Crown Media
Fans of “Murder She Baked” were thrilled to have a new Hannah Swensen movie on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries when the franchise returned. But if you’re wondering why the movie’s name was changed and is no longer part of the “Murder She Baked” series, there was actually a deliberate reason for the rebranding.
‘Murder She Baked’ Was Rebranded Because the New Movie Has Different Executives Involved
“Sweet Revenge: A Hannah Swensen Mystery” will be the sixth movie in the Hannah Swensen series. But although the first five movies were all called “Murder She Baked,” this new movie has a different name. Although it’s been about four years since the last movie aired, this new movie actually takes place just six months after “Just Desserts” ended.
In an interview with TV Goodness, Alison Sweeney revealed that the movie was rebranded because different people are involved this time around.
Sweeney said:
[The rebrand] was a product of it being a new production and having new people involved. “Murder She Baked” was a specific title to do with the previous executives and we weren’t able to keep it going. So we wanted to embrace the Hannah Swenson character and the Joanne Fluke novels — there are 28 of these books out there. So we’ve got lots of room to grow. We thought that [the new title would] help the audience remember it’s all about Hannah and her friends and this wonderful bakery and solving those mysteries and would be the right way to move.
The characters are still the same, Sweeney added, and the storyline takes place just six months after the last one left off. But there are a few new additions to the movie to help set it apart from the previous iterations. Sweeney shared that the new movie has a different musical score on purpose. She said they wanted a musical theme specific to this particular story.
“I really wanted to take a fresh look at the music and [that’s] reflected in this particular story,” she told TV Goodness.
This is also the first Hannah Swensen adaptation by screenwriter Marcy Holland, who didn’t write the previous movies, Sweeney added.
“She just got it right out of the gate,” she said. “When I read the first draft, I had this huge smile on my face the entire time.”
In a promo video, Sweeney assured fans that their favorite characters are the same, even with the name changed. She said: “Hannah Swenson is back. Same characters, and delicious mysteries you love, with a new name.”
She Said Everything Clicked When They Started Filming
Even though it had been years since making a new Hannah Swensen movie, Sweeney told TV Goodness that everything clicked when they started filming.
“I think the first scene I had with Cameron when Mike walks into the bakery and charms Hannah. It was so good and felt like we were right at home again. And I had that moment of realizing, ‘This is what the fans were missing and looking forward to.’ So I was really excited about that,” she said.
In fact, she added, it was only because of fans’ always asking for a new installment that they were able to make another movie.
In a press release from Crown Media, Sweeney shared: “The fans have been so vocal in their love of these characters and it’s exciting to be bringing them back to life and to return to Hannah’s bakery where it all began.”
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