Hallmark Fans Keep Asking Where Their Favorite Actors Are: What We Know

Four full months into 2024, Hallmark Channel fans are growing anxious about whether their favorite stars on the network will appear in new movies this year. With Hallmark executives interested in expanding the network’s talent pool by hiring new and younger actors for some of its projects, longtime fans have been increasingly vocal on social media, concerned that their favorites may get left in the dust.

Many fan-favorites have already appeared in movies this year or have revealed upcoming projects, from a “Three Wise Men and a Baby” Christmas sequel to a first-time pairing of Lacey Chabert and Kristoffer Polaha.

But others have been too quiet, according to fans online, so Heavy has done some digging to provide updates on 10 Hallmark fan-favorites who’ve been MIA so far this year.

Brennan Elliott’s Upcoming Mystery is a Mystery

Since joining Hallmark in 2013 for three seasons on the series “Cedar Cove,” per IMDb, Brennan Elliott has been a Hallmark staple, typically appearing in several movies or mysteries each year. In 2023, though, he only appeared in one movie — “Ms. Christmas Comes to Town” with Barbara Niven and Ashley Williams — and there’s been no official announcement of other projects in the work.

Elliott’s tempered schedule over the past year is likely due, in part, to him focusing on his family as his wife, Camilla Row, continues to undergo treatment for gastric cancer. The couple, who has young kids, kept Row’s first diagnosis in 2018 private. But when the cancer returned and was upgraded to stage 4 in 2022, they chose to go public so she could advocate for herself and others, she told Orange Coast Magazine in January.

After making five “Crossword Mysteries” with Chabert and three “Flower Shop Mystery” movies with Brooke Shields, Elliott has indicated that he’d love to be part of another mystery wheel. In March 2023, he told the Hallmark Mysteries & More podcast that he was working on developing a new franchise with Hallmark. He said at the time that getting all the wheels in motion was “slow-moving” but that he was “excited about it.”

In March 2024, prolific Hallmark producer Joel Rice confirmed on another episode of Hallmark Mysteries & More that he’s “developing something with Elliott that’s a mystery … with him as the lead” but couldn’t share any additional details.

Meanwhile, in recent weeks, Elliott ran into issues with his social media accounts, where fans frequently plead for him to appear in new Hallmark movies. Due to hackers, he had to shut down his account on X (formerly known as Twitter) and he had to make his Instagram account private. At the time of publication, there were also more than 100 fake Facebook accounts pretending to be the actor.

Alicia Witt Says She Hasn’t Been Offered a Christmas Movie in 4 Years

From 2013 to 2020, Alicia Witt was a regular in Hallmark Christmas movies, but the actress hasn’t appeared on the network since 2020’s “Christmas Tree Lane,” per IMDb, even though fans continually ask when she’ll be back.

Witt went through an unthinkable combination of tragedies in 2021, which pulled her away from acting for a while. In December 2021, Witt quietly began treatment for HER2+ breast cancer, per People, but did not publicly disclose her diagnosis until she’d finished six rounds of chemotherapy and a unilateral mastectomy. Weeks after her diagnosis, her parents were found dead in their Massachusetts home due to exposure to the cold, according to the Associated Press.

By late 2022, she was booking acting jobs again and fans began regularly asking whether she’d return to Hallmark soon. At the time, Witt tweeted that she may have gotten “lost in the shuffle” when leadership changed at Hallmark in 2020, and in early 2023 she told a fan she was hoping to do another Christmas movie soon.

Witt, who will appear in Nicholas Cage’s horror film “Longlegs” in July and has been busy promoting her music career, was included in multiple Hallmark events in 2023, sparking hope among fans that she was working with the network again. Witt attended a daylong field trip with fellow Hallmark stars to the company’s Kansas City headquarters in July and was photographed in December as part of the Hallmark family of actors at the December premiere of “Christmas on Cherry Lane.”

But when a fan recently asked her on Instagram if she’s going to be in another Hallmark movie, Witt replied on April 19, “my next movie is @longlegsfilm with nicholas cage, out july 12 in theaters nationwide ☺️ although christmas movies aren’t among the ones i’ve been offered over the last 4 years, they are so much fun to make and if that’s in the stars for the future i would always make time!! ❤️”

Ashley Williams is Filming New Movie After Launching ‘Make Her Mark’

Ashley Williams has become a beloved part of the Hallmark family, beginning with 2015’s “October Kiss,” per her IMDb. Though she appeared in two movies during the second half of 2023 — “Notes of Autumn” and “Mrs. Claus is Coming to Town” — Williams has been incredibly busy behind the scenes, too, developing and launching Hallmark’s “Make Her Mark” program for aspiring female directors.

As a director herself, Williams knows first-hand how hard it is for females to break into movie directing and find mentors willing to show them the ropes. So she’s worked with Hallmark on a unique program that allows amateur directors to shadow established directors on the set of a Hallmark movie, and eventually earn their own directors’ chair on a Hallmark movie.

The first person to go through the program was actress Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, best known for her role in Hallmark’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” mystery movies. After diving into the Make Her Mark program, Lowe recently directed her first Hallmark movie — “Shifting Gears.” On April 24, Williams posted a celebratory video on Instagram to announce that the program is now open to the public, accepting applications through May 6 from other women who hope to become directors.

Meanwhile, Williams has just begun filming a new Hallmark movie in British Columbia called “Autumn’s Gift,” per IMDb, co-starring “When Calls The Heart” star Hrothgar Mathews and Hallmark alum Paul McGillion. According to ACFC West, the movie shoot goes from April 29 to May 17 with Williams executive producing alongside her husband, Neal Dodson.

Tamera Mowry-Housley’s Back to Filming, Too

Former “Sister, Sister” actress Tamera Mowry-Housley has also become a Hallmark fan favorite since her 2019 debut on the network in “A Christmas Miracle.” In 2023, she co-starred with Chelsea Hobbs in “Dream Moms” and starred in her first mystery, “Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major.” 

Mowry-Housley loved filming the movie in Ireland, but didn’t get to promote it when it premiered in September due to the actors’ strike. A few weeks later, though, Mowry-Housley shared a bit about the movie on Instagram and gushed about the experience filming it with Hallmark.

She wrote, “I can’t thank you enough for letting this woman play one of her fav roles to date! Love me some #Gethsamane Brown.”

Though there hasn’t been any official announcement about a sequel, Mowry-Housley is currently on the set of a new movie. On April 22, the actress shared a selfie in her Instagram Stories and wrote, “Lord…I thank you. Thank you for the opportunities you’ve given me. #ilovemyjob”

Days later, she shared a photo of the “glam squad” on her “new film,” and on April 29, her husband, Adam Housley, posted on Instagram that she was away from home, “knocking out yet another movie and one you are going to love.”

Ryan Paevey Continues to Wait for Word From Hallmark on a 2024 Project

Ryan Paevey, who appeared on “General Hospital” from 2013 to 2018, has been a Hallmark staple for years. In 2023, he appeared in two movies for the network — “Fourth Down and Love” with Pascale Hutton and the holiday movie “Under the Christmas Sky” opposite Jessica Parker Kennedy. But so far, he hasn’t heard about any projects for 2024.

In mid-April, Paevey made headlines for tweeting to fans that he was considering taking an acting break because “the last 8 months of life in this industry have left a pretty bitter taste in my mouth.”

When fans on X asked if Hallmark knew he’s open to shooting another movie with them, he replied, “I mean, I’d like to think the powers that be know I’d happily do another film if they wanted me to.”

Paevey, who’s devoted much of his time to his Fortunate Wanderer jewelry business, received lots of love from fans on April 29 after sharing a vulnerable Instagram post about his mindset. It included a photo of the ocean at sunset.

“Nothing like a sunset surf with little bro to squash a deep depression,” he wrote. “Today turned out to be a pretty damned good day. And I got barreled on a longboard! A first for me….AND it did that thing where the sun shines through the back of the wave. Ya had to be there. Guess I’m a longboarder now. 🤙🏽🤙🏽”

When someone wrote, “Miss you making hallmark movies 😥,” Paevey replied, “hey me too.”

What We Know About Other Hallmark Stars’ Plans

Hallmarkies are patiently waiting for word on many other fan-favorites who haven’t appeared in a new Hallmark project in 2024. Here are several more updates on stars fans keep asking about.

Stephen Huszar has been busy filming new movies for Hallmark, including “Everything Puppies,” with Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes and Kathryn Davis, due to premiere on May 18. He’s also filmed a second mystery with Jodie Sweetin, “The Jane Mysteries: A Deadly Prescription,” per IMDb.

Bethany Joy Lenz, last seen in Hallmark’s holiday smash hit “A Biltmore Christmas,” spent April in Paris, filming a new movie with Hallmark newcomer Ben Wiggins. She shared multiple behind-the-scenes photos in her Instagram Stories with the cast and crew, and on April 16 she posted a photo in her feed with Wiggins, revealing that the movie’s title will be “Savoring Paris.”

Niall Matter was very busy in 2023, appearing in four Hallmark movies and the Paramount thriller “Double Life” with “When Calls The Heart” star Pascale Hutton, per IMDb. Fans have been campaigning online for a sequel to his and Janel Parrish’s early 2023 “Family History Mysteries.” Producer Joel Rice told the Hallmark Mysteries & More podcast he’s hopeful Hallmark will greenlight another, and both Matter and Parrish tweeted in March that they’ve got their fingers crossed, too.

Though Chris McNally can currently be seen every Sunday night as Lucas on season 11 of “When Calls The Heart,” many fans have wondered if he’ll be part of any separate Hallmark projects this year like some of his WCTH co-stars. Hallmark announced this week that he’ll co-star with Holland Roland in the new “Tipline Mysteries: Dial 1 for Murder.” The movie premieres on Hallmark Mystery on June 7, but Hallmark Movies Now subscribers can stream it starting on May 16.

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