TCA: Production Starts on Hallmark Movie's 'Sugar Cookie Murder'

Production will commence this month on the Sugar Cookie Murder, an entry from the Hannah Swensen Mystery series and the initial telefilm that will appear as part of the who-dun-it "wheels" that will key the upcoming conversion of the Hallmark Movie Channel into Hallmark Movies & Mysteries this fall.

The Sugar Cookie Murder telefilm, based on one of Joanne Fluke’s best-selling books from the Hannah Swensen Mystery franchise, is slated to bow during the holiday season, under the revamped network's "Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas" banner, featuring traditional and classic holiday fare. The news was among a host announcements made by Hallmark Movie Channel, and its progenitor, Hallmark Channel, as the Television Critics Association summer press tour at the Beverly Hilton.

Casting is expected to be announced over the next few weeks.

Hallmark Movie Channel officially will transtion into Hallmark Movies & Mysteries on Oct. 1. As part of that transformation, the service will feature mystery “wheels," rotations of distinct movie franchises, each consisting of several telefilms that follow the same primary characters over a few months.

In addition to Hannah Swensen Mysteries, the network will feature projects under Garage Sale Mystery heading, based on the 2013 original Hallmark Channel telefilm, starring Lori Loughlin (When Calls the Heart); The Gourmet Detective, based on Peter King’s books and starring Dylan Neal (Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove); and Aurora Tea Garden with Candace Cameron Bure.

According to a network spokeswoman, production is expected to begin on Garage Sale Mystery in August, and Aurora in September. Work on The Gourment Detective will follows after Neal takes a break after completing the second season of Cedar Cove, Hallmark Channel's top original series drama.

In Sugar Cookie Murder, the holidays are the icing on the cake for Hannah who is surrounded by her loved ones and has all the ingredients for a perfect Christmas until murder is added to the mix. The annual Christmas buffet is the final test of the recipes Hannah has collected for the Lake Eden Holiday Buffet cookbook. While baking the day’s goodies at The Cookie Jar, the evening’s plans begin to jell. There is mystery aplenty among the guests with everyone appearing just a bit on the odd side. But when Hannah’s mother’s antique Christmas cake knife disappears just as a guest at the dinner is discovered murdered everyone becomes a suspect.

Sugar Cookie Murder  is a Brad Krevoy Television and Stephanie Germain Productions Production.