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.

Even as pay TV operators mull removing channels from the traditional cable bundle, Crown Media Networks hopes Sunday’s (Oct. 1) launch of new linear channel Hallmark Drama shows there’s still life in the old bundle.

Hallmark Drama, like its sister networks Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, will offer a mix of acquired content and Hallmark-themed originals aimed at fans of the brand, according to Crown Media CEO Bill Abbott.

Related: Why Hallmark Is Betting It Can Create a New Cable Network

Abbott said Hallmark Drama will not feature any programming currently airing on Hallmark or Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, drawing instead on Crown Media’s library of original movies and series, including decades of “Hallmark Hall of Fame” films.

Distribution deals with several undisclosed pay TV providers will put Hallmark Drama in 5 million households at launch, the company said. Sister network Hallmark Movies & Mysteries deals do not include a license fee, according to industry sources, though Abbott and Crown officials would not discuss carriage terms, citing confidentiality.

“We still have quite a few deals that we have to complete and we will have significant distribution by first quarter 2018,” Abbott said.

Hallmark Drama follows another recent, sizable linear channel launch: NBCUniversal’s July debut of the Olympic Channel. Overall, though, channel launches run against the trend of distributors dropping networks where possible in an effort to offer cheaper, slimmed-down cable packages to consumers.

Abbott said there’s still appeal in the traditional cable bundle and is pitching Hallmark Drama as adding value to distributor packages.

“It’s our view that the ecosystem is still very strong and the big package of multiple cable networks is still a value and provides a great television option,” he said. “The skinny bundle is great if you’re maybe a single person or not that big a fan of TV, but if you’re in a household with more than one person and those people have a variety of interests, the skinny bundle doesn’t do it.”

Hallmark Channel has enjoyed strong ratings momentum, finishing among the top 15 cable networks in primetime during the third quarter of 2017, averaging 884,000 viewers, according to Nielsen. That was more than the 813,000 viewers posted during the second quarter, Nielsen said.

Hallmark will also step into the OTT arena Oct. 10 with the debut of the Hallmark Movies Now subscription streaming service. The offering, which will cost $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year, will also feature unduplicated content.

“For the passionate Hallmark fan who is engaged toward our content in a big way, we’re offering the service as an add-on that really punches up their engagement with Hallmark and [lets them] experience content they won’t see on the other three Hallmark services,” he said.

Hallmark Channel will premiere two new originals this weekend (Jan. 24-25), including a new Hall of Fame entry, Away and Back, starring Jason Lee and Minka Kelly.

In Away and Back, which bows at 9 p.m. on Jan. 25, Lee (My Name Is Earl) is a widower who comes up against a no-nonsense ornithologist, played by Kelly (Friday Night Lights, Almost Human), when a flock of swans settles in on his family farm.

On Jan. 24 the network premieres Love by the Book, in which bookstore owner Emma (Canadian actress Leah Renee) is torn between fairytale courtship and genuine commitment when two suitors (Kristopher Turner and Ryan Bittle) enter her life. Love by the Book, which had originally been slated for Jan. 17, airs instead on Saturday at 9 p.m.

Hallmark Channel, reaping the Nielsen benefits of its "Countdown to Christmas" programming play, is also setting its sight on a strong start to 2015 with a half-dozen new telefilms.

The network will usher in 2015 with the debuts of six new original movies, including the Hallmark Hall of Fame world premiere of Away & Back, starring Minka Kelly and Jason Lee.

The sixth telefilm, 30th Birthday, with Megan Park, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Dean Cain, will kick off another channel gambit, Countdown to Valentine's Day.

“Viewers expect Hallmark Channel to take them on a romantic escape and now we are delivering countless hours of romance, love, laughter and joy to celebrate a new year,” said Michelle Vicary, executive vice president of programming, Crown Media Family Networks. “These uplifting stories, including Away & Back, will bring the magic and beauty of romance to the delight of millions.”

The January Hallmark Channel original movie world premieres, as described by the programmer:

‘SURPRISED BY LOVE’

A Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere

Saturday, January 3 (9p.m. ET/PT, 8C)

Starring:Hilarie Burton, Paul Campbell,Malcom Stewart, Wanda Cannon, Leanne Lapp, Aaron Craven and Tim Conway

Josie Mayfield (Burton), a no-nonsense businesswoman working at her father’s prosperous cookware company, thinks her boyfriend Richard (Aaron Craven, “Gracepoint”) is the perfect man – handsome, successful and driven. The problem is that Josie’s parents, Joseph and Claire (Malcom Stewart, “My Boyfriends’ Dogs” and Wanda Cannon “Heartland”), do not agree. When Josie meets up with Gridley (Campbell), an underachieving, old high school flame (who still has a crush on Josie), Richard dreams up a plan to make himself look good to Josie’s parents: Gridley will be Josie’s date at Joseph and Claire’s upcoming anniversary party. When Joseph and Claire see Josie with a “loser,” they’ll give anything to have Richard back in the picture. At least, that’s the plan.

‘A NOVEL ROMANCE’

A Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere

Saturday, January 10 (9p.m. ET/PT, 8C)

Starring:Amy Acker, Dylan Bruce, Camille Mitchell, Tammy Gillis, Casey Manderson, Emily Tennant, Milo Shandel, Chris Shields and Charles S. Dutton

Romance novelist Liam Bradley (Bruce) has already found massive success with three books written under the pen name Gabriel August, mysteriously unknown to his legions of readers.  With his first book written as a way to heal after a broken relationship, Liam has slowly become disheartened with writing strictly for romantic fantasy, something evident to a sweet, but honest, journalist who reviews books, Sophie Atkinson (Acker), whom he meets by chance on a plane.  The two begin a tentative relationship in Sophie’s home town of Portland, Maine, where Liam has come to find inspiration for his newest entry.

‘LOVE BY THE BOOK’

A Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere

Saturday, January 17 (9p.m. ET/PT, 8C)

Starring: Leah Renee,Kristopher Turner, John Schneider, Ryan Bittle,Stefanie Powers, Cherilyn Wilson, Cuyle Carvin, Michael Ensign

After a childhood filled with reading fairytales, bookstore owner Emma (Renee) believes in handsome princes and happily ever afters.  Unlike her happily married coworker Marilyn (Powers), Emma has yet to be swept away by her own prince charming.  Trying to both find an idyllic love life and impress her store’s investor, Frank (Schneider), Emma balances time dating romantic suitor Landon (Ryan Bittle, “All My Children”) and time at her store with Frank’s nettlesome son, Eric (Kristopher Turner, “Saving Hope”).  Although Landon demonstrates real knight and shining armor potential with his romantic overtures, he doesn’t understand her priorities or support her passions like Eric does.  As Emma weighs fairytale courtship against genuine commitment, she learns that real love has more layers than storybook romances.

‘BRIDAL WAVE’

A Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere

Saturday, January 24 (9p.m. ET/PT, 8C)

Starring:Arielle Kebbel, Andrew W. Walker, David Haydn-Jones and Jaclyn Smith

As her wedding day draws near, Georgie Dwyer (Kebbel) has doubts surrounding her plans to marry Dr. Phillip Hamilton (Haydn-Jones), a dashing and prominent plastic surgeon. Georgie’s anxiety level soars when an extravagant wedding ceremony is arranged at a romantic island resort. Preferring things low-key and simple, Georgie feels she’s lost control of her own wedding, as well as her life. Though Phillip qualifies as the “perfect” fiancé, Georgie feels a romantic spark is missing in their relationship. Tensions rise even further when Phillip’s sophisticated mother, Felice (Smith), blatantly frowns upon Georgie’s working class origins. On the picturesque island, Georgie keeps finding herself in chance encounters with Luke Griggs (Walker), a scruffily handsome ex-architect, who walked away from a high-end architectural firm to enjoy a simple, no-frills life.  When an undeniable chemistry develops between Georgie and Luke, Georgie must decide if she’s going to move ahead with her rapidly approaching marriage to Phillip.

‘AWAY & BACK’

A Hallmark Hall of Fame World Premiere Presentation

Sunday, January 25 (8p.m. ET/PT, 7C)

Starring: Jason Lee, Minka Kelly

When a family of swans make their home on the Peterson farm, it’s love at first sight for 10-year-old daughter Frankie.  But along comes no-nonsense ornithologist Ginny Newsom (Kelly), who rushes in to “save” the majestic birds.  For Frankie’s dad Jack (Lee), it’s dislike at first sight when he encounters pushy, know-it-all Ginny. Frankie and her brothers are anything but neutral observers as they watch the initial hostility between their widowed father and the strong-willed Ginny transform into something else.  Could that be romance in the air?

‘30THBIRTHDAY’

A Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere

Saturday, January 31 (8p.m. ET/PT, 7C)

Stars: Megan Park, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Dean Cain

Lindsay Corwin (Park) is a long-time believer in birthday wishes and she has wished for everything over the years from a puppy to a promotion.  As she approaches her 30th birthday, Lindsay laments to her best friend Dave (Hollingsworth) that not one of them has ever come true and her life is nothing like she envisioned.  Still just an assistant at her green product firm, and reeling from her latest dating disaster, Lindsay is ready to give up on her long wish list.  But when Dave throws her a surprise 30th birthday party, Lindsay resolves to blow out her candles and make one final wish: for all of her wishes to come true. Within days, Lindsay’s 30 years of wishes start to become a reality.  Her divorced parents reconcile, she loses weight, is promoted at work, wins a brand new house and even gets a special kiss from her favorite TV star (Dean Cain).  Then, Lindsay meets Reed (Lemke), a passionate environmental tycoon who could fulfill her best wish of all: finding Mr. Right.  As Lindsay and Reed begin a whirlwind romance too good to be true, Dave longs to tell her about his own deepening feelings for her.  But soon, Lindsay’s new dream life starts to fall apart and threatens to compromise her character, her friendships and her potential for true, lasting love.

It's not exactly on the level of cable's siphoning of big-ticket sports, but premieres of Hallmark Hall of Fame specials are moving from broadcast to cable. The series of family-friendly films will leave ABC and debut on Hallmark Channel in 2014-15.

The series has been a broadcast TV staple for more than 60 years, starting with Amahl and the Night Visitors in 1951, and for kids proved something of a gilt-edged guarantee of being able to stay up late on a schoolnight.

The Hallmark Hall of Fame movies have aired on ABC for the past three years, but will now debut on Hallmark Channel along with multiple encores. The first movie in the new arrangement will be One Christmas Eve, starring Anne Heche. Hallmark Channel will air as many as four original Hallmark Hall Of Fame movies as year, and the network will have access to past movies from the HHOF library, Michelle Vicary, executive vice president of programming for Hallmark told Multichannel News.

“Over the past three years the Hallmark Hall of Fame has had higher total viewership via ABC and Hallmark Channel than in any three-year period in the past decade,” said Brad Moore, president of Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions in a statement. “We’ve enjoyed the success and our working relationships with both ABC and Hallmark Channel."

Bill Abbott, President and CEO, Crown Media Family Networks, added that, “Hallmark Hall of Fame is the longest running and most beloved drama franchise in television history. Adding these premieres to the network’s lineup brings great value to our viewers and further reinforces Crown Media’s position as the leader in high-quality original family entertainment.”