March 26, 2024 • 44 mins
It is not every day you can talk to a Hallmark trailblazer that has created not one, but two of the most iconic sleuthers in Hallmark History: Hannah Swensen and Alex McPherson (Chronicle Mysteries).
But that is exactly who Alison Sweeney is.
We learned that, unlike most Hallmark talent who are simply cast in their roles, Alison actually creates her characters and stories and pitches them to Hallmark. Her true driving force is her fans, and she makes sure she creates stories that appeal to them.
We, of course, dive into the new Hannah Swensen mystery, One Bad Apple. We chat about the casting of Victor Webster to replace Cameron Mathison, the return or Norman and Andrea, and her first foray into writing a mystery.
And it wouldn't be a Hallmark Mysteries and More podcast if there wasn't at least one big clue to get sleuthers excited.
Follow us on social media:
Instagram and TikTok: @hallmarkmysteriesandmore
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Or visit our website.
This podcast was created by fans for fans and is NOT affiliated with or sponsored by Hallmark or the Hallmark Channel.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello Luthers today is amazingbecause we are talking to the
one the only Alison's mean, shehas created not one, but two
iconic sleuthing characters withHannah Swenson and Ella Pearson
from the Chronicle mysteries.
Today's interview is superinteresting. She's a fascinating
(00:23):
person who gets a very big clueat the end of this interview
with something that is upcoming.
So put your suit their hats on.
Turn your volume off. Thispodcast was created by fans
porque is not affiliated with orsponsored by Hallmark, or the
(00:48):
Hallmark Channel. Today isamazing. It has been over a year
in the making. We had, we'resupposed to talk to Allison last
year, and then strike happen andall sorts of things. So we are
so excited. awesome to have youhere to talk about one bad apple
how're you doing today?
(01:10):
I'm fantastic. Thanks so muchfor having me on.
I have to say this is a biginterview for us too, because my
wife is not a hallmark fan. Andso when I when I do these, I'll
say the actor whoever said likeokay, that's nice, nice. And
then I said ahead you and she'slike, I know her from your life.
So you're one of 2x two actorsthat she knows the other. She
(01:34):
only knows as the hot guy, whichis Kristoffer Polaha. And she's
like, Yeah, gotta get him. Yeah,she's just like, she doesn't
really know anything that is andshe just knows that. He's the
hot guy.
So that's a nice guy. I loveKris.
But you have not been in. Right,right?
No, no, I haven't. But he ismarried to his hot wife who used
to be on days of our lives toshoot him as Julianne character.
(02:00):
On days were alive. Oh my gosh.
This is pulling out my trivia.
She was I remember her swampgirl. But I know Greta, that was
her name. Greta. So tell yourwife Greta is real life husband
is Kris blah.
I will have to do that. Speakingof data life, how does Hallmark
(02:21):
or the producer go ahead and getevil Sam, Sammy Brady, and think
oh, this is a perfect you know,actor to come over on the
Hallmark channel because I havenot myself watched it. But for
now. I've heard you're not themost likable. Yeah, you're
right. So it was a long timecoming. I love Hallmark movies.
(02:45):
And we had been working to tryto figure out the right timing
because I the thing aboutfilming digital lives is that
you essentially work all yearround. There wasn't really an
opportunity for me to take timeoff to do something else. And
they were just really alwaysvery supportive at Hallmark.
Like we'll figure it out. We'llfind the right time. And then we
(03:07):
finally did and actually myfirst movie with Hallmark was
with my soon to be co star doesrealize he played his name is
Greg Vaughn. And these arestories that you're the fans
will know that you don't. But heended up playing my brother, my
twin brother, I didn't realize.
But luckily before we workedtogether as siblings, we had a
romance on my very firstHallmark movie that went through
(03:31):
several different name changes,but I think it was called the
hearts of fire at one point. Andit was so much fun. So that was
my first my first introductionto Hallmark.
And then he became your brother,twin brother. And then it Yeah,
so it's just sucha soap opera like such a just
Toby thing that ended uphappening. That was hilarious.
(03:52):
All right. Well, now you know,like, basically a decade later,
you're one of the main Hallmarkactors. So I'm sure when it
comes around to the holidayseason, then they're like, hey,
Alison, you want to be in one ofour movies? You get sort of to
choose which one you want to beand what do you look for when
(04:12):
you select which movie to be in?
So my situation is a little bitdifferent. I actually bring
ideas to homework. I like todevelop my own content. And so
mostly I produce my own moviesfor homework and I bring them
ideas of things that I want tobe in and projects I like or
scripts I like or ideas andstories I like and I I bring
(04:36):
them to the network and thedifferent executives that are in
charge of either Christmas ormysteries or whatever. And I
pitched them ideas for themovies that I want to be in.
Luckily they normally love youknow, hopefully, we have a great
reaction. I like to say that Iunderstand the homework.
(04:58):
Hopefully I understand thehomework Dance. But I certainly,
you know, work really hard tounderstand the Hallmark, you
know, the executives and whatthey're looking for. And I
always sort of start theconversation with what kind of
movies do you want? What do youhave already developed for this
Christmas? Where can I, youknow, do something that's a
little different. Where can Ifit in? And so that's, you know,
(05:20):
that's how those conversationsstart.
Interest. I knew you produced alot of them, but I didn't
realize like you're there.
That's your fancy. Very good. Ithink you're reading my
questions, because my nextquestion your perfect lead into
it. So Hallmark gets a lot ofChris criticism for being
formulaic. Yet. A lot of othernetworks. And even like some of
the big streamers, try to copyit. But no one can actually do
(05:43):
it. Right. So they make a movie,that should be the same thing.
Sometimes the same actorssometimes are the same writers.
But it doesn't quite have thatHallmark magic. How do you
explain how Hallmark can justget it right? And yet others
seemingly have such a hard timewith that?
I think that peopleunderestimate the Hallmark
(06:05):
Immune Formula is just not theright word. But there is any
magic, I feel it's true. But itthere's a lot that goes into and
I think they that Hallmarkmovies are very much
underestimated. You I getpitched all the time. Like, oh,
I could write a Hallmark movie,oh, I have an idea for a
Hallmark movie. And you're like,okay, great, and then they pitch
it to you, and you're like, butthat's the very beginning of an
(06:28):
idea. Like, that isn't enough.
You know, the homeworkexecutives work really hard on
challenging us when we write ascript, or when we bring them an
idea. You know, there's so muchwork that goes into it. So it is
never as simple as like, as itseems. And I think that's what
lends itself to that magic thatyou're mentioning, and that the
(06:48):
audience has come to expect anddemand from especially the
Christmas movies, but all yourmountains, you know, we we
never, certainly I worked reallyhard not to underestimate the
audience, I work really hard tomake sure that I satisfied the
things they want from a Hallmarkmovie, but maybe in a new and
different way and that theydidn't anticipate or just
(07:09):
something to keep people ontheir toes and give them a
little unexpected flair alongthe way. And while still
bringing them the joy, theChristmas joy or the romance or
all of the above the familydynamic that they have come to
look forward to in these movies.
(07:30):
We are here to talk about onebad apple and Hannah Swinson.
But one of my favorite mysteriesis chronicle mysteries, and a
lot of other people love it. Itis Thank you. It is one of the
best. But I have to ask, is ittrue that you got canceled
because Alex was getting to thepoint where she had a kiss Drew
and you just wanted nothing todo with Benjamin and you're
(07:52):
like, cancel the series? Can'tgo there
is stuff to go? No, of coursethat's not true. But
all right, and honestly, fromwhat we've heard, it's not
officially canceled. That'sright, it as far as I've heard,
it's not officially canceled. Ithink, you know, I don't
disagree with Hallmark bit. Inthe world of the mysteries, it's
(08:15):
probably confusing and weird tohave me star in two different
mystery series. But I don't seea problem with that. But I'm
happy to not I just I am happyto make the movies that you know
the that they're asking forright now and keep my options
(08:35):
open. So hopefully, I love thestory of Alex and drew, I love
those. I love that wholepremise. And I thought it was a
lot of fun. So and I you know,of course, I'm obsessed with
True Crime podcasts. So I haveplenty of ideas, waiting in the
wings for another had cast forAlex. But you know, that's not
(08:56):
where your homework is rightnow. So I'm happy to be focusing
on Hannah and have Alex readyfor whenever, whenever they need
her. Well, Iwill say and you can use this as
ammunition and we just talkedclay to Lisa Hamilton Daly last
week and she said that they aregoing to be bringing back some
(09:17):
of the older mysteries but asLuthers it has never been an
issue of you being in both andbeing confused. Like oh, there's
Hannah. Oh, wait, there's Alex.
So from I'll say the fanstandpoint, there's absolutely
no hesitation and I speak forevery single fan out there. I've
(09:38):
been I've been voted the voiceso I love it. Thank you. Now
from you though, from you. Wasit challenging? Like Like I said
from from us as a fan? It wasn'tchallenging, but for you was it
challenging? Doing bothmysteries?
Um, no, I I see them verydifferently. They're very
(09:59):
different. characters, I thinktheir stories are very
different. What I really likedabout because, you know, I
developed the Chroniclemysteries series from ground
zero with Melissa salmons, whois a very talented writer, who
I've done a ton of movies withand Craig Baum garden, my
producing partner. And we lovethe idea that Alex is a
(10:21):
podcaster it felt a little freshand modern and, and relevant to,
you know, what people aretalking about now in the, you
know, all the Netflixdocumentaries that are like, it
just felt like a really relevantway to bring in sort of the
modern armchair detectivefeeling, but still in a very
Jessica Fletcher way, you know,I mean, it just, it felt really
(10:46):
relevant. And, and then yet veryHallmark. So I stand by that
story, I said, I love thatworld. And I thought Alex, you
know, had a really interestingand different dynamic that she
brings to it. Whereas, you know,Hannah's a little more, she's
got all her family around her.
And, you know, she's embroiled,like, she's got all these people
(11:07):
coming into the cookie jar allthe time. And she's sort of, at
the heart of her community inLake Eden, I think that Alex is
a bit more a lone wolf. And thatwas sort of the compelling thing
for me with that storyline thatI loved was just she felt a
little bit adrift and on our ownand independent, and this whole
community of people at thenewspaper, like, pulled her into
(11:31):
their world and, you know, gavegave her a reason to stay in a
way that was really fun andtotally unique to me. Yes. And
while we love our, you know, ourbakers, Luthers, and that kind
of thing. There also was anappropriateness for Alex to be
out solving mysteries more, somaybe then, yes, a baker, which,
(11:55):
like I say, We love our cozymystery in that aspect. But it
just was a little more, andprobably is not the right word,
a little more sophisticated of amystery, because it's like, say,
a reporter and a podcast ordoing true crime. Totally makes
sense on a differentlevel. So yeah, that's exactly
how I felt to be so. Yeah.
So that's our new campaign thatwe have you on board and we
(12:16):
have, yeah. 2025 It's happening.
Okay. All right. Okay, you heardit here first. So awesome.
Murder, she bakes lash, HannahSwensen has evolved, you know,
it's almost a decade long ofmaking those, from your
standpoint, what has been thebiggest from the acting
standpoint, we'll get into someof the behind the scenes, you
know, the writing and all that,but what has been like really
(12:38):
the biggest difference you'venoticed from Hannah from the
beginning to, to now, how sheevolved?
Um, well, I do think that wewent from, you know, the very
first Hannah's content, and Ithink the books reflect this
also, you know, John, Luke haswritten these wonderful novels
(13:01):
that we've, you know, had theopportunity, the great good
fortune to bring to life, inthat I think, Hannah's come a
long way from chocolate chipcookie murder, which was the
very first novel, where, youknow, she sort of happened upon
this crime, it happened tosomeone she knew. And she was a
(13:22):
bit mixed up in as a suspect,and brought into it sort of
unwillingly, and then she sortof realized, like, I better
figure out what's going on here,because, you know, the cops
don't believe me. And so I thinkthat was a really natural way
into the story. And then alongthe way, you know, eight murders
(13:43):
later, um, she, I think theaudience expects her to learn a
little bit about what she'sdoing and expect more from
herself. And that was, that waspart of what we wanted in
telling the stories. And I thinkthat's the arc that Hallmark has
come to also with what the fanswant was, you know, that that
(14:06):
feeling of like, oh, that couldbe me. Everyone sort of loves
that about watching the moviesthat like they, you do want it
in the audience to feel like I'mthat armchair detective, I
could, so I could have figuredthat out. And I do want that.
But now the audience, they arewatching Dateline, they are
watching these Netflix, youknow, True Crime documentaries.
(14:27):
So I think the audience is sortof elevated their own
understanding of solving murdersand how to get the evidence, you
know, to convict someone. So Ithink it's fun to elevate Hannah
in that way also, and have herexpect more from herself. Do I
remember when I first startedmaking these movies? They didn't
want us to use words likesuspect you really wanted or
(14:50):
they wanted the words to stayvery, you know, like not cop
ish. And now I think we're all alittle more educated about like,
because Of all this just the popculture phenomenon, I think
everyone's a little moreunderstanding of, you know, the
the system and how it works andwhat those you know what a bolo
(15:12):
is, you know, you can people canfigure out, you know, be on the
lookout. And so it's just fun toinclude that in the in the
characters now.
Well, I think just in generalHallmark to has, especially the
last couple of years, become amuch different network than than
it was especially like themysteries we saw. You know, the
(15:33):
cases, Mr. Lane had a secret gayrelationship, which you never
would have saw back in 2015 daysand things. So yeah. Like
you said, you spoke to Lisaabout, you know, those, those
changes and what they're lookingfor moving forward. And for me,
it's all about what the fanswant to see and supporting that
and giving them you know, theexciting movies they want to
(15:56):
watch. That's what's, that'swhat's so rewarding to me.
So one of the things we cannottalk, Hannah Swenson and not
talk about Dolores, who is oneof our favorite we just did our
favorite sidekicks. And she wasthe one who made both of our
lists. She is Barbara Niven isessentially a national treasure.
(16:19):
And she's getting funnier andfunnier. I don't know if that
was a conscious, I'm sure it wasa conscious decision. But like,
just just tell us a little bitmore because we obviously love
her, but just make us love her.
A lot of them.
Yeah, there's no way not to loveher more. I, she makes me laugh
every day. I know, she does notalways play these roles. So you
(16:40):
know, I watched Chesapeakeshores. And it was so sincere
and real, you know, real dramacontent that she provides. But
for me, I always see her asDolores and she just cracks me
up. And so the I just want to beBarbara when I grew up, like
she's just brilliant. And sowhen I wrote this, this
(17:00):
particular movie, one bad applewith her in mind that I mean,
like, all of that was justcomedy that I could picture. I
was dreaming about Barbara Nivenand waking up and just writing
down. Like I said, you'vealready all acted this in my
head. So I know it's gonna workout great. Because she's just,
she's just so talented andfunny. And she made this happen.
(17:22):
Like she brought this brillianceto this character.
Yeah, like carrot cake.
Oh, that was I remember takingthat story, just so you know,
like, so that's in one of thenovels in one of giant flux
novels that Dolores writes aromance novel. And I remember
(17:43):
reading that and like almostfalling out of my chair. Like
the the movie just writes itselffrom that point. And so I
literally, you know, I had alittle bit more planned for
like, what the murder mysterywas going to be and stuff. But
basically, I just took that intothe homework and pitched them
that I was like to wait, I waslike, Wait, everybody just wait
to Loris writes a romance novel.
And now they were like, solet's, let's like everyone just
(18:06):
fell over dying and knew thatthat was just brilliant.
Brilliant. And so we had to makethat movie.
Speaking a carrot cake, though.
There was a lot of controversyat the end of that one. And I
will say, people were verydivided. There was like, team,
Hannah, team, Mike over, wasHannah just overreacting, or was
(18:28):
Mike just doing his job. Ipersonally was on Team Hannah.
But like going into it, or Ishould say coming out of it, you
had to know that it was going tobe quite a bit of of controversy
and fans were going to like,because it also just you know,
(18:51):
unbeknownst, sorry, unbeknownst,it also was right after the
announcement of mystery 101being cancelled. So bans were
already being whichI had no idea about, right? They
didn't. I was busy worryingabout my own, you know, choices
as a producer. And you knowwhat, honoring these books
where, you know, I mean, likeshe gets engaged, she gets
(19:14):
engaged, she marries some weirdowho turns out to like, not be
who he said he was. I mean,like, whatever these stories,
the Hannahs was a character inthe book go through a lot in 30
Plus novels. And so you know,that weighs on you and then are
you like, I'm a huge fan of TV.
(19:35):
I was on destroyers for so manyyears. I understand fan bases,
and I know how they feel and sowhen this you want to want to
happen I was like, and then youknow, our movie was just minding
its own business airing at thisI was like, Oh my God, that's
not fair. Why did this have tohappen? I was freaking out. And,
you know, I just really, I hopethe fans know and I hope they're
(19:59):
listening know that like,they're, they mean so much to me
and how they feel about thesemovies means a lot to me. But
But I want that for the longhaul, like, I am looking to make
30 of these movies. And so toprotect that sometimes you have
to do short term you to pull theband aid off short term, it's
(20:21):
Believe me, I get it. It'spainful, but hopefully they
trust me and give me a chance.
Well, I'll say that. It, we knewobviously, there was another one
coming because that was abeautiful thing that call Mark
said, hey there, too. We'recoming. So people had that. But
ending on that.
I was I was a big champion ofthat. I was like, you cannot air
(20:42):
this movie without announcingthe night. Like they have to
know they have to know now theyhave to know before they watch
it. Yeah, very strong.
Because that was a doozy of acliffhanger. And I think Hannah
was completely justified becauseI think Mike was not being
respectful of not communicatingall of that sort of stuff. So I
am okay. Thank you,Eric. Yes. All right. So it's
really but buddy, but evenwithin that story, it was really
(21:05):
important to me that it wasreally important to me that they
both felt they came to it froman honest point of view, right.
Like, I do think that Mike hadhis his own perspective that he
was trying to protect her. Hedidn't think it would go
anywhere. Like he thought it washe could. He didn't he didn't
want to upset her. And I totallysympathize with that feeling
(21:25):
from his point of view that hehe sort of thought it would all
work out. And it's not that heunderestimates her, it's that he
didn't want to explain himselfto his boss and, and so I felt
like they both came to thatargument with a real, legitimate
point of view. And that'simportant to me in the
storytelling. And again, Melissasalmons wrote that episode and
(21:46):
she did such a, I think such afinesse, finesse it, she
finessed it so well, to honorboth characters and that no one
was being a jerk about it, youknow, like, I felt like,
everyone came into it with areally sincere point of view.
And, and Cameron was sobrilliant in that scene, you
know, playing his ownfrustration, and then the
(22:08):
heartbreak of realizing hereally heard her. And then, you
know, my actual favorite part ofthat scene was the pad where he
brings her the cat house andstands there and looks at her
from the street, like, you know,live to fight another day, like
I loved I love that. That, tome, speaks of my soap roots, you
know, we love the drama of that.
(22:33):
I will say, and you can patyourself on the back. But the
final, I don't know, 15 minutesor so of the the acting in that.
You guys were both justabsolutely spectacular. Probably
some of the best, just darnright acting in one of the
hallmark mysteries. It wasfantastic. Thank you. Oh, that's
(22:54):
nice to hear. Thank you. Allright. But we are here to talk
about one bad apple, which iscoming out in two weeks. And
this is your first time writing,like officially, I guess
writing, we just spoke to NikkiLowe, who wrote her first
Hallmark mystery that Ericaabout a month ago now. And it
was interesting getting herperspective of switching sides,
(23:18):
you know, and I'm sure thatyou've produced enough and
you've been involved enough inthe creation. But really, what
was it like, sort of takingownership of the HANA character
that you you know, that you'vebeen for 10 years,
it felt there was a lot ofpressure and a lot of stress. I
can't wait to talk to Nickyabout her experience. But for
(23:39):
me, I felt a tremendous amountof pressure in the situation we
found ourselves in with bringingin Victor, introducing Victor to
the HANA universe was, you know,obviously a lot of
responsibility, but also pickingup where so many talented
writers have written thesecharacters and given you movies
(24:01):
that you loved, the fans haveloved over the years. So I felt
a lot of that pressure. But alsoI felt I was handed this
beautiful canvas of verytalented actors that are already
knew really well. So I could I'mnot kidding, I really did hear,
you know, Lisa drew plays mysister Andrea and Barbara. And
(24:22):
Michelle, like, I could hearthem in my head. So when I wrote
the family scenes, there's acouple of like, one liners that
Michelle has that just like, Ijust could hear, I could hear
the deadpan way that she playsit and like how that would fit
in, in the dynamic with Andreabeing, you know, her mother's
precious pride and joy and allthat, like all those dynamics
(24:42):
felt, you know, out on the redcarpet for me to just pick from
my favorite moments to puttogether in the story and so in
some ways I I know how lucky Iam to have to have had that all
mapped out for me already.
Having so one of the things isI've taken enough to where I
read the books. Now that are themysteries that are based on
(25:04):
books. And so I've read quite afew of the Hannah Swensen spec,
my daughter, and I, mydaughter's 26. She read them all
when she was young. And now weare just doing like a little
book club where we're readingthem together, going, going
through them. But if you do readthe books, and then you watch
the movie, many of them are notvery similar. Right? Right. So
(25:30):
like, with with one one badapple, that's Apple, or apple
turnover, murder, right? Like,a combination of two. It's apple
turnover. And I can't rememberthe other one. But it will. So
first of all, you know, wetalked to Joanne Fluke about all
of it along the way. But youknow, she started writing these
(25:54):
novels in the 80s, right, like,if you've had any conversations
about themystery novel, but with a
character who like literallydoesn't even have a cell phone,
nevermind, the smart is so many.
And that's true. Like, if youwatch Perry Mason or Columbo,
you'd be like, Oh, my gosh, oneGoogle search, and this mystery
is over, right. So like, the,the challenge to writing a
(26:17):
mystery in the 21st century isvery different from how, what it
was, like, you know, beforetechnology is what it is. So I
do feel a little bit a licenseto adapt stories. And then also,
you know, there's a lot ofcharacter development that isn't
appropriate for Hallmark. Andalso, you know, just not
(26:40):
appropriate for the era, we findourselves in 2024. So, you know,
all those things need to beadapted. And once you've gotten
that far, then, you know,they're just, it's going to be
different. And so I try to, Itry to take all the little gems
and the nuggets I can from fromher books, like, you know,
(27:00):
sometimes I can get great oneslike, I'm the one before carrot
cake was just desserts, maybe.
And that was the one where like,the trainer is found in hot
frame. And that's the scene thatwas Joanne flukes idea that's in
the book that she it's creamclock murder, and she's, you
know, found in a in a gym, hottub, and I was like, That is
(27:25):
brilliant, like, that's so greatand fun to be able to bring that
into, into the movie. And, youknow, so so each one has its own
strengths and things I can pullfrom, like, in this one in one
bad apple, the graveyard sceneis from is from the book. You
know, that was like, amazing.
(27:47):
And I didn't even know if wecould afford it, or if we could
do it, but I was like, if we canfind a graveyard like that would
be so cool. So I was so gratefuland lucky that it all worked
out. And you know, but there'sother things like, I kind of
wanted to surprise the audiencewith who the victim is in this
(28:08):
one. And so it was, that was abig challenge for me in terms
of, you know, hoping theaudience goes along for the ride
of like, what's gonna happen andwho are these characters in, you
know, where does Bradford andNorman fit in without like,
like, what's, what's this?
What's gonna happen, and thenboom, like, that was how I was
hoping it'll surprise theaudience.
(28:32):
So as we're talking about thebook, a lot of people do get
frustrated with Hannah and herin decisiveness, especially with
the like the love triangles, butwhen you read the books, she's
very indecisive and lit, likelosing both and so it's actually
I always countered people. Well,that is, you know, the mad, but
I'm like, That is who Hannahreally is. Right? Yeah, not
(28:54):
always clean. It's not alwayseasy. But I guess that's the
thing. And we said, Hannah'salso a little more than less a
floozy is, but not very Hallmarkkey, right? She didn't have to
adapt. And,and so and keep in mind that
like, I also have to berespectful and continue to get
joy and flute to agree to, youknow, want these movies to be
(29:19):
televised the way that we'reinterpreting this character, and
she has very strong feelingsabout who Hannah is and she has
a say in it also. So you know,that's an important element for
us to be respectful of and payattention to.
The other thing you were sayingis they were written started
well way back when and she hersare actually not as bad some of
(29:42):
the other cozy mysteries arejust certainly not appropriate
in today's day and age justbecause once again, we're in a
very different time so it's alittle bit easier, I guess,
probably with with with herbooks than some of the others to
adapt and not have to In acurious, cater is just darn
right. A vicious book? Oh geez,I didn't know that. Oh, yeah, it
(30:06):
has. Yeah. So it'll be use andlike, yeah, really bad stuff in
that one. So you have it alittle bit easier in this one?
Well, I'll take that. I'll keepthat in mind. So, yeah,
sorry. So you've written now inyou've obviously produce is
directing like the nextadventure for you.
(30:26):
I'm certainly it's when we talkabout all the time, I would love
to have that opportunity. AshleyWilliams, does an amazing
program with hallmark for femaledirectors. So it's certainly one
we've discussed quite a bit. AndI would love to take advantage
that opportunity at some point.
But I know and I try to bereally realistic about the way
that we film these movies is notlike a Ben Affleck movie where
(30:51):
he can star in it, or, you know,Clint Eastwood where they have
all the money and all the timein the world to like, go back
and sit there and watch thetapes over and over, like our
format is just not bad. So youcan I don't think it wouldn't be
comfortable for me to star in amovie that I was also directing.
Because I just wouldn't. That isthose are two jobs that really
(31:13):
do need to be simultaneouslyfocused on what they're doing.
So what Ashley has done wasdirect movies that she's not
starring in and I feel that'smuch more realistic. And so that
would have to be the way Ipursue it.
Are you trying to say that twoweeks is not plenty of time to
(31:34):
make a movie?
Right? It's not enough time.
It's definitely not enough time.
There. We are always, you know,rushing at the end, wishing we
had more time.
So a little off script here, butdoes the does your background
and the soaps and you're sayinghow you're always filming and
just the nature of that? Didthat prepare you more for the
(31:54):
Hallmark way of doing movies?
Can you talk to Brennan Elliot?
And he said there's verytalented actors who just cannot
survive in the Hallmarktimeline, and just the speed and
everything that So did that. Sobackground you think make you
more prepared and better suited?
Like without question it has,yes, absolutely. Being a part of
(32:17):
this of days was so crucial tomy education and my
understanding and the way I workthe way we're, you know, so
quick to adapt. You haven'tlived until you've been handed
four pages to memorize like, andby the way, we're going to shoot
that next. So get ready. Andonce you've done stuff like
(32:40):
that, everything else is. So youknow, we do talk a lot about how
fast we have to move and how wedon't have enough time to film
these movies. But I still go towork everyday like Oh, you
people like this is so muchtime. What are you talking
about? This is like, this is waymore time. I mean, we shoot 120
pages a day and days where livesand and on the movies is 10
(33:02):
pages a day, and people arepanicking. And I'm like, I
cannot get invested in panickingfor 10 pages a day. Like that's
just nothing. And so they Iregale people with stories all
the time about it. But that is,you know, that is what I think
you do have to develop. AndBrennan is a great example of an
actor who just is so quick onhis feet so smart and able to
(33:28):
deal with you know, what theformat that we are working in
and able to still do itnaturally and organically and
comfortably and make the actors,the actress they're working
opposite feel at ease andnatural and develop that kind of
rapport and relationship. Likeit all has to happen in such a
limited amount of time. And soyeah, you find people who are
(33:52):
good at it and you find yourselfjust wanting to work with those
people all the time.
You mentioned it before thatthere was a change with Cameron
and Victor is now the new one.
We can talk by the way about hisname being Chad, but that's a
whole nother discussion. It's acharacter from the book. Okay.
Oh, it is see I haven't readthis one. So okay. So yeah, it
is Chad.
(34:17):
Make something out of it thatyou did say you have truck you
did see you have creativelicense, but we'll let that
slide because once again, I amteam Hannah. But so you do bring
in Victor. And we coincidentlyhad done a post we pretty much
knew that some change was goingto be happening with camera and
and so we're who do we want? Andwe've wanted Victor in a mystery
(34:41):
for a while. And then there'syou in the wedding veil with
Victor which was just fire. Andso we said, oh, this is who I
should and it's kind of like Iwas talking before I
accidentally released. You knowthe thing about about curious
caterers so we said we did looklittle animation where it went
from Cameron, who dissolves intoVictor and said, This is what it
(35:04):
should be. And so our fans,first of all their heads
exploded. But then it wasuniversally like yes, we want
Victor. We want Victor and thenlike two weeks later it got
announced. Oh, hey, this iscoming out with Victor
crazy. You guys are you got it,sir. You should run the network
like you're doing. Yeah. Butalso that's exactly the reaction
(35:24):
I had when Hallmark approachedme about Victor's availability
and he might be interested like,what do you think I seriously
like was like, yes, yes. What dowe have to do? Yes, right now
call him back alone. Yes. Don't.
Don't let him do anything else.
Like,that, wasn't you? That's what my
question was. So you weren'tlike knowing that, hey, we're
going forward. I want Victor wewere so great here. This is the
(35:46):
guy so it was sort of they askedyou what was actually Hallmark?
Yeah, it was interesting remarksidea, which I just, you know, I
was still not at that stage yet.
I felt a little bit at sea withwhat to do. And it was Hallmark
that approached me with the ideaof like, we'll Victor's
(36:09):
available. Victor's an actor welove and, you know, what would
you think about, you know, usgoing to him? And like, as the
words were still hanging in theair, I was like, Oh, my gosh,
yes. We, yes. How do I make thishappen? And so then we
strategized about it. They werethey said, we have to, you know,
approach Victor ask him if he'dbe here, he does not know yet.
(36:30):
So like, I pitched and developedan idea of what his character
would be like, and we had ameeting with him and I pitched
it to him and he was verypositive and responsive and he
loved it and so and he said,Yes, so it was thrilling. I was
so excited. But yeah, that's howthat's how it happened. And I
(36:53):
just my gut just the same way Iguess you guys had that feeling
like the second the idea thebubble hit you know, when it
came to me I was like, yes, thatfeels so right and knowing
Victor having done the twomovies with him in the wedding
veil and you know, the fanreaction to those movies I just
like it just felt so right to meI wish I could take credit for
(37:15):
it being my idea it was not myidea but if it I just least I
know when to grab on to a goodidea apparently apparently was
already on Hallmark distillateso yeah.
Oh, good. Thank you. Thank youfor putting that in the universe
because you made it happen.
I will say that as I startedbefore with crisp Aloha being
like my wife Oh, the hot one andobviously very, very huge fan
(37:39):
base. Victor is Bertie muchright there with him? All you
have to say is Victor, andthat's like, good for an extra
like 100 likes on our on any ofyes, yeah, he's not a bad. So I
was going to ask if there wasany other candidates who were
considered but it sounds likeno, this is the one and and he's
(38:00):
so good. So I mean, he's perfectfor it perfect for
Yeah, he's perfect for it. He'sperfect for it. And he brings
that like, he just brings such anew and different chemistry to
the HANA universe, like I said,and just his, you know, like, he
just I really, right away was, Icould imagine how that was going
(38:22):
to go and how, you know, thecharacter how Chad would fit
into this world. And I just knewVictor could do it. And I was so
excited for you know, mixing itup in that way, giving him a
little more about skepticismabout Hannah was really fun to
me.
So we do have a new face there.
But we also have a couple oldfaces coming back with you have
Andrea and Norman back so that Iwill say from fans because
(38:48):
that's the other thing we willnever know not in it we always
get from their fans saying whereare they? Where are they? So
that's going to make people veryhappy. But what else can you say
just about this one? That shouldget all of us so excited.
Well this I do want to speak tothat because you guys you know
everyone's very sharp about TVand and I hope people understand
(39:13):
that is not that I don't wantevery actor in every movie. It's
just that when you're balancingout, you know 84 minutes of
programming like you have to berespectful of those characters
and and who do you have time totell a story about and so what I
felt with this one was like thatI really could tell an arc about
(39:33):
Norman in this movie and thatbringing Andrea back really did
you know fit into this thisworld, especially with the
lorises story arc of you know,becoming a detective like she
needs her daughter's there topanic about it. So I just felt
like, you know, Lonnie, becomingthe detective was also like a
(39:53):
really fun arc for me to bringhim his character on a little
bit. So I just felt like Youknow, I hope that the audience
knows. And I think I said thisat the beginning that I think
about them. And I think aboutyour fans and people who read
the books and the fans of themovies all the time, like,
there's not a decision I make,there's not a day that I don't
(40:14):
think about these movies that Iam not considering how they will
react and how they feel aboutit. And it matters to me so
much. I can't always do whateverybody wants in every single
scene and every single moment,but I hope they know that, that
not that I am considering theirfeelings about it all the time.
And so when I can give thepeople what they want, like,
(40:39):
believe me, it is the most joy Iget is Are those really fun
family dynamics are that thescene at the end of one bad
apple, I don't want to spoilanything. But like those kinds
of moments, I feel bring me suchjoy because I know the audience
is going to feel the same way Ifeel when I'm, you know, doing
it, they're going to feel thatsame feeling watching it. And
(40:59):
so, hopefully, hopefully, Iturned out to be right about
this one. But, um, but yeah,like, what I'm trying to create
as a world around Hannah andHannah universe of characters
that like when it's available,when when, you know, Gabe is a
busy guy with a lot of hit showsthat he's a partner to. So you
know, you have to make it worthhis while and get him in for the
(41:21):
story and, and include him andhe, you know, boy does he
deliver and I just love workingwith him. So I hope the audience
understands that I am trying to,you know, keep it keep it all
moving forward with the time andthe budget and the opportunities
that I have and how great andsuccessful all these actors are.
And keep keep it all mixed up sothat every time it's new, and
(41:43):
every time it's different, andand you know, we can we can keep
it going, hopefully a long timeto come juggling it all near
like that.
All right, look, I could not bemore excited. Alright. Last
question is, are there anyeaster eggs in there that maybe
you could give us a little youdon't have to tell us what is
being give us a little hint thatwe should be looking for.
(42:03):
So there is definitely an Easteregg shout out to Joe and Luke,
we have a little mention ofclever mystery books, with
delicious recipes in them. Sothat was a little shout out to
her that you'll find in it. Andthen I don't know, I feel like I
put in a lot of little shoutouts and mentions to previous
(42:26):
stories. I love like callbacksto earlier mysteries and earlier
situations they find themselvesin and so that it all comes back
around. So that so that's beenfun for me to include.
We'll be looking for thecallbacks to the other one and
seeing if we can figure outwhich which previous episode
(42:48):
that was for. Andthen there is a little tiny
shout out to what's to come inthe future. So you got to keep
there's a little little mentionof what's next.
Well, you're making 21 more ofthem. So 30 All right. This is
(43:09):
the very last question yes orno? Have you ever made one of
her Hannah's recipes from thebook? Oh,
yes, I have. And they'redelicious. And actually, my next
on my list mate is from thismovie. There's marshmallow
chocolate bars that are inmentioned in this rest in this
movie and one bad apple. And weall got the pasted. The crew was
(43:33):
like inhaling these desert. Iwas like, why is everyone you
know, where did the rest of theprops go? And they were like,
eaten up by the camera crew. Andso I was like, well, stabling,
for me. So I had a bite of it.
And it was the best dessert oneof the best desserts I've ever
had. So we do make her recipesall the time in the US. And that
one was reallygood. All right, I got there. I
just actually got the makings tomake her blueberry muffins. So
(43:54):
I'm gonna give that a go. Allright. So
interesting. What an odd choicefor you.
I think I'd read it was the onefrom the last one. I just read.
Because I'm rereading. I'm withmy daughter. Anything other than
the Hannah Swensons coming upthat we can look for you in or
we wait until the holidays?
(44:15):
No, no. There'll be something inyour future. And it might have
bloopers.
Oh, well, that is what oh, therewe go. That's the way to end on
end on that like crazy. Good.
Hint there. So love it. Oh,wait. I just thought of
something. Interesting. Allright. Wow, awesome. Thank you
very much for giving me the timeto talk about your movies. Our
(44:35):
fans will love this. This wasfascinating. gave a lot of good
information. So yeah.
Such a pleasure. Thanks.
Hello Luthers today is amazingbecause we are talking to the
one the only Alison's mean, shehas created not one, but two
iconic sleuthing characters withHannah Swenson and Ella Pearson
from the Chronicle mysteries.
Today's interview is superinteresting. She's a fascinating
(00:23):
person who gets a very big clueat the end of this interview
with something that is upcoming.
So put your suit their hats on.
Turn your volume off. Thispodcast was created by fans
porque is not affiliated with orsponsored by Hallmark, or the
(00:48):
Hallmark Channel. Today isamazing. It has been over a year
in the making. We had, we'resupposed to talk to Allison last
year, and then strike happen andall sorts of things. So we are
so excited. awesome to have youhere to talk about one bad apple
how're you doing today?
(01:10):
I'm fantastic. Thanks so muchfor having me on.
I have to say this is a biginterview for us too, because my
wife is not a hallmark fan. Andso when I when I do these, I'll
say the actor whoever said likeokay, that's nice, nice. And
then I said ahead you and she'slike, I know her from your life.
So you're one of 2x two actorsthat she knows the other. She
(01:34):
only knows as the hot guy, whichis Kristoffer Polaha. And she's
like, Yeah, gotta get him. Yeah,she's just like, she doesn't
really know anything that is andshe just knows that. He's the
hot guy.
So that's a nice guy. I loveKris.
But you have not been in. Right,right?
No, no, I haven't. But he ismarried to his hot wife who used
to be on days of our lives toshoot him as Julianne character.
(02:00):
On days were alive. Oh my gosh.
This is pulling out my trivia.
She was I remember her swampgirl. But I know Greta, that was
her name. Greta. So tell yourwife Greta is real life husband
is Kris blah.
I will have to do that. Speakingof data life, how does Hallmark
(02:21):
or the producer go ahead and getevil Sam, Sammy Brady, and think
oh, this is a perfect you know,actor to come over on the
Hallmark channel because I havenot myself watched it. But for
now. I've heard you're not themost likable. Yeah, you're
right. So it was a long timecoming. I love Hallmark movies.
(02:45):
And we had been working to tryto figure out the right timing
because I the thing aboutfilming digital lives is that
you essentially work all yearround. There wasn't really an
opportunity for me to take timeoff to do something else. And
they were just really alwaysvery supportive at Hallmark.
Like we'll figure it out. We'llfind the right time. And then we
(03:07):
finally did and actually myfirst movie with Hallmark was
with my soon to be co star doesrealize he played his name is
Greg Vaughn. And these arestories that you're the fans
will know that you don't. But heended up playing my brother, my
twin brother, I didn't realize.
But luckily before we workedtogether as siblings, we had a
romance on my very firstHallmark movie that went through
(03:31):
several different name changes,but I think it was called the
hearts of fire at one point. Andit was so much fun. So that was
my first my first introductionto Hallmark.
And then he became your brother,twin brother. And then it Yeah,
so it's just sucha soap opera like such a just
Toby thing that ended uphappening. That was hilarious.
(03:52):
All right. Well, now you know,like, basically a decade later,
you're one of the main Hallmarkactors. So I'm sure when it
comes around to the holidayseason, then they're like, hey,
Alison, you want to be in one ofour movies? You get sort of to
choose which one you want to beand what do you look for when
(04:12):
you select which movie to be in?
So my situation is a little bitdifferent. I actually bring
ideas to homework. I like todevelop my own content. And so
mostly I produce my own moviesfor homework and I bring them
ideas of things that I want tobe in and projects I like or
scripts I like or ideas andstories I like and I I bring
(04:36):
them to the network and thedifferent executives that are in
charge of either Christmas ormysteries or whatever. And I
pitched them ideas for themovies that I want to be in.
Luckily they normally love youknow, hopefully, we have a great
reaction. I like to say that Iunderstand the homework.
(04:58):
Hopefully I understand thehomework Dance. But I certainly,
you know, work really hard tounderstand the Hallmark, you
know, the executives and whatthey're looking for. And I
always sort of start theconversation with what kind of
movies do you want? What do youhave already developed for this
Christmas? Where can I, youknow, do something that's a
little different. Where can Ifit in? And so that's, you know,
(05:20):
that's how those conversationsstart.
Interest. I knew you produced alot of them, but I didn't
realize like you're there.
That's your fancy. Very good. Ithink you're reading my
questions, because my nextquestion your perfect lead into
it. So Hallmark gets a lot ofChris criticism for being
formulaic. Yet. A lot of othernetworks. And even like some of
the big streamers, try to copyit. But no one can actually do
(05:43):
it. Right. So they make a movie,that should be the same thing.
Sometimes the same actorssometimes are the same writers.
But it doesn't quite have thatHallmark magic. How do you
explain how Hallmark can justget it right? And yet others
seemingly have such a hard timewith that?
I think that peopleunderestimate the Hallmark
(06:05):
Immune Formula is just not theright word. But there is any
magic, I feel it's true. But itthere's a lot that goes into and
I think they that Hallmarkmovies are very much
underestimated. You I getpitched all the time. Like, oh,
I could write a Hallmark movie,oh, I have an idea for a
Hallmark movie. And you're like,okay, great, and then they pitch
it to you, and you're like, butthat's the very beginning of an
(06:28):
idea. Like, that isn't enough.
You know, the homeworkexecutives work really hard on
challenging us when we write ascript, or when we bring them an
idea. You know, there's so muchwork that goes into it. So it is
never as simple as like, as itseems. And I think that's what
lends itself to that magic thatyou're mentioning, and that the
(06:48):
audience has come to expect anddemand from especially the
Christmas movies, but all yourmountains, you know, we we
never, certainly I worked reallyhard not to underestimate the
audience, I work really hard tomake sure that I satisfied the
things they want from a Hallmarkmovie, but maybe in a new and
different way and that theydidn't anticipate or just
(07:09):
something to keep people ontheir toes and give them a
little unexpected flair alongthe way. And while still
bringing them the joy, theChristmas joy or the romance or
all of the above the familydynamic that they have come to
look forward to in these movies.
(07:30):
We are here to talk about onebad apple and Hannah Swinson.
But one of my favorite mysteriesis chronicle mysteries, and a
lot of other people love it. Itis Thank you. It is one of the
best. But I have to ask, is ittrue that you got canceled
because Alex was getting to thepoint where she had a kiss Drew
and you just wanted nothing todo with Benjamin and you're
(07:52):
like, cancel the series? Can'tgo there
is stuff to go? No, of coursethat's not true. But
all right, and honestly, fromwhat we've heard, it's not
officially canceled. That'sright, it as far as I've heard,
it's not officially canceled. Ithink, you know, I don't
disagree with Hallmark bit. Inthe world of the mysteries, it's
(08:15):
probably confusing and weird tohave me star in two different
mystery series. But I don't seea problem with that. But I'm
happy to not I just I am happyto make the movies that you know
the that they're asking forright now and keep my options
(08:35):
open. So hopefully, I love thestory of Alex and drew, I love
those. I love that wholepremise. And I thought it was a
lot of fun. So and I you know,of course, I'm obsessed with
True Crime podcasts. So I haveplenty of ideas, waiting in the
wings for another had cast forAlex. But you know, that's not
(08:56):
where your homework is rightnow. So I'm happy to be focusing
on Hannah and have Alex readyfor whenever, whenever they need
her. Well, Iwill say and you can use this as
ammunition and we just talkedclay to Lisa Hamilton Daly last
week and she said that they aregoing to be bringing back some
(09:17):
of the older mysteries but asLuthers it has never been an
issue of you being in both andbeing confused. Like oh, there's
Hannah. Oh, wait, there's Alex.
So from I'll say the fanstandpoint, there's absolutely
no hesitation and I speak forevery single fan out there. I've
(09:38):
been I've been voted the voiceso I love it. Thank you. Now
from you though, from you. Wasit challenging? Like Like I said
from from us as a fan? It wasn'tchallenging, but for you was it
challenging? Doing bothmysteries?
Um, no, I I see them verydifferently. They're very
(09:59):
different. characters, I thinktheir stories are very
different. What I really likedabout because, you know, I
developed the Chroniclemysteries series from ground
zero with Melissa salmons, whois a very talented writer, who
I've done a ton of movies withand Craig Baum garden, my
producing partner. And we lovethe idea that Alex is a
(10:21):
podcaster it felt a little freshand modern and, and relevant to,
you know, what people aretalking about now in the, you
know, all the Netflixdocumentaries that are like, it
just felt like a really relevantway to bring in sort of the
modern armchair detectivefeeling, but still in a very
Jessica Fletcher way, you know,I mean, it just, it felt really
(10:46):
relevant. And, and then yet veryHallmark. So I stand by that
story, I said, I love thatworld. And I thought Alex, you
know, had a really interestingand different dynamic that she
brings to it. Whereas, you know,Hannah's a little more, she's
got all her family around her.
And, you know, she's embroiled,like, she's got all these people
(11:07):
coming into the cookie jar allthe time. And she's sort of, at
the heart of her community inLake Eden, I think that Alex is
a bit more a lone wolf. And thatwas sort of the compelling thing
for me with that storyline thatI loved was just she felt a
little bit adrift and on our ownand independent, and this whole
community of people at thenewspaper, like, pulled her into
(11:31):
their world and, you know, gavegave her a reason to stay in a
way that was really fun andtotally unique to me. Yes. And
while we love our, you know, ourbakers, Luthers, and that kind
of thing. There also was anappropriateness for Alex to be
out solving mysteries more, somaybe then, yes, a baker, which,
(11:55):
like I say, We love our cozymystery in that aspect. But it
just was a little more, andprobably is not the right word,
a little more sophisticated of amystery, because it's like, say,
a reporter and a podcast ordoing true crime. Totally makes
sense on a differentlevel. So yeah, that's exactly
how I felt to be so. Yeah.
So that's our new campaign thatwe have you on board and we
(12:16):
have, yeah. 2025 It's happening.
Okay. All right. Okay, you heardit here first. So awesome.
Murder, she bakes lash, HannahSwensen has evolved, you know,
it's almost a decade long ofmaking those, from your
standpoint, what has been thebiggest from the acting
standpoint, we'll get into someof the behind the scenes, you
know, the writing and all that,but what has been like really
(12:38):
the biggest difference you'venoticed from Hannah from the
beginning to, to now, how sheevolved?
Um, well, I do think that wewent from, you know, the very
first Hannah's content, and Ithink the books reflect this
also, you know, John, Luke haswritten these wonderful novels
(13:01):
that we've, you know, had theopportunity, the great good
fortune to bring to life, inthat I think, Hannah's come a
long way from chocolate chipcookie murder, which was the
very first novel, where, youknow, she sort of happened upon
this crime, it happened tosomeone she knew. And she was a
(13:22):
bit mixed up in as a suspect,and brought into it sort of
unwillingly, and then she sortof realized, like, I better
figure out what's going on here,because, you know, the cops
don't believe me. And so I thinkthat was a really natural way
into the story. And then alongthe way, you know, eight murders
(13:43):
later, um, she, I think theaudience expects her to learn a
little bit about what she'sdoing and expect more from
herself. And that was, that waspart of what we wanted in
telling the stories. And I thinkthat's the arc that Hallmark has
come to also with what the fanswant was, you know, that that
(14:06):
feeling of like, oh, that couldbe me. Everyone sort of loves
that about watching the moviesthat like they, you do want it
in the audience to feel like I'mthat armchair detective, I
could, so I could have figuredthat out. And I do want that.
But now the audience, they arewatching Dateline, they are
watching these Netflix, youknow, True Crime documentaries.
(14:27):
So I think the audience is sortof elevated their own
understanding of solving murdersand how to get the evidence, you
know, to convict someone. So Ithink it's fun to elevate Hannah
in that way also, and have herexpect more from herself. Do I
remember when I first startedmaking these movies? They didn't
want us to use words likesuspect you really wanted or
(14:50):
they wanted the words to stayvery, you know, like not cop
ish. And now I think we're all alittle more educated about like,
because Of all this just the popculture phenomenon, I think
everyone's a little moreunderstanding of, you know, the
the system and how it works andwhat those you know what a bolo
(15:12):
is, you know, you can people canfigure out, you know, be on the
lookout. And so it's just fun toinclude that in the in the
characters now.
Well, I think just in generalHallmark to has, especially the
last couple of years, become amuch different network than than
it was especially like themysteries we saw. You know, the
(15:33):
cases, Mr. Lane had a secret gayrelationship, which you never
would have saw back in 2015 daysand things. So yeah. Like
you said, you spoke to Lisaabout, you know, those, those
changes and what they're lookingfor moving forward. And for me,
it's all about what the fanswant to see and supporting that
and giving them you know, theexciting movies they want to
(15:56):
watch. That's what's, that'swhat's so rewarding to me.
So one of the things we cannottalk, Hannah Swenson and not
talk about Dolores, who is oneof our favorite we just did our
favorite sidekicks. And she wasthe one who made both of our
lists. She is Barbara Niven isessentially a national treasure.
(16:19):
And she's getting funnier andfunnier. I don't know if that
was a conscious, I'm sure it wasa conscious decision. But like,
just just tell us a little bitmore because we obviously love
her, but just make us love her.
A lot of them.
Yeah, there's no way not to loveher more. I, she makes me laugh
every day. I know, she does notalways play these roles. So you
(16:40):
know, I watched Chesapeakeshores. And it was so sincere
and real, you know, real dramacontent that she provides. But
for me, I always see her asDolores and she just cracks me
up. And so the I just want to beBarbara when I grew up, like
she's just brilliant. And sowhen I wrote this, this
(17:00):
particular movie, one bad applewith her in mind that I mean,
like, all of that was justcomedy that I could picture. I
was dreaming about Barbara Nivenand waking up and just writing
down. Like I said, you'vealready all acted this in my
head. So I know it's gonna workout great. Because she's just,
she's just so talented andfunny. And she made this happen.
(17:22):
Like she brought this brillianceto this character.
Yeah, like carrot cake.
Oh, that was I remember takingthat story, just so you know,
like, so that's in one of thenovels in one of giant flux
novels that Dolores writes aromance novel. And I remember
(17:43):
reading that and like almostfalling out of my chair. Like
the the movie just writes itselffrom that point. And so I
literally, you know, I had alittle bit more planned for
like, what the murder mysterywas going to be and stuff. But
basically, I just took that intothe homework and pitched them
that I was like to wait, I waslike, Wait, everybody just wait
to Loris writes a romance novel.
And now they were like, solet's, let's like everyone just
(18:06):
fell over dying and knew thatthat was just brilliant.
Brilliant. And so we had to makethat movie.
Speaking a carrot cake, though.
There was a lot of controversyat the end of that one. And I
will say, people were verydivided. There was like, team,
Hannah, team, Mike over, wasHannah just overreacting, or was
(18:28):
Mike just doing his job. Ipersonally was on Team Hannah.
But like going into it, or Ishould say coming out of it, you
had to know that it was going tobe quite a bit of of controversy
and fans were going to like,because it also just you know,
(18:51):
unbeknownst, sorry, unbeknownst,it also was right after the
announcement of mystery 101being cancelled. So bans were
already being whichI had no idea about, right? They
didn't. I was busy worryingabout my own, you know, choices
as a producer. And you knowwhat, honoring these books
where, you know, I mean, likeshe gets engaged, she gets
(19:14):
engaged, she marries some weirdowho turns out to like, not be
who he said he was. I mean,like, whatever these stories,
the Hannahs was a character inthe book go through a lot in 30
Plus novels. And so you know,that weighs on you and then are
you like, I'm a huge fan of TV.
(19:35):
I was on destroyers for so manyyears. I understand fan bases,
and I know how they feel and sowhen this you want to want to
happen I was like, and then youknow, our movie was just minding
its own business airing at thisI was like, Oh my God, that's
not fair. Why did this have tohappen? I was freaking out. And,
you know, I just really, I hopethe fans know and I hope they're
(19:59):
listening know that like,they're, they mean so much to me
and how they feel about thesemovies means a lot to me. But
But I want that for the longhaul, like, I am looking to make
30 of these movies. And so toprotect that sometimes you have
to do short term you to pull theband aid off short term, it's
(20:21):
Believe me, I get it. It'spainful, but hopefully they
trust me and give me a chance.
Well, I'll say that. It, we knewobviously, there was another one
coming because that was abeautiful thing that call Mark
said, hey there, too. We'recoming. So people had that. But
ending on that.
I was I was a big champion ofthat. I was like, you cannot air
(20:42):
this movie without announcingthe night. Like they have to
know they have to know now theyhave to know before they watch
it. Yeah, very strong.
Because that was a doozy of acliffhanger. And I think Hannah
was completely justified becauseI think Mike was not being
respectful of not communicatingall of that sort of stuff. So I
am okay. Thank you,Eric. Yes. All right. So it's
really but buddy, but evenwithin that story, it was really
(21:05):
important to me that it wasreally important to me that they
both felt they came to it froman honest point of view, right.
Like, I do think that Mike hadhis his own perspective that he
was trying to protect her. Hedidn't think it would go
anywhere. Like he thought it washe could. He didn't he didn't
want to upset her. And I totallysympathize with that feeling
(21:25):
from his point of view that hehe sort of thought it would all
work out. And it's not that heunderestimates her, it's that he
didn't want to explain himselfto his boss and, and so I felt
like they both came to thatargument with a real, legitimate
point of view. And that'simportant to me in the
storytelling. And again, Melissasalmons wrote that episode and
(21:46):
she did such a, I think such afinesse, finesse it, she
finessed it so well, to honorboth characters and that no one
was being a jerk about it, youknow, like, I felt like,
everyone came into it with areally sincere point of view.
And, and Cameron was sobrilliant in that scene, you
know, playing his ownfrustration, and then the
(22:08):
heartbreak of realizing hereally heard her. And then, you
know, my actual favorite part ofthat scene was the pad where he
brings her the cat house andstands there and looks at her
from the street, like, you know,live to fight another day, like
I loved I love that. That, tome, speaks of my soap roots, you
know, we love the drama of that.
(22:33):
I will say, and you can patyourself on the back. But the
final, I don't know, 15 minutesor so of the the acting in that.
You guys were both justabsolutely spectacular. Probably
some of the best, just darnright acting in one of the
hallmark mysteries. It wasfantastic. Thank you. Oh, that's
(22:54):
nice to hear. Thank you. Allright. But we are here to talk
about one bad apple, which iscoming out in two weeks. And
this is your first time writing,like officially, I guess
writing, we just spoke to NikkiLowe, who wrote her first
Hallmark mystery that Ericaabout a month ago now. And it
was interesting getting herperspective of switching sides,
(23:18):
you know, and I'm sure thatyou've produced enough and
you've been involved enough inthe creation. But really, what
was it like, sort of takingownership of the HANA character
that you you know, that you'vebeen for 10 years,
it felt there was a lot ofpressure and a lot of stress. I
can't wait to talk to Nickyabout her experience. But for
(23:39):
me, I felt a tremendous amountof pressure in the situation we
found ourselves in with bringingin Victor, introducing Victor to
the HANA universe was, you know,obviously a lot of
responsibility, but also pickingup where so many talented
writers have written thesecharacters and given you movies
(24:01):
that you loved, the fans haveloved over the years. So I felt
a lot of that pressure. But alsoI felt I was handed this
beautiful canvas of verytalented actors that are already
knew really well. So I could I'mnot kidding, I really did hear,
you know, Lisa drew plays mysister Andrea and Barbara. And
(24:22):
Michelle, like, I could hearthem in my head. So when I wrote
the family scenes, there's acouple of like, one liners that
Michelle has that just like, Ijust could hear, I could hear
the deadpan way that she playsit and like how that would fit
in, in the dynamic with Andreabeing, you know, her mother's
precious pride and joy and allthat, like all those dynamics
(24:42):
felt, you know, out on the redcarpet for me to just pick from
my favorite moments to puttogether in the story and so in
some ways I I know how lucky Iam to have to have had that all
mapped out for me already.
Having so one of the things isI've taken enough to where I
read the books. Now that are themysteries that are based on
(25:04):
books. And so I've read quite afew of the Hannah Swensen spec,
my daughter, and I, mydaughter's 26. She read them all
when she was young. And now weare just doing like a little
book club where we're readingthem together, going, going
through them. But if you do readthe books, and then you watch
the movie, many of them are notvery similar. Right? Right. So
(25:30):
like, with with one one badapple, that's Apple, or apple
turnover, murder, right? Like,a combination of two. It's apple
turnover. And I can't rememberthe other one. But it will. So
first of all, you know, wetalked to Joanne Fluke about all
of it along the way. But youknow, she started writing these
(25:54):
novels in the 80s, right, like,if you've had any conversations
about themystery novel, but with a
character who like literallydoesn't even have a cell phone,
nevermind, the smart is so many.
And that's true. Like, if youwatch Perry Mason or Columbo,
you'd be like, Oh, my gosh, oneGoogle search, and this mystery
is over, right. So like, the,the challenge to writing a
(26:17):
mystery in the 21st century isvery different from how, what it
was, like, you know, beforetechnology is what it is. So I
do feel a little bit a licenseto adapt stories. And then also,
you know, there's a lot ofcharacter development that isn't
appropriate for Hallmark. Andalso, you know, just not
(26:40):
appropriate for the era, we findourselves in 2024. So, you know,
all those things need to beadapted. And once you've gotten
that far, then, you know,they're just, it's going to be
different. And so I try to, Itry to take all the little gems
and the nuggets I can from fromher books, like, you know,
(27:00):
sometimes I can get great oneslike, I'm the one before carrot
cake was just desserts, maybe.
And that was the one where like,the trainer is found in hot
frame. And that's the scene thatwas Joanne flukes idea that's in
the book that she it's creamclock murder, and she's, you
know, found in a in a gym, hottub, and I was like, That is
(27:25):
brilliant, like, that's so greatand fun to be able to bring that
into, into the movie. And, youknow, so so each one has its own
strengths and things I can pullfrom, like, in this one in one
bad apple, the graveyard sceneis from is from the book. You
know, that was like, amazing.
(27:47):
And I didn't even know if wecould afford it, or if we could
do it, but I was like, if we canfind a graveyard like that would
be so cool. So I was so gratefuland lucky that it all worked
out. And you know, but there'sother things like, I kind of
wanted to surprise the audiencewith who the victim is in this
(28:08):
one. And so it was, that was abig challenge for me in terms
of, you know, hoping theaudience goes along for the ride
of like, what's gonna happen andwho are these characters in, you
know, where does Bradford andNorman fit in without like,
like, what's, what's this?
What's gonna happen, and thenboom, like, that was how I was
hoping it'll surprise theaudience.
(28:32):
So as we're talking about thebook, a lot of people do get
frustrated with Hannah and herin decisiveness, especially with
the like the love triangles, butwhen you read the books, she's
very indecisive and lit, likelosing both and so it's actually
I always countered people. Well,that is, you know, the mad, but
I'm like, That is who Hannahreally is. Right? Yeah, not
(28:54):
always clean. It's not alwayseasy. But I guess that's the
thing. And we said, Hannah'salso a little more than less a
floozy is, but not very Hallmarkkey, right? She didn't have to
adapt. And,and so and keep in mind that
like, I also have to berespectful and continue to get
joy and flute to agree to, youknow, want these movies to be
(29:19):
televised the way that we'reinterpreting this character, and
she has very strong feelingsabout who Hannah is and she has
a say in it also. So you know,that's an important element for
us to be respectful of and payattention to.
The other thing you were sayingis they were written started
well way back when and she hersare actually not as bad some of
(29:42):
the other cozy mysteries arejust certainly not appropriate
in today's day and age justbecause once again, we're in a
very different time so it's alittle bit easier, I guess,
probably with with with herbooks than some of the others to
adapt and not have to In acurious, cater is just darn
right. A vicious book? Oh geez,I didn't know that. Oh, yeah, it
(30:06):
has. Yeah. So it'll be use andlike, yeah, really bad stuff in
that one. So you have it alittle bit easier in this one?
Well, I'll take that. I'll keepthat in mind. So, yeah,
sorry. So you've written now inyou've obviously produce is
directing like the nextadventure for you.
(30:26):
I'm certainly it's when we talkabout all the time, I would love
to have that opportunity. AshleyWilliams, does an amazing
program with hallmark for femaledirectors. So it's certainly one
we've discussed quite a bit. AndI would love to take advantage
that opportunity at some point.
But I know and I try to bereally realistic about the way
that we film these movies is notlike a Ben Affleck movie where
(30:51):
he can star in it, or, you know,Clint Eastwood where they have
all the money and all the timein the world to like, go back
and sit there and watch thetapes over and over, like our
format is just not bad. So youcan I don't think it wouldn't be
comfortable for me to star in amovie that I was also directing.
Because I just wouldn't. That isthose are two jobs that really
(31:13):
do need to be simultaneouslyfocused on what they're doing.
So what Ashley has done wasdirect movies that she's not
starring in and I feel that'smuch more realistic. And so that
would have to be the way Ipursue it.
Are you trying to say that twoweeks is not plenty of time to
(31:34):
make a movie?
Right? It's not enough time.
It's definitely not enough time.
There. We are always, you know,rushing at the end, wishing we
had more time.
So a little off script here, butdoes the does your background
and the soaps and you're sayinghow you're always filming and
just the nature of that? Didthat prepare you more for the
(31:54):
Hallmark way of doing movies?
Can you talk to Brennan Elliot?
And he said there's verytalented actors who just cannot
survive in the Hallmarktimeline, and just the speed and
everything that So did that. Sobackground you think make you
more prepared and better suited?
Like without question it has,yes, absolutely. Being a part of
(32:17):
this of days was so crucial tomy education and my
understanding and the way I workthe way we're, you know, so
quick to adapt. You haven'tlived until you've been handed
four pages to memorize like, andby the way, we're going to shoot
that next. So get ready. Andonce you've done stuff like
(32:40):
that, everything else is. So youknow, we do talk a lot about how
fast we have to move and how wedon't have enough time to film
these movies. But I still go towork everyday like Oh, you
people like this is so muchtime. What are you talking
about? This is like, this is waymore time. I mean, we shoot 120
pages a day and days where livesand and on the movies is 10
(33:02):
pages a day, and people arepanicking. And I'm like, I
cannot get invested in panickingfor 10 pages a day. Like that's
just nothing. And so they Iregale people with stories all
the time about it. But that is,you know, that is what I think
you do have to develop. AndBrennan is a great example of an
actor who just is so quick onhis feet so smart and able to
(33:28):
deal with you know, what theformat that we are working in
and able to still do itnaturally and organically and
comfortably and make the actors,the actress they're working
opposite feel at ease andnatural and develop that kind of
rapport and relationship. Likeit all has to happen in such a
limited amount of time. And soyeah, you find people who are
(33:52):
good at it and you find yourselfjust wanting to work with those
people all the time.
You mentioned it before thatthere was a change with Cameron
and Victor is now the new one.
We can talk by the way about hisname being Chad, but that's a
whole nother discussion. It's acharacter from the book. Okay.
Oh, it is see I haven't readthis one. So okay. So yeah, it
is Chad.
(34:17):
Make something out of it thatyou did say you have truck you
did see you have creativelicense, but we'll let that
slide because once again, I amteam Hannah. But so you do bring
in Victor. And we coincidentlyhad done a post we pretty much
knew that some change was goingto be happening with camera and
and so we're who do we want? Andwe've wanted Victor in a mystery
(34:41):
for a while. And then there'syou in the wedding veil with
Victor which was just fire. Andso we said, oh, this is who I
should and it's kind of like Iwas talking before I
accidentally released. You knowthe thing about about curious
caterers so we said we did looklittle animation where it went
from Cameron, who dissolves intoVictor and said, This is what it
(35:04):
should be. And so our fans,first of all their heads
exploded. But then it wasuniversally like yes, we want
Victor. We want Victor and thenlike two weeks later it got
announced. Oh, hey, this iscoming out with Victor
crazy. You guys are you got it,sir. You should run the network
like you're doing. Yeah. Butalso that's exactly the reaction
(35:24):
I had when Hallmark approachedme about Victor's availability
and he might be interested like,what do you think I seriously
like was like, yes, yes. What dowe have to do? Yes, right now
call him back alone. Yes. Don't.
Don't let him do anything else.
Like,that, wasn't you? That's what my
question was. So you weren'tlike knowing that, hey, we're
going forward. I want Victor wewere so great here. This is the
(35:46):
guy so it was sort of they askedyou what was actually Hallmark?
Yeah, it was interesting remarksidea, which I just, you know, I
was still not at that stage yet.
I felt a little bit at sea withwhat to do. And it was Hallmark
that approached me with the ideaof like, we'll Victor's
(36:09):
available. Victor's an actor welove and, you know, what would
you think about, you know, usgoing to him? And like, as the
words were still hanging in theair, I was like, Oh, my gosh,
yes. We, yes. How do I make thishappen? And so then we
strategized about it. They werethey said, we have to, you know,
approach Victor ask him if he'dbe here, he does not know yet.
(36:30):
So like, I pitched and developedan idea of what his character
would be like, and we had ameeting with him and I pitched
it to him and he was verypositive and responsive and he
loved it and so and he said,Yes, so it was thrilling. I was
so excited. But yeah, that's howthat's how it happened. And I
(36:53):
just my gut just the same way Iguess you guys had that feeling
like the second the idea thebubble hit you know, when it
came to me I was like, yes, thatfeels so right and knowing
Victor having done the twomovies with him in the wedding
veil and you know, the fanreaction to those movies I just
like it just felt so right to meI wish I could take credit for
(37:15):
it being my idea it was not myidea but if it I just least I
know when to grab on to a goodidea apparently apparently was
already on Hallmark distillateso yeah.
Oh, good. Thank you. Thank youfor putting that in the universe
because you made it happen.
I will say that as I startedbefore with crisp Aloha being
like my wife Oh, the hot one andobviously very, very huge fan
(37:39):
base. Victor is Bertie muchright there with him? All you
have to say is Victor, andthat's like, good for an extra
like 100 likes on our on any ofyes, yeah, he's not a bad. So I
was going to ask if there wasany other candidates who were
considered but it sounds likeno, this is the one and and he's
(38:00):
so good. So I mean, he's perfectfor it perfect for
Yeah, he's perfect for it. He'sperfect for it. And he brings
that like, he just brings such anew and different chemistry to
the HANA universe, like I said,and just his, you know, like, he
just I really, right away was, Icould imagine how that was going
(38:22):
to go and how, you know, thecharacter how Chad would fit
into this world. And I just knewVictor could do it. And I was so
excited for you know, mixing itup in that way, giving him a
little more about skepticismabout Hannah was really fun to
me.
So we do have a new face there.
But we also have a couple oldfaces coming back with you have
Andrea and Norman back so that Iwill say from fans because
(38:48):
that's the other thing we willnever know not in it we always
get from their fans saying whereare they? Where are they? So
that's going to make people veryhappy. But what else can you say
just about this one? That shouldget all of us so excited.
Well this I do want to speak tothat because you guys you know
everyone's very sharp about TVand and I hope people understand
(39:13):
that is not that I don't wantevery actor in every movie. It's
just that when you're balancingout, you know 84 minutes of
programming like you have to berespectful of those characters
and and who do you have time totell a story about and so what I
felt with this one was like thatI really could tell an arc about
(39:33):
Norman in this movie and thatbringing Andrea back really did
you know fit into this thisworld, especially with the
lorises story arc of you know,becoming a detective like she
needs her daughter's there topanic about it. So I just felt
like, you know, Lonnie, becomingthe detective was also like a
(39:53):
really fun arc for me to bringhim his character on a little
bit. So I just felt like Youknow, I hope that the audience
knows. And I think I said thisat the beginning that I think
about them. And I think aboutyour fans and people who read
the books and the fans of themovies all the time, like,
there's not a decision I make,there's not a day that I don't
(40:14):
think about these movies that Iam not considering how they will
react and how they feel aboutit. And it matters to me so
much. I can't always do whateverybody wants in every single
scene and every single moment,but I hope they know that, that
not that I am considering theirfeelings about it all the time.
And so when I can give thepeople what they want, like,
(40:39):
believe me, it is the most joy Iget is Are those really fun
family dynamics are that thescene at the end of one bad
apple, I don't want to spoilanything. But like those kinds
of moments, I feel bring me suchjoy because I know the audience
is going to feel the same way Ifeel when I'm, you know, doing
it, they're going to feel thatsame feeling watching it. And
(40:59):
so, hopefully, hopefully, Iturned out to be right about
this one. But, um, but yeah,like, what I'm trying to create
as a world around Hannah andHannah universe of characters
that like when it's available,when when, you know, Gabe is a
busy guy with a lot of hit showsthat he's a partner to. So you
know, you have to make it worthhis while and get him in for the
(41:21):
story and, and include him andhe, you know, boy does he
deliver and I just love workingwith him. So I hope the audience
understands that I am trying to,you know, keep it keep it all
moving forward with the time andthe budget and the opportunities
that I have and how great andsuccessful all these actors are.
And keep keep it all mixed up sothat every time it's new, and
(41:43):
every time it's different, andand you know, we can we can keep
it going, hopefully a long timeto come juggling it all near
like that.
All right, look, I could not bemore excited. Alright. Last
question is, are there anyeaster eggs in there that maybe
you could give us a little youdon't have to tell us what is
being give us a little hint thatwe should be looking for.
(42:03):
So there is definitely an Easteregg shout out to Joe and Luke,
we have a little mention ofclever mystery books, with
delicious recipes in them. Sothat was a little shout out to
her that you'll find in it. Andthen I don't know, I feel like I
put in a lot of little shoutouts and mentions to previous
(42:26):
stories. I love like callbacksto earlier mysteries and earlier
situations they find themselvesin and so that it all comes back
around. So that so that's beenfun for me to include.
We'll be looking for thecallbacks to the other one and
seeing if we can figure outwhich which previous episode
(42:48):
that was for. Andthen there is a little tiny
shout out to what's to come inthe future. So you got to keep
there's a little little mentionof what's next.
Well, you're making 21 more ofthem. So 30 All right. This is
(43:09):
the very last question yes orno? Have you ever made one of
her Hannah's recipes from thebook? Oh,
yes, I have. And they'redelicious. And actually, my next
on my list mate is from thismovie. There's marshmallow
chocolate bars that are inmentioned in this rest in this
movie and one bad apple. And weall got the pasted. The crew was
(43:33):
like inhaling these desert. Iwas like, why is everyone you
know, where did the rest of theprops go? And they were like,
eaten up by the camera crew. Andso I was like, well, stabling,
for me. So I had a bite of it.
And it was the best dessert oneof the best desserts I've ever
had. So we do make her recipesall the time in the US. And that
one was reallygood. All right, I got there. I
just actually got the makings tomake her blueberry muffins. So
(43:54):
I'm gonna give that a go. Allright. So
interesting. What an odd choicefor you.
I think I'd read it was the onefrom the last one. I just read.
Because I'm rereading. I'm withmy daughter. Anything other than
the Hannah Swensons coming upthat we can look for you in or
we wait until the holidays?
(44:15):
No, no. There'll be something inyour future. And it might have
bloopers.
Oh, well, that is what oh, therewe go. That's the way to end on
end on that like crazy. Good.
Hint there. So love it. Oh,wait. I just thought of
something. Interesting. Allright. Wow, awesome. Thank you
very much for giving me the timeto talk about your movies. Our
(44:35):
fans will love this. This wasfascinating. gave a lot of good
information. So yeah.
Such a pleasure. Thanks.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Boysober
Have you ever wondered what life might be like if you stopped worrying about being wanted, and focused on understanding what you actually want? That was the question Hope Woodard asked herself after a string of situationships inspired her to take a break from sex and dating. She went "boysober," a personal concept that sparked a global movement among women looking to prioritize themselves over men. Now, Hope is looking to expand the ways we explore our relationship to relationships. Taking a bold, unfiltered look into modern love, romance, and self-discovery, Boysober will dive into messy stories about dating, sex, love, friendship, and breaking generational patterns—all with humor, vulnerability, and a fresh perspective.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com