Hallmark Channel announces that three-time Emmy(R) nominee Gail O'Grady ("NYPD Blue," "Boston Legal," "Hellcats") and Michelle Harrison ("Tom Dick & Harriet," "Emily Owens M.D.") are set to star in "The Mystery Cruise."
The two-hour backdoor pilot and the network's newest potential
Primetime series in development, began production in Vancouver. Based on the book The Santa Cruise by New York Times bestselling authors, Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, the backdoor pilot centers on the dynamic partnership of Alvirah Meehan (O'Grady) and Regan Reilly (Harrison). These two best friends and unlikely business partners team up, using their talent for detection and unorthodox ways to solve crimes. The World Premiere of "The Mystery Cruise," is scheduled for Saturday, October 19 @ 9p.m. ET/PT, 8C on Hallmark Channel and will air on the network in 2014, should the pilot be greenlit to series.
"The Mystery Cruise," is an Entertainment One Television production. Emmy(R) Award nominees Howard Burkons ("The
Ron Clark Story") and Brenda Friend ("The
Ron Clark Story," "Joan of Arc") and Entertainment One's Ira Pincus ("Goodnight for Justice") and John Morayniss ("Hell on Wheels," "Klondike") are executive producers. Doug Barr ("Notes From the Heart Healer") directs from a script by Burkons. Entertainment One is also the international distributor.
"The Mystery Cruise" centers on best friends and impending partners, Alvirah Meehan (O'Grady), a lottery winner turned amateur sleuth and Regan Reilly (Harrison), a private investigator. After the two heroines rescue the diamond-collared pooch of a wealthy socialite (played by Carol Higgins Clark), they set off with their spouses to join Regan's mom, Nora Reilly (Colleen Winton, "The 4400"), a world famous mystery writer, on a luxurious three day cruise around the San Juan Island off the coast of Washington, the setting for a mystery game created to promote the release of Nora's latest book. As the boat calmly sets sail, everyone is enjoying getting into character, especially Alvirah, who may or may not be the "murderess" in the mystery game. But troubled waters lie ahead when Alvirah gets a hunch that a real killer may be on board and together with Regan the pair teams up to take the killer down. Back on the mainland, Alvirah and Regan hang out their shingle in their fabulous Manhattan office to continue their sleuthing and crime fighting ways!
About Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming available in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to a national audience of 87 million subscribers. Hallmark Channel is the nation's leading destination for quality family programming with an ambitious slate of original TV movies and specials, as well as some of television's most beloved sitcoms and series, including The Golden Girls, The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, and Frasier. The channel is also home to a range of lifestyle programming, anchored by Home & Family, a daily two-hour live show shot in a fully functional house located on the
Universal Studios lot. Hallmark Channel's sibling network, Hallmark Movie Channel, available in HD and SD, focuses on family-friendly movies with a mix of original films, classic theatrical releases, and presentations from the acclaimed Hall
Mark Hall of Fame library.
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About Entertainment One
The company's comprehensive network extends around the globe including Canada, the US, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Benelux, France, Germany, Scandinavia, South
Africa and South Korea. Through established Entertainment and Distribution divisions, the company provides extensive expertise in film distribution, television and music production, family programming and merchandising and licensing. Its current rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 35,000 film and television titles, 2,700 hours of television programming and 45,000 music tracks. http://www.entertainmentonegroup.com/
