There’s something comforting about tuning into any one of the upcoming Hallmark movies and knowing that everyone will get their happy ending. The bakery will be saved, the murder will be solved, the guy will get the girl, etc. How we get to that point, however, shouldn’t be as obvious. Longtime Hallmark star Alison Sweeney has written the scripts for the past couple of Hannah Swensen mysteries, and she told me how she likes to “mix it up” so the movies aren’t so predictable.
Alison Sweeney has been playing baker-turned-detective Hannah Swensen for a decade now, with the latest Murder, She Baked adaptation, Reality Bites, hitting the 2025 TV schedule as part of February’s Loveuary lineup. CinemaBlend was able to talk to Sweeney about the project, and she said she loved the challenge of making the story “different or new or in some way surprising” through her writing:
It just never feels tired or repetitive. I really look forward to it every time, and as we’re developing the mysteries and the stories, I feel the same way as I imagine an audience feels, you know? They don’t want to be bored, and they don’t want to feel like they totally know how it’s gonna go. So anything I can do to mix it up or change things around or find a new way into the mystery.
She’s right that while there may be a perfect Hallmark movie formula, it’s not as much fun for viewers if there aren’t a few surprises along the way (for example, the brilliant Monty Python joke Alison Sweeney included in Reality Bites: A Hannah Swensen Mystery).
Lacey Chabert, another star on the network, has said in response to criticism of Hallmark movies being too formulaic that she also tries to find a new, surprising way into her characters, and she pointed out how Hallmark has evolved over the past few years to tackle new things like comedy and heavier subject matter. Alison Sweeney spoke to CinemaBlend about the other ingredients, if you will, that she adds to deepen the flavor of her Hannah Swensen mysteries, saying:
Leaning into the romance, I think, helps a lot and the family dynamic so that the audience really has something that they can enjoy apart and separate from solving the mystery. Then it’s not just about the clues, even though that’s so important and there’s a lot to explain. If I can move the relationships forward or not, or back, and cause some personal drama there too, that’s always really satisfying.
No one ever seems to accuse Hannah Swensen’s baked goods of lacking flavor, and I guess we can say the same for Alison Sweeney’s scripts. I like that we get a little Hannah and Chad romance on the side of our murder. Throw in some complicated family dynamics with Hannah’s mom Delores, and honestly, nothing is predictable.
If you didn’t get a chance to catch Reality Bites the first time around, the latest Hannah Swensen Mystery will re-air at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, March 2, on Hallmark Mystery.
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