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?
I am very sad that Signed, Sealed, Delivered is moving to a different place and that it won’t be a weekly show. I don’t believe that I get the other channel so I won’t be able to watch one of my new favorite shows. I am upset and I hope something happens to change this. I am still happy that they are kind of keeping the show but I am very disappointed that I will not be able to watch it. I loved it and I will now miss it.
This makes me sad because I don’t get Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. It also make me sad they have moved so many of my favorite Christmas movies to this channel
I am very sad signed sealed and delivered will no longer be a series. It was great fun to watch and a very welcome break from regular television. I will miss it. I can not get the other hallmark channel.
I’m very disappointed that Signed, Sealed, Delivered will not be back as a weekly series. Please reconsider. There is so much useless drivel on televsion, and this show was actually something with substance to look forward to.
We love this series and would much prefer that it be kept as a weekly series. It is so well cast!
I am very sad! Out of all the mini- series you introduced last year, this was my favorite. My family looked forward to seeing it every week. I guess that we can be grateful that the wonderful characters and story plots are not lost forever and we can continue to enjoy our favorite lost letter detectives!
I can’t help but wonder if it’s because the
network is afraid to put on a faith base show
that show the main character reading God’s word.
I have noticed a change in there shows and even
Commercials.
I am so saddened to read this, I enjoyed the weekly evening of CLEAN television that myself and niece could enjoy. I will look forward to the movies, but will miss the weekly tradition.
I am very disappointed also, especially since I do not get that peemium package. Go back to the Hallmark channel!
I am so sorry to hear this! My children and I looked forward to the weekly episodes and even DVR’d them if we could not watch at the time aired. Our dish level does not include the Hallmark Movie and Mystery Channel, so we will sorely miss this wholesome show that was inspirational for people paying it forward.
My heart is saddened. I fell in love with the television show and could not take my eyes off of it. My 12 year old son asked me what I was watching one day and I told him. He began watching the show with me and he too became attached. There are so many negative and pointless shows on television that when you find one that’s worth watching you get addicted. I would much rather have something to look forward to every week verses having to wait months for a movie. Guess it was great while it lasted….
This is terrible news. First of all, I’d rather have the weekly series but even worse than that, our cable company (Nep) doesn’t carry the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel. I’m so disappointed. There are such few wholesome shows on anymore and this series was one of my favorites.
I didn’t know about the weekly series until after I missed several. Are they available to purchase?
This is a wonderful series that I looked forward to every week. I’m disappointed to see that they’ve changed it to a movie format with long breaks between “episodes.” Hard to keep track of the occasional movie. Please put it back into a weekly series! Fortunately I get both channels, but I’ll have to play detective to find the SSD movies every few months.
Glad I stumbled on this news while viewing the Home and Family website…however, while having no problem with the switch from a weekly show to movie venue, I am disappointed in the channel change. While our cable company offers the Hallmark Channel, we do not have the Movie and Mystery Channel to my knowledge. I missed the last two episodes and it appears I will have to pay to finally see them as they only aired one night during their season. I really looked forward to Cedar Cove and Signed, Sealed and Delivered, neither of which aired long enough for… Read more »
I would like to see this show go back to its weekly format–for the entire year if possible, not just a season. It is that incredible. I never missed the show and planned other things around it. When I noted that it was moving from Hallmark Movie Channel to the Hallmark Movie and Mystery Channel I called Comcast to find out if I had that channel in my basic package. I was told that if you have Hallmark you will also have the Hallmark Movie and Mystery Channel. I checked it and did. I look forward to the movie and… Read more »
keep them both . the regular time spot and the and a few movies in the off season