HALLMARK CHANNEL ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT
OF FIRST TWO HALLMARK HALL OF FAME MOVIE PREMIERES
TO BE PRODUCED UNDER ITS CROWN MEDIA PRODUCTIONS BANNER
Hallmark Hall of Fame is Most Award-Winning Series in Television History
BEVERLY HILLS, CA, July 27 - Hallmark Channel announces the first two films in
development for the storied Hallmark Hall of Fame, the most award-winning series in the
history of television. "Christmas Angel in Training" will have its world premiere on the network,
November 28 (8 p.m. ET/PT), as part of Hallmark Channel's "Countdown to Christmas" event.
"Love Lock," part of "Countdown to Valentine's Day" event, will have its world premiere on
Hallmark Channel in February, 2017. Announcement of the new, original movies was made to
the semi-annual gathering of the Television Critics Association in Beverly Hills, CA.
"Christmas Angel in Training" tells the story of the untimely death of a workaholic who
never put much value into personal relationships or the joys of Christmas who finds herself
recruited to be a Christmas Angel even though she hasn't participated in seasonal traditions on
earth in a very long time. She is assigned a hard luck case, though she has little success in
helping her charge find joy, happiness, and peace - until she begins to discover these things
within herself.
"Love Lock" tells the story of Hannah, a young woman who discovers that the love
padlocks sweethearts have placed on a famous bridge in Paris will be torn down, and so she
returns to the City of Lights to retrieve her parents lock. Unbeknownst to her parents, Hannah
and her boyfriend had also placed a lock on the bridge, but they broke up soon after. Never
understanding the reason for the breakup, Hannah travels to Paris and discovers her boyfriend
is engaged to another.
"We're pleased that Hallmark Channel's success over the past 15 years has given
Hallmark Cards the confidence that we will keep these award-winning films special," said Bill
Abbott, President & CEO, Crown Media Family Networks, home of Hallmark Channel and
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
"We and Hallmark Cards are committed to providing future Hallmark Hall of Fame
presentations with the same great storytelling, relevant subjects, world-class actors, strong
production values, and financial support that distinguishes these programs from everything else
on TV. Hallmark Hall of Fame has elevated the prestige of television for decades, and that will
continue," Abbott added.
Hallmark Hall of Fame is the most award-winning series in the history of television,
winning 81 Emmy Awards and garnering many more nominations.
Many Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations have been groundbreaking: "Hamlet" was the
very first Shakespearean play on television; more viewers saw that broadcast than had seen the
play presented on stage in the 350 years prior.
Hallmark Hall of Fame brought both classic and contemporary literature to TV screens:
John Grisham, Arthur Miller, George Bernard Shaw, Willa Cather, John Steinbeck, August
Wilson, Rosamunde Pilcher, and many other masterful literary works were adapted for Hallmark
Hall of Fame.
Hallmark Hall of Fame productions have featured a Who's Who of the world's finest
actors: Betty Davis, Katherine Hepburn, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Morgan Freeman,
Glenn Close, James Garner, James Woods, Alec Guinness, John Gielgud, Julie Harris, Hume
Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Betty White, Faye Dunaway, Jason Robards, Joanne Woodward,
Anthony. Hopkins, and many more great stars. In fact, 25% of all Academy Award-winning
actors have appeared on a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation.
In addition, Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations took on societal issues like child abuse
and abandonment ("What The Deaf Man Heard," "Teacher, Teacher," "Ellen Foster"), physical
challenges ("Love Is Never Silent," "Sweet Nothing In My Ear"), schizophrenia and mental
illness ("Promise"), alcoholism ("My Name is Bill W," Bill Wilson co-founded Alcoholics
Anonymous, "When Love Is Not Enough: the Lois Wilson Story," Bill's wife, Lois Wilson cofounded
Al-Anon), while others remembered the horror of the Holocaust and the struggles
faced by ethnic and religious minorities ("The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler," "Miss Rose
White"). Hallmark Hall of Fame is also distinguished by being the longest single-running
program in the history of television.
ABOUT CROWN MEDIA FAMILY NETWORKS
Crown Media Family Networks is the umbrella unit subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, Inc., housing
cable's leading family friendly networks, Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, as
well as their corresponding digital extensions HallmarkChannel.com and
HallmarkMoviesandMysteries.com. The company operates and distributes both channels in high
definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) with Hallmark Channel available to 90 million
subscribers and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in 66 million homes in the United States. Hallmark
Channel features an ambitious slate of original content, including movies; scripted series, such
as When Calls the Heart, and Good Witch; annual specials like Hero Dog Awards and Kitten
Bowl; world premieres of Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations, and a daily 2-hour lifestyle
show, Home & Family. Hallmark Channel is also home to annual holiday franchise, Countdown
to Christmas, featuring a lineup of 24/7 holiday programming. Rounding out the networks'
lineup are television's most beloved sitcoms and series, including The Golden Girls, The Middle,
Little House on the Prairie, and Frasier. Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is a 24-hour digital
cable network featuring a unique mix of original movies and acquired series focused on
the lighter side of the suspense and mystery genres. The network also features its own annual
holiday programming franchise, the Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas, as well as
presentations from the award-winning Hallmark Hall of Fame library.
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