries.”
Many fans had hoped that Mathison’s new deal wouldn’t preclude him from filming his ninth “Hannah Swensen” movie with Alison Sweeney, who plays the crime-solving bakery owner. But others have enthusiastically reacted to the change-up, pointing to her onscreen chemistry with Webster in Hallmark’s “Wedding Veil” movies in 2022 and 2023.
Sweeney, Webster and other “Hannah Swensen” regulars have recently teased on social media that they’ve been busy filming in Vancouver. The movie they’re filming, per TV Insider, is Webster’s first movie in the franchise, called “One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery,” to premiere later this year. However, according to TV Line, he won’t directly replace Mathison in his role as detective Mike Kingston.
Here’s what you need to know:
Victor Webster Will Play a New Character in Upcoming ‘Hannah Swensen’ Mystery
This isn’t the first bump in the road experienced by fans of Hallmark’s “Hannah Swensen Mysteries,” which is based on a series of over 30 books written by Joanne Fluke since 2000.
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries adapted five of Fluke’s books for a series of “Murder, She Baked” movies between 2015 and 2017, with Sweeney starring as crime-solving bakery owner Hannah and Mathison appearing as her fiancé. After a four year hiatus, Hallmark rebranded the franchise as “Hannah Swensen Mysteries” and released a new movie, “Sweet Revenge,” in August 2021 starring Sweeney and Mathison.
After another two year wait, many fans were up in arms over a cliffhanger in May 2023’s “Carrot Cake Murder,” when Hannah broke up with Mike at the end of the movie. However, the franchise quickly returned with “A Zest for Death” in early October, in which the engaged couple mended fences.
That movie, however, ended with Mike leaving Lake Eden, allegedly headed to Quantico for FBI training, which will explain his absence in the new movie, according to TV Line. Rather than directly replace Mathison in the role of Mike, Webster will appear as a new character — Lake Eden’s prosecuting attorney, Chad Norton.
“The great chemistry Alison and Victor had in ‘The Wedding Veil’ trilogy made the decision to bring him into this world an easy one,” added Laura Gaines, Director of Development for Hallmark Media, told TV Line. “It will be fun for viewers to see a different side of the legal process as Hannah learns the recipe for a strong case.”
Alison Sweeney Says She’s ‘Thrilled’ Victor Webster Has Joined ‘Hannah Sweeney’ Cast
HallmarkAlison Sweeney and Victor Webster in “The Wedding Veil Journey”
Though the news has been jarring to some fans who’ve expressed their dismay on social media, it does reflect the story arc of Fluke’s book series, in which Mike and Hannah do eventually break up.
The latest movie will be the first one Sweeney has written for Hallmark, per TV Line, so it’s likely the casting twist was already in the works before Mathison announced his deal with Great American Family.
But the film will include the return of other familiar faces including Gabriel Hogan as Hannah’s best friend Norman, Barbara Niven as her mom Delores, and Tess Atkins and Lisa Durupt as Hannah’s sisters, Michelle and Andrea.
Webster and Sweeney have known each other for over two decades. He first rose to fame on “Days of Our Lives in 1999 and 2000, when she was also part of the soap opera’s cast. He has appeared in many Hallmark movies since co-starring with Candace Cameron Bure in 2012’s “Puppy Love,” per IMDb, and in the more recent “Wedding Veil” movies, he played Sweeney’s love interest and eventual husband.
“I’ve always loved working with Victor – from our years in daytime to our work together on ‘The Wedding Veil,'” Sweeney said in a statement to TV Insider. “When writing the script and developing this movie, I knew he’d be a great addition to the Hannah Swensen family, and am thrilled that he said yes.”
When Webster shared the news in his Instagram Stories, he wrote, “Love working with @alisweeney. Always present and in the moment. She also wrote this awesome script and is producing. #forceofnature”
And there seems to be no love lost between longtime colleagues Mathison and Webster. After Webster posted an Instagram photo on January 31 of himself studying lines with a crew member on the set of “One Bad Apple,” Mathison commented on the post the following day as news began to spread of his absence from the cast.
“Love you both,” he wrote, and Webster replied, “Right back atcha!”