Hallmark Channel is making an unusual move. They’ve decided to change their Signed, Sealed, Delivered series from a regular weekly series to a series of two-hour movies on sister channel Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
The first new movie — Signed, Sealed, Delivered For Christmas — will air on November 23rd. Three more films are expected for 2015.
Here are the details:
CROWN MEDIA FAMILY NETWORKS ANNOUNCES ‘SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED’ FROM MARTHA WILLIAMSON, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF ‘TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL,’ MOVES TO HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES WITH NEW EXTENDED FORMAT
Franchise to Include Multiple 2-Hour Original Movies; First Film, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered For Christmas,” Premieres November 23
Crown Media Family Networks announced today that Hallmark Channel original weekly scripted series, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” executive produced and written by Martha Williamson (Executive Producer of “Touched by an Angel”), will move to sister network Hallmark Movies & Mysteries as a movie franchise consisting of a series of two-hour original films. Debuting on November 23 at 9pm ET/PT, 8C, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered For Christmas” will be the first movie in the franchise, with three more slated for 2015.
“We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with Martha Williamson and to bring her brand of rich and poignant stories to viewers on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries,” said Michelle Vicary, executive vice president, programming and network publicity, Crown Media Family Networks. “At their core, the narratives on ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ revolve around mystery and suspense, with compelling characters and dramatic storylines that will be enhanced by an extended format.”
“When Bill Abbott and Michelle Vicary asked if I can evolve the ‘Signed Sealed Delivered’ franchise into a series of movies, I was honored to continue the Hallmark tradition of quality family movies,” said series Creator and Executive Producer Martha Williamson. “At the heart of ‘Signed Sealed Delivered’ is Oliver, a modern day gentleman with old world values played brilliantly by Eric Mabius,” she added. “He and his wonderful team of postal detectives will continue to surprise us and sometimes make us laugh as they work to solve mysteries behind letters, even mysteries of life.”
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will introduce viewers to the “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” franchise by airing a marathon of the series on Saturday, October 11 from 11am – 11pm ET/PT, 10C.
Returning as the “POstables,” Oliver O’Toole (Eric Mabius, “Ugly Betty”), Shane McInerney (Kristin Booth, “Orphan Black”), Rita Haywith (Crystal Lowe, “Smallville”) and Norman Dorman (Geoff Gustafson “Primeval: New World”) will take millions of viewers on new adventures as they uncover the mysteries of lost missives and return them to their intended recipients, profoundly changing lives in the process.
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered” is a comedic drama that follows the lives of a group of postal workers who transform themselves into an untraditional team of detectives to track down intended recipients of undeliverable mail. Their missions take them out of the office into an unpredictable world where redirected letters and packages can save lives, solve crimes, reunite old loves and change futures by arriving late but somehow on time.
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered” is a Muse Entertainment production in association with MoonWater Productions. Executive Producers are Martha Williamson (“Touched by an Angel”), Joel S. Rice (“Cyberbully”) and Michael Prupas (“The Kennedys”). Harvey Kahn (“The Haunting Hour”) is the producer.
ABOUT HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES
Recently rebranded from Hallmark Movie Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is a 24-hour digital cable network featuring a unique mix of content, including all new original movies that are dramatic, cinematic and thought-provoking; new original mystery movies that focus on the lighter side of the suspense genre, as well as classic acquired series such as Murder She Wrote, Matlock, and Perry Mason. The network is also home to annual holiday programming franchise, the Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas, as well as presentations from the award-winning Hallmark Hall of Fame library. One of television’s leading destinations for compelling family-friendly entertainment, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries can be seen in 55 million homes in SD (Standard Definition) and HD (High Definition) and remains one of the fastest-growing networks in cable. Along with sister network, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is the second linear channel from Crown Media Holdings, Inc.
ABOUT MUSE ENTERTAINMENT
Muse Entertainment is a leading film and television production company and international distributor known for its well-crafted and high-quality productions. Since its founding in 1998, Muse Entertainment has won over 100 awards and garnered over 300 international award nominations. Muse Entertainment is currently shooting the 6-hour event series “Tut” in Morocco and the second season of the sci-fi series “Helix” in Montreal. Most recently the company produced four seasons of the supernatural dramatic series “Being Human”, the first season of the dramedy series “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” two seasons of the wartime dramatic series “Bomb Girls” and several TV movies for Disney and Hallmark channels. Muse’s 8-hr. historical drama “The Kennedys,” sold to networks around the world by Muse Distribution International, earned 10 Emmy Award nominations, winning four, as well as the DGA award for best director. Its 8-hour event series” Pillars of the Earth” also won an Emmy and many other awards. Muse’s other award-winning programs are “Cyberbully,” “Durham County” (Seasons I, II, III), “Ben Hur,” “The Last Templar,” “Impact,” “Human Trafficking,” “Answered by Fire,” “This is Wonderland” and “Tales from the Neverending Story.” Muse Entertainment maintains production and development operations in Montreal, Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver. For more information, please visit www.muse.ca
ABOUT MARTHA WILLIAMSON
Martha Williamson made television history when her CBS series “Touched By An Angel” set a new standard for an inspirational family drama when it grew to a weekly audience of 25 million viewers during its initial nine year run. As Executive Producer of the ground-breaking series, she was the visionary who guided the series into previously uncharted territory with her unique brand of storytelling that produced more than strong ratings; it changed lives. She went on to seal her place in history when she became the first woman to solely executive produce two one-hours simultaneously with “Promised Land,” which aired for three years on CBS. She began her career in comedy with the producing teams for Carol Burnett and Joan Rivers and went on to write and produce situation comedies such as “The Facts of Life,” “Family Man” and “Jack’s Place” for all the networks before making the transition to one-hour drama. Her work has been inducted into the Television and Radio Hall of Fame and honored with numerous awards, including the Edward R. Murray Responsibility in Television Award, the Templeton Prize Epiphany Award and nine Emmy(R) nominations.
What do you think? Is this a good move? Would you prefer that it continue as a weekly series or are you okay with a series of movies instead?
Signed, sealed and delivered was my favorite of all the series. So disappointed they are removing it from the series and moving it to the movie channel. Unfortunately not everyone gets the Hallmark Movie Mystery channel and we are one of them. We will have to pay extra to our service provider to be able to watch the 2 hour movies. My second favorite series is “When calls the heart so after that series ends I will be moving off the hallmark channel until next November when the Christmas movies return. So bummed!
Very disappointed that the show is moving to the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel. Loved Season 1 and was looking forward to Season 2. I don’t get the M&M channel on my cable plan, so I missed the Christmas show and won’t be able to view the coming movies. Bah, humbug!
I love this show. I so hoped it would be renewed as a series. I think it is of the highest quality. It is well written with great characters beautifully betrayed by the cast. I am sad that it is no longer a series but am thankful there will be movies to look forward to.
I have watched the series Signed, Sealed and Delivered and loved all of them; however your Christmas special is a classic. I have watched the movie several times this season as well as purchased the DVD for future viewing. Thank you so much for writing such a beautiful story. All the actors of course made particularly enjoyable. I look forward to your future endeavors.
I am very disappointed that Signed, Sealed, Delivered is moving to a new format. The existing series was great and focused on the simplier, more important things in life. What a difference it is to watch a show with substance rather than those reality shows just focused on grabbing people’s attention.
The cast are great, the music is fantastic and the show should have remained in it’s original format. The Christmas show was fantastic!
I like previous comments I’ve read… Am very disappointed that Signed, Sealed, and Delivered will only be in movie format. While I am thrilled to have 2 hour movies to watch in the future. I wish they were an added “bonus” to the series utilizing both Hallmark and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channels. It truly was SOOO good to have something decent to watch on TV and created by none other than Martha Williamson. Her expertise has been MISSED. I really do hope the people in charge will reconsider and bring the series back and keep the movies as an… Read more »
I know you’re disappointed but through the years, shows that we have liked have come and gone. We just accept what is and move on. Don’t deprive yourself from enjoying what Hallmark Channel has to offer. You might want to check out Pixel Channel as well.
My husband and I used to look forward to Sunday nights , to get into our pjs and settle down to watch our new favorite show, Signed ,Sealed, and Delivered. We are absolutely devastated to have Hallmark remove it from the airwaves ,and reduce it to only a few special times a year! It was such a refreshing change from any of the shows on TV, and we cried,laughed and went to bed with a smile on our faces after watching each episode. It gave one hope and optimism, which is sorely missing in our world today. Its quirkiness, and… Read more »
I absoloutely agree! It was just the right mix of funny serious and mystery, and clean to boot…I feel like they used us who have just the hallmark channel as test pilots to see if a series is successful then dumped us in favor of the movie channel – feeling very frustrated. Also I notice they are changing the “dress code” and heading down the trail that “shows more” – liked it the way it was – so family friendly…maybe they should revisit WHY it was a success!!!
I should have known the one TV series that I absolutely love would be cancelled and moved. I wish you would reconsider and keep it as a weekly series.
I have to say, I am hugely disappointed by this move. Why couldn’t you keep the series AND do the movie specials too? You could have kept the series on the regular Hallmark channel and put the movies on the Hallmark M&M channel – that way you attract viewers to BOTH networks. I loved this series so much, and the idea that instead of getting to watch it for 13 or 26 episodes a year, I’ll only get to see 3-4 movies is terribly disappointing. I realize I’m late to the party here, since this was apparently announced months ago,… Read more »
I loved it as a series. It’s a great show that i would prefer to watch every week. A show that is acceptable for all ages. The movie format means I have to constantly check the channel to see when the new movies come on. If I catch a preview for it I will watch if not I won’t.
I can’t tell you how upset I am that you take the one show off that is so different from any show we all have. It beats cops and robbers or hospital shows we have so much of that now but, this was wonderful to watch and exciting as well. Now you go and ruin every thing and take it off, can’t believe you guys. You finally gets a show that work for every one, and me and my other half don’t have that much in commin and you take it off the air? Shame on you. We get direct… Read more »
I can’t believe my eyes that you are taking the show Signed Sealed Deliver off! You disappoint me so much. For the first time I find a good show that me and my other half just LOVE and now you take it away from us. We don’t have to much in common but that was one we did and we both, looked so foward to it coming on now you just miss us up. I sure hope you reconsider what you are doing to your customers, I see you made a few mad at what you are doing to us.… Read more »
For the first time you put on a show that I really enjoy and started watching and you take it off. I so enjoyed the show because it not guns, or hospital shows going on. They have to many of that on T. V. This was so different my other half got me interested and we couldn’t wait till the next show to see waht happens. Now you take it off. What are you crazy or what? You guys take off all the shows that mean so much to all of us because its a family show that have meaning.… Read more »
I love watching this as a weekly show. Do not take this off so the new Witch series can come on. Please bring this show back and have movies too.