[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]
Amanda Schull makes her Mystery Wheel debut Friday night with the potential Hallmark Mystery franchise, Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home. Starring alongside Brendan Penny and a host of familiar #CdnTV faces, she plays Dr. Rachel Hunt, who runs the titular family practice in her small town when the unexpected death of Ross (Greg Kean), a patient with a clean bill of health, sets her on an investigative path.
A former Army surgeon and forensics specialist, her curiosity is piqued by the sudden loss of one of her favorite patients. Thanks to a connect from her dad, Rick (Gerard Plunkett), with whom she lives alongside her twin teenagers, Chloe (Isla Crerar) and Matthew (Jett Klyne), Rachel finds an ally in a local detective. Jack (Penny) is hard-pressed to believe his sleepy little town has a murderer running around, but following an initial meet-cute between the two that precedes their formal introduction, he’s not unhappy to spend time with her.
While he works the proper channels, she builds an informal investigation of her own, with an assist from the local editor, Avery (Ian Collins), who worked for Ross. She runs down her own clues, and once she finally proves that Ross was actually murdered, Jack joins forces with her to find out who’s responsible.
In the background, we spend a little time with her family as Chloe and Matthew navigate the caste system drama of high school while Rick and office manager, Melody (Sunita Prasad), offer counsel on the emotional component of coming back home after the loss of her husband two years earlier. And there’s a very cute dog added for good measure when she agrees to foster him while his human, David (Reese Alexander), recovers in he hospital.
It’s a solid pilot, if that’s what it ends up being, and I’m so glad that Schull might get a shot at doing these. Rachel is a terrifically layered character, and I like that her vibe right out of the gate with Jack is friendly. Because of her background, she’s taken seriously for her intuition and insight. It’s a great role for Penny, too. More of these, please.
Look for familiar Hallmarkies Christopher Shyer, Kendall Cross, Linda Ko, and Benjamin Wilkinson as potential suspects and allies. Michael Robison directs a script by Law & Order alumni Barry Schkolnick (his first Hallmark project!).
Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home is streaming now on Hallmark Movies Now and premieres linearly Friday night at 9 pm/8c on Hallmark Mystery and streaming on various outlets in the U.S. and on W Network in Canada. Here are a couple of sneak peeks.
Photos courtesy of Allister Foster/Hallmark Media; videos courtesy of Hallmark Media.
Previewing Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home
NatGeo Photographer: Campbell Addy “Feeling Seen”
You know the quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Campbell Addy wants to be that change. As an artist, he wants to be vulnerable and take himself seriously as a creative. He’s got the talent. But does he have the balls to do it? Campbell’s…
NatGeo Photographer: Dan Winters “Life is Once. Forever.”
Widely recognized for his unusual portraiture, scientific photography, illustrations and photojournalistic stories, Dan Winters describes his life as a quest to relive his boyhood experiences. His NatGeo photo editor, Todd James, says Dan is living his childhood obsessions — not that there’s anything wrong with that. He thinks Dan’s obsessive…
Maahra Hill Talks The Irrational
I’m a Jesse L. Martin stan back to the OG Mothership Law & Order (pour one out for Lennie Brisco, y’all), although I admittedly tapped out on The Flash at a certain point. This season, Martin has been back in his old NBC stomping grounds with The Irrational, a different,…
George R. Olson, Tim Rozon, and Sarah Levy Talk the SurrealEstate S2 Finale
[Spoilers for the SurrealEstate Season 2 finale.] How’s everyone doing after the finale? As we close out the second season of SurrealEstate, some of our merry band of misfits are scattering to the winds–Zooey to law school, Phil to the Vatican, and Augie back to his think tank with Rochelle,…
Previewing SurrealEstate Season 2 Finale + Revisiting the Season with George R. Olson
[Warning; General spoilers ahead.] Strap in, SurrealEstate fam, because we’ve arrived at the Season 2 finale, and it’s a doozy. As we saw in the closing moments of last week’s episode, Susan is back. But because we have one more episode left, it’s not as simple as all that, as…
Tyler Hynes Talks Through His Eight-Film Hallmark Holiday Library
Things you realize when you have to re-record your shows on a new DVR – just how many Hallmark movies your people have done. Fan favorite – and one of ours – Tyler Hynes has done eight Christmas movies for Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries since 2018. Alongside…
Spencer Creaghan Talks About Creating SurrealEstate’s Signature Sound
SurrealEstate is winding down its second season, with two episodes left, and just as in Season 1, Spencer Creaghan’s music continues to be a character unto itself. And every week, he shares tidbits with the fans via his s social media channels, something he started to help give them an…
Andrew Walker Talks Christmas Island and the Magical Hallmark Community
[Warning: Spoilers for Christmas Island.] Now that the Screen Actors Guild strike has been resolved, we’re able to resume regularly scheduled programming and interview our favorites and yours. Up first, earlier today, I spoke with Andrew Walker about Christmas Island, which premiered last weekend and encores tonight and through the…
George Olson and Danishka Esterhazy Talk SurrealEstate “I Put a Spell on You”
[Warning: Spoilers for the episode.] Tonight’s fun new SurrealEstate found Luke caught up in an especially bewitching woman, Kay, played by Tara Yelland, Susan trapped in her house, and Zooey learning the ropes. In the next part of my conversation with showrunner George R. Olson and producing director Danishka Esterhazy,…
Danishka Esterhazy Talks SurrealEstate: “The Butler Didn’t”
[Warning: General spoilers for the episode]. Tonight’s new SurrealEstate, “The Butler Didn’t,” follows the team as they investigate the years-earlier mysterious death of a woman whose ghost now reenacts her hanging by dropping over the banister from the second floor to terrify anyone on the landing or at the bottom…
What They Said: Three Revealing Conversations from Survivor’s Remorse “Closure”
WARNING: Spoilers for Survivor’s Remorse “Closure” The latest episode of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse featured conversations that showed characters really digging deep into their thoughts, emotions and motivations.
Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off”
Who can you trust? If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped…
What They Said: Top 3 Quotable Moments from Preacher “El Valero”
Both Quincannon and Jesse refuse to give up on what they each think is rightfully theirs. While Jesse is struggling to face the consequences of his actions, Quincannon has laid his past demons to rest and is hellbent on moving forward and putting Annville on the map again. Despite a…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Supergirl “Worlds Finest”
Oh, Supergirl. That ending was cold. But I can’t hate on you because the latest episode has quickly become one of my favorites.
What They Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Black Sails “XXIII”
The dialogue in “XXIII” is phenomenal. It’s always a fun ride when Black Sails carries its viewers along without giving them the chance to catch their breath. When an episode moves at this unforgiving pace, there is no chance for a breather nor is there a respite from the information…
What Lucifer Said: Favorite quotes from Supernatural “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Supernatural episodes are almost always funny but thanks to the dialogue and a certain man speaking said dialogue, I laughed a lot during “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” You know, when I wasn’t busy fearing for Sam’s life or wondering what in the world was going on with Dean and…
What They Said: The Flash, “Legends Of Today” and Arrow, “Legends Of Yesterday”
Two nights of Arrow + The Flash = what more could we ask for?! I don’t know what it is about blending these shows, but I can’t help but feel that every time they come together, they somehow become greater than the sum of their parts. And that’s saying a lot…
What they Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Graceland “Little Bo Bleep”
Shoot outs. Fake outs. And long-awaited revelations. “Little Bo Bleep” was a jam-packed episode that wrapped up some loose ends and totally frayed others. Â It finally gave us one Sarkissian in jail and pulled back the curtain on Briggs’ master plan, but it also set up Jakes for a world…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Poldark “Part 4”
“What have I told you, I don’t require my wife to crochet and sip tea, but I do require her to remember she’s not a beast of burden.†No, I’m not talking about The Rolling Stones! I have to admit though, just for a second, the lyrics popped into my…