Hallmark Hallmark mysteries
Hallmark fans were devastated when they learned that the “Mystery 101” series was canceled. But they’ve been holding out hope that another fan favorite — “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” — will still have more installments. A Hallmark executive recently shared the network’s plans for the latter series’ future, while also revealing why they decided it was time for “Mystery 101” to come to an end.
Hallmark’s CEO Wonya Lucas Talked About the Cancelation of ‘Mystery 101’
In an interview with The U.S. Sun, Hallmark CEO Wonya Lucas revealed why the network decided to bring “Mystery 101” to a close.
“Well, we hadn’t done it in a long, long time, right?” she told The Sun. “And we just brought the mysteries back. So, we’re just looking at mysteries a little differently now… We’ve created some new mysteries, in addition to some that we’ve had in the past. So, it’s just an evolution of our mysteries. We’re just doing a lot of new things.”
The seventh movie in the “Mystery 101” series — starring Jill Wagner and Kristoffer Polaha — had ended on a cliffhanger in August 2021 that made it look like Amy and Travis had broken up. Fans wanted to see the mystery resolved.
Interestingly, Polaha had hinted in December 2021 that Hallmark was changing its approach to mysteries.
When he appeared on The Hallmarkies Podcast in December, he said: “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… 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.”
At the time, however, he thought “Mystery 101” would continue.
Thankfull, screenwriter John Christian Plummer has revealed how he planned to wrap up that cliffhanger that was left in the seventh movie. You can read what he shared in Heavy’s story here.
Hallmark’s CEO Is Hopeful About the Future of ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’
In contrast with “Mystery 101,” Lucas is much more hopeful about Hallmark’s history with the “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” franchise. In her interview with The U.S. Sun, she said Hallmark planned to bring back another installment in the series.
“We’re pretty excited about that,” she told The Sun when they spoke on the red carpet of the Broadcasting + Cable Hall of Fame ceremony. “…I will tell you, the POstables are alive and well. They send me notes, they send me pictures, every time I go to my office, they’re there… So, we are really listening to our fans and leaning into the fandom.”
Fans are still pulling for “Mystery 101,” however. When Hallmark Movies & Mysteries had a poll on June 9, 2023, on Twitter asking fans which mystery they’d describe as “10/10,” many responded with “Mystery 101.”
Name a Hallmark Mystery that you’d describe as “10/10, no notes”
Other fans mentioned “Family History Mysteries,” “Aurora Teagarden,” “The Gourmet Detective,” “The Cases of Mystery Lane,” and more.
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