Hallmark Channel said Monday that Andie MacDowell (Cedar Cove) and Chad Michael Murray will indeed be co-starring in a new Hallmark Hall of Fame original film, The Beach House.

The film, about a woman who returns to her Southern roots to find love and save sea turtles, has begun production and will premiere in May 2018, according to the Channel. It had originally been announced for a 2016 release.

 “I love the connection to nature, preservation and saving turtles, and so I am grateful to Hallmark Channel, our wonderful cast, Dan Wigutow, Sue Tenney, and one of my favorite authors Mary Alice Monroe,” said MacDowell of the role when the film was announced.

Beach House is an adaptation of the Mary Alice Monroe novel series. Executive producers are Wigutow and Stephen Harmaty. Maria Nation and Tippi & Neal Dobrofsky will do the adaptation.

Colin Ferguson has joined the third-season cast of Hallmark Channel's initial original series, Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove.

Feguson (Eureka, The Vampire Diaries) has been cast in a recurring role of district attorney Paul Watson, when Cedar Cove, starring Andie McDowell and Dylan Neal, returns with a two-hour season premiere in July.

In the upcoming season, Ferguson's Watson wastes little time getting to know Judge Olivia Lockhart (McDowell), which stirs things up inside and outside the legal docket. As Olivia’s romance with newspaper editor Jack (Neal) hangs in the balance following a shocking discovery, Olivia, along with her family and friends, will find her small town is bursting with more drama than ever.

“Colin Ferguson is an exceptional new addition to our extraordinary Cedar Cove family, with his proven talent in series television and his electric, playful onscreen charisma,” said Michelle Vicary, executive vice president of programming and publicity, Crown Media Family Networks. “Colin’s character will surprise and delight viewers by adding an unexpected, but very fun, new dynamic to the emotional relationships and riveting storylines in Cedar Cove.”

Hallmark Channel will bring back its popular original series Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove for a third season, the network said Wednesday.

The series, based on The New York Times bestselling author’s beloved book series and starring internationally renowned actress Andie MacDowell,finished its second season. The series is produced by Ron French and Stephen Harmaty in association with Dan Wigutow. During its second season, the series avereaged 2.4 million viewers (Live +3) according to Nielsen, making it cable's most watched program on Saturdays this past summer during the 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. period.

 “Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove has captivated millions of viewers week after week with emotional, riveting and poignant stories of romance, family and friendships in an idyllic seaside town,” said Michelle Vicary, executive vice president of programming & network publicity for Crown Media Family Networks said in a statement. “It is not surprising that Cedar Cove is touching so many viewers, and we owe that success to our star Andie MacDowell and this phenomenal cast.”

Crown Media Holdings, which runs the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel, reported higher earnings in the first quarter.

Net income rose 20% to $14.5 million or 4 cents per share, from $12 million, or 3 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 6% to $85.6 million.

Advertising revenue rose 6% to $69.4 million in the quarter. The company said the increase was the result of ratings growth at Hallmark Movie Channel and its forbear. Those gains were offset by lower demographic ratings at Hallmark Channel.

Subscriber revenue rose 4% to $21 million.

Programming costs were up 27% because of amortization of 100% of the cost of the original series When Calls the Heart and the Kitten Bowl special.

“Building on the success of our first original series Cedar Cove, we introduced our second original series When Calls the Heart in January 2014 to the delight of our loyal viewers. We snagged their hearts with the Kitten Bowl in February 2014,” Bill Abbott, president and CEO of Crown Media Family Networks, said in a statement. “With a slate of 15 original movie premieres in 2014, the return of "Countdown to Christmas" with 12 original movies and The Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas, and the realignment of the Hallmark Movie Channel’s brand with a new name, tagline and logo called Hallmark Movies & Mysteries; we have positioned ourselves to meet our strategic goals.”