The Hallmark Channel finally, finally has some concrete dates for its very first original series. Cedar Cove is based on the popular series by bestselling genre author Debbie Macomber, which will follow a judge working in a small town environment. The show was expected to air via a backdoor pilot late in 2012, but after several months of hearing nothing about the program, on Wednesday, the channel announced the upcoming original series will begin airing on January 19.
Back in May, the Hallmark Channel signed former eighties film star Andie MacDowell to star as Judge Olivia Lockhart, the head of the municipal court in the small town drama, set in Cedar Cove. At the time, the biggest concern seemed to be that MacDowell would still have her duties with Jane By Design to fulfill, but back in August that series was cancelled, leaving plenty of room for MacDowell to focus on Cedar Cove.
While the series is now set to premiere in January of 2013, not much else has changed. Deadline is reporting the series will still feature a two-hour pilot that will be directed by Michael Scott (unfortunate name) and written by Bruce Graham. While I’ll miss MacDowell harkening back to her high fashion days, if Cedar Cove proves successful on the Hallmark Channel, it may bring about a new era of originally programming for the network, which will be far more memorable than a quickly-cancelled ABC family show.
