Hallmark Mystery Franchises by the Numbers: Film Guide (2024)

The Hallmark Mystery channel has won over fans with its variety of thrilling franchises over the years — and the list just keeps getting longer.Candace Cameron Bure, Lacey Chabert, Alison Sweeney and Holly Robinson Peete are just some of the names that have had their own movie series on the network over the years. Cameron Bure starred in 18 Aurora Teagarden Mysteries before exiting the network in 2022.Sweeney, meanwhile, portrayed Hannah Swensen in the Murder, She Baked franchise from 2015 to 2017 before reviving the character in 2021 for a new set of films: Hannah Swensen Mysteries.“I love making those movies,” Sweeney exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2022 of the baking-themed franchise that also stars Cameron Mathison. “Those are my favorites to be honest.”Scroll down to see which Hallmark Mystery franchise you’ve already seen — and which ones you need to mark off your list:

In April 2015, viewers fell in love with librarian Aurora Teagarden (Cameron Bure), the spitfire bookworm who is obsessed with true crime. The small-town sleuth taps into her love of learning — and ability to research a variety of topics at work — alongside her Real Murders Club pals to solve one case after another. The franchise also stars Niall Matter as Aurora’s love interest, Nick Miller, and Marilu Henner as her mom, Aida Teagarden.

In March 2023, Hallmark announced that Skyler Samuels will be playing a younger Aurora in a new prequel franchise under the same Aurora Teagarden Mysteries banner following Cameron Bure’s exit from the network in 2021.

Number of films: 19

A Bone to Pick, Real Murders, Three Bedrooms, One Corpse, The Julius House, Dead Over Heels, A Bundle of Trouble, Last Scene Alive, Reap What You Sew, The Disappearing Game, A Game of Cat and Mouse, An Inheritance to Die For, A Very Foul Play, Heist and Seek, Reunited and It Feels So Deadly, How to Con a Con, Til Death Do us Part, Honeymoon, Honeymurder, Haunted by Murder and Something New.

Upcoming release: Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New aired in June 2023.

Alex McPherson (played by Sweeney) becomes an amateur sleuth while hosting a true crime podcast for her uncle’s paper, The Chronicle, in this franchise. With the help of Chronicle editor Drew Godfrey (Benjamin Ayres) and several other staffers, Alex tries to get to the bottom of real-life murder cases, while staying out of trouble. The first movie, Chronicle Mysteries: Vines That Bind, premiered in March 2019.

Number of films: 5

Chronicle Mysteries: Vines That Bind, Chronicle Mysteries: The Wrong Man, Chronicle Mysteries: Recovered, Chronicle Mysteries: The Deep End and Chronicle Mysteries: Helped to Death.

Upcoming release: Latest installment aired in February 2021.

Hallmark Mystery takes viewers inside the darker side of the fashion world with the Crimes of Fashion franchise, premiering in 2024. In the first film, an American psychologist (Brooke D’Orsay) is hired to coach a fashion designer during Paris Fashion Week. When a murder takes place, she helps a French detective (Gilles Marini) uncover the truth.

Number of films: 1

Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch.

Upcoming release: Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch debuts on March 15, 2024.

Life imitates art in the CrimeTime franchise, beginning with 2024’s CrimeTime: Freefall. In the debut mystery, crime series actress Hadley Warner (Lyndie Greenwood) retires from acting to a small town where she stumbles upon a real-life case. With the help of detective Shawn Caden (Luke Macfarlane), Hadley hopes to solve the crime.

Number of films: 1

CrimeTime: Freefall.

Upcoming release: CrimeTime: Freefall premieres on February 23, 2024.

A crossword puzzle editor named Tess (Chabert) uses her unique skill set to help Detective Logan (Brennan Elliott) solve a variety of cases after clues from her Sentinel puzzles are linked to unsolved crimes in the area. Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For first premiered in March 2019.

Number of films: 5

Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For, Crossword Mysteries: Proposing Murder, Crossword Mysteries: Abracadaver, Crossword Mysteries: Terminal Descent and Crossword Mysteries: Riddle Me Dead.

Upcoming release: Most recent film dropped in 2019.

Nikki DeLoach and Andrew Walker teamed up for the first film in this series, Dying for Chocolate: A Curious Caterer Mystery, in April 2022. The debut movie follows a Colorado caterer named Goldy Berry (DeLoach), who inserts herself into a murder investigation when her friend mysteriously dies. Detective Tom Schultz (Walker) must figure out if Goldy is trustworthy before accepting her as an asset and valuable partner during the investigation.

Number of films: 3

Dying for Chocolate: A Curious Caterer Mystery,Grilling Season: A Curious Caterer Mysteryand Curious Caterer: Fatal Vows.

Upcoming release: The third mystery, Curious Caterer: Fatal Vows, premiered in October 2023.

Julie Gonzalo joined Hallmark Mystery family with February 2022’s Cut, Color, Murder. She portrays a savvy hairdresser named Ali that works with detective Kyle Crawford (Ryan McPartlin) to solve a pageant murder. Ali’s hidden talent is that she can make anyone talk due to her work at the salon — and she never stops fighting for justice.

Number of films: 1

Cut, Color, Murder.

Upcoming release: TBD.

The estranged mother-daughter duo of Claire Darrow (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) and Joanna Darrow (Wendie Malick) are at the center of this mystery series, which began in September 2017. Claire, a lawyer who fights for what’s right at all costs, clashes with her mother, who is an attorney that would rather make a profit on all her cases. With the help of pal Miles Strasberg (Tom Cavanagh), the women of Darrow & Darrow search to repair their relationship — and solve a few crimes along the way.

Number of films: 4

Darrow & Darrow, Darrow & Darrow: In the Key of Murder, Darrow & Darrow: Body of Evidence and Witness to Murder: A Darrow Mystery.

Upcoming release: Nothing new since 2019.

Archaeologist Emma Fielding (Courtney Thorne-Smith) tries to unearth historical relics and teach her graduate students all while solving murder mysteries. Luckily, she has some help in the sleuthing department from FBI agent Jim (James Tupper). The collection of films ran from 2017 to 2019.

Number of films: 3

Emma Fielding Mysteries: Site Unseen, Emma Fielding Mysteries: Past Malice and Emma Fielding Mysteries: More Bitter Than Death.

Upcoming release: The latest movie aired in 2019.

Janel Parrish made her Hallmark Mystery debut as the lead in the Family History Mysteries series in January 2023. In the first film, Buried Past, genealogist Sophie McClaren (Parrish) must use her expertise to help her close friend Jonathan (Matter) find a biological match to give him a bone marrow transplant and save his life.

Number of films: 1

Family History Mysteries: Buried Past.

Upcoming release: The first film in the franchise premiered in January 2023.

Home restoration expert Shannon Hughes (Jewel) uncovers clues about murders and unsolved cases with each house she fixed up in the small town of Lighthouse Cove. With the help of Mac Sullivan (Colin Ferguson), the handywoman is able to finish her renovations on time and put away the bad guys.

Number of films: 3

Framed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery, Concrete Evidence: A Fixer Upper Mystery and Deadly Deed: A Fixer Upper Mystery.

Upcoming releases: The last film debuted in March 2018.

Former lawyer-turned-florist Abby Knight (Brooke Shields) has troubling leaving crime solving to the professionals. In between running the local flower shop and visiting her daughter at college, Abby creates her own murder boards — with some help from bar owner Marco Salvare (Elliott) and her retired cop father, Jeffrey Knight (Beau Bridges) — and cracks the cases.

Number of films: 3

Flower Shop Mystery: Mum’s the Word, Flower Shop Mystery: Snipped in the Bud and Flower Shop Mystery: Dearly Depotted.

Upcoming release: All three movies aired in 2016.

Following an inner-office romance — and serial killer scandal — Francesca “Frankie” Quinn (Mallory Jansen) leaves her job as a forensic expert and becomes a private investigator. It isn’t long before her current job intersects with her past, including her former boyfriend Detective Wynton “Wyn” Rousseau (Dylan Bruce). The first film in the series premiered in September 2022.

Number of films: 1

Francesca Quinn, PI.

Upcoming releases: The franchise debuted in September 2022.

Before landing her role on When Calls the Heart, Lori Loughlin made her Hallmark Mystery debut in September 2013 as Jennifer Shannon in the first Garage Sale Mystery film. Jennifer is a garage sale hunter and consignment shop owner who manages to find murder, mystery and adventure around every corner. While running her business and raising a family, Jennifer solves crimes all around town — including burglaries and murders.

Number of films: 16

Garage Sale Mystery, All That Glitters, The Deadly Room, The Wedding Dress, Guilty Until Proven Innocent, The Novel Murders, The Art of Murder, The Beach Murder, Murder by Text, Murder Most Medieval, A Case of Murder, Pandora’s Box, The Mask Murder, Picture a Murder, Murder in D Minor and Searched & Seized.

Upcoming releases: Garage Sale Mystery: Murder in D Minor premiered on Hallmark Mystery in August 2018. Garage Sale Mystery: Searched & Seized was released straight to DVD in October 2020.

Hallmark Mystery takes viewers back in time with its 2024 period piece franchise, Gilded Newport Mysteries. The first installment, Gilded Newport Mysteries: Murder at the Breakers, introduces fans to society page writer and socialite Emma Vanderbilt-Cross (Ali Skovbye). In the movie, Emma witnesses a murder in 1895 Rhode Island and must help investigate who was killed at the Vanderbilt mansion.

Number of films: 1

Gilded Newport Mysteries: Murder at the Breakers.

Upcoming release: Gilded Newport Mysteries: Murder at the Breakers debuted in February 2024.

What does cooking have to do with murder? A lot when it comes to the Gourmet Detective films, which began in 2015. In the movies, San Francisco Police Department detective Maggie Price (Brooke Burns) turns to culinary pro Henry Ross (Dylan Neal) whenever she stumbles upon a crime involving a chef, food or deadly recipe.

Number of films: 5

Gourmet Detective, Gourmet Detective Mysteries: A Health Place to Die, Gourmet Detective Mysteries: Death al Dente, Gourmet Detective Mysteries: Eat, Drink and Be Buried and Roux the Day: A Gourmet Detective Mystery.

Upcoming release: The most recent film premiered in January 2020.

Observant prosecutor-turned-therapist Hailey Dean (Kellie Martin) uses her bright mind and connections at the police station — she is best friends with detective Fincher Garland (Viv Leaco*ck) — to help make sure the wrong suspects aren’t put behind bars. Throughout the film series, Hailey must come to terms with the death of her fiancé as she continues the search for his killer.

Number of films: 9

Hailey Dean Mystery: Murder with Love, Hailey Dean Mystery: Deadly Estate, Hailey Dean Mystery: Dating Is Murder, Hailey Dean Mystery: A Will to Kill, Hailey Dean Mystery: A Marriage Made for Murder, Hailey Dean Mystery: 2+2=Murder, Hailey Dean Mystery: Death on Duty, Hailey Dean Mystery: A Prescription for Murder and Hailey Dean Mystery: Killer Sentence.

Upcoming release: The final film aired in May 2019.

Fans first met Hannah Swensen (Sweeney) in the Murder, She Baked movies, as the owner of the Cookie Jar bakery. In the new mysteries series, Hannah still loves baked goods and hasn’t lost her knack for crime solving. However, her relationship status has changed — she is engaged to detective Mike Kingston (Mathison), who she regularly teams up with to find the real criminals in her hometown.

Number of films: 4

Sweet Revenge: A Hannah Swensen Mystery,Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery,A Zest for Death: A Hannah Swensen Mystery and One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery

Upcoming release: One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery premieres in May 2024.

Fans were launched into the Haunted Harmony Mysteries world in September 2023 with the premiere of Murder in G Major. In the film, Tamera Mowry-Housley’s Gethsemane Brown vows to help solve the murder of a ghost haunting her house after moving to Ireland to teach at a prep school following her career as an orchestra conductor. The franchise also stars Risteárd Cooper and Marco Grazzini.

Number of films: 1

Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major.

Upcoming releases: The first movie in the franchise premiered in September 2023.

Fans were introduced to suburban housewife Cathy Davis (Lea Thompson) in January 2005 with the first Jane Doe mystery. Throughout the films, viewers quickly learn that Cathy is anything but a typical mother of two — she is a former secret agent who gets called back to duty to assist on cases all while mastering her day-to-day responsibilities at home. In between cooking dinner and helping with homework, Cathy meets up with former partner Frank Darnell (Joe Penny) to crack the case.

Number of films: 9

Jane Doe: Vanishing Act, Now You See It, Now You Don’t, ‘Til Death Do Us Part, The Wrong Face, Yes, I Remember It Well, The Harder They Fall, Ties That Bind, How to Fire Your Boss and Eye of the Beholder.

Upcoming releases: The most recent Jane Doe movie, Jane Doe: Eye of the Beholder, came out in January 2008.

After he gets hurt on the job, former detective Jeff Jackson (Jesse Metcalfe) takes early retirement and moves to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. His quiet life on the Cape, however, is short-lived when murders begin popping up and he’s asked by the local police and the coroner, Dr. Zee Madieras (Sarah Lind), for his assistance.

Number of films: 4

A Beautiful Place to Die: A Martha’s Vineyard Mystery, Riddled With Deceit: A Martha’s Vineyard Mystery, Ships in the Night: A Martha’s Vineyard Mystery and Poisoned in Paradise: A Martha’s Vineyard Mystery.

Upcoming release: The latest movie premiered in May 2021.

Professional matchmaker — and TV star — Angie Dove (Danica McKellar) uses her ability to read people to help prove whether someone is guilty or innocent. She teams up with detective Kyle Cooper (Victor Webster) to crack some of the trickiest cases.

Number of films: 3

Matchmaker Mysteries: A Killer Engagement, Matchmaker Mysteries: A Fatal Romance and Matchmaker Mysteries: The Art of the Kill.

Upcoming release: The third mystery aired in April 2021.

Beginning in January 2018, morning show host and chef Billie Blessings (Peete) began using her connections at the TV station to investigate crimes off camera. She originally teams up with former flame and detective Ian Jackson (Rick Fox) to put a killer behind bars, but a new detective, Tyrell Price (Colin Lawrence), comes to town beginning with Morning Show Mysteries: Murder Ever After, which premiered in May 2021.

Number of films: 6

Morning Show Mysteries: Mortal Mishaps, Morning Show Mysteries: Murder on the Menu, Morning Show Mysteries: A Murder in Mind, Morning Show Mysteries: Countdown to Murder, Morning Show Mysteries: Death by Design and Morning Show Mysteries: Murder Ever After.

Upcoming release: The newest installment debuted in May 2021.

Baker Hannah Swensen (Sweeney) isn’t afraid to use her tasty treats to get intel from the police department or coax a confession out of a criminal. Much to the dismay of the town’s new detective Mike Kingston (Mathison), Hannah uses the Cookie Jar bakery as her unofficial mystery solving headquarters.

Number of films: 5

Murder She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery, Murder She Baked: A Plum Pudding Mystery, Murder She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery, Murder She Baked: A Deadly Recipe and Murder She Baked: Just Desserts.

Upcoming release: Just Desserts came out in March 2017.

Professor Amy Winslow (Jill Wagner) is an expert in crime fiction as a college professor — and the daughter of crime author Graham Winslow (Robin Thomas) — but she doesn’t hide behind her books. Amy has a tendency to overstep when it comes to investigating local cases, which detective Travis Burke (Kristoffer Polaha) learns to overlook as they make their town a safer place to live.

Number of films: 7

Mystery 101, Mystery 101: Playing Dead, Mystery 101: Words Can Kill, Mystery 101: Dead Talk, Mystery 101: An Education in Murder, Mystery 101: Killer Timing and Mystery 101: Deadly History.

Upcoming release: Deadly History debuted in August 2021.

Mystery bookstore owner Samantha Kinsey (Kellie Martin) and her store manager, Philby (Clarence Williams III), who is a former secret operative, find themselves solving multiple crimes in their small town. The franchise, which ran from August 2003 to January 2007, also stars Nina Siemaszko and William R. Moses.

Number of films: 11

Mystery Woman, Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend, Mystery Woman: Snapshot, Mystery Woman: Sing Me A Murder, Mystery Woman: Vision of a Murder, Mystery Woman: Game Time, Mystery Woman: At First Sight, Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery, Mystery Woman: Oh Baby, Mystery Woman: Redemption and Mystery Woman: In the Shadows.

Upcoming releases: Mystery Woman: In the Shadows dropped in January 2007.

Hunter King and Rhiannon Fish joined the Hallmark Mystery family in October 2022 with the premiere of their first sleuth film. After spending years apart, fraternal twins Nikki (King) and Nora (Fish) are thrust together when a mystery man leaves them a detective agency. While deciding whether they will keep the company, the women manage to solve the murder of a local attorney.

Number of films: 1

Nikki & Nora: Sister Sleuths.

Upcoming releases: The first film aired in October 2022.

Alexa PenaVega made her debut as New England wedding photographer Allie Adams in June 2019’s first Picture Perfect Mysteries film. Allie quickly learns that hiding behind the camera is an asset when solving crimes — even if the new detective, Sam Acosta (played by her real-life husband, Carlos PenaVega) doesn’t see it that way.

Number of films: 3

Picture Perfect Mysteries: Newlywed and Dead, Picture Perfect Mysteries: Dead Over Diamonds and Picture Perfect Mysteries: Exit Stage Death.

Upcoming release: The latest mystery film aired in October 2020.

While escaping the fallout from a story she wrote, journalist Melanie Abrams (Rochelle Aytes) returns home to Cherry Springs and stumbles upon a real-life murder mystery. She taps into her reporting background to assist Jake Collins (Keith D. Robinson) in getting to the truth.

Number of films: 1

Redemption in Cherry Springs.

Upcoming release: The first film premiered in September 2021.

When news reporter Ruby Herring (Taylor Cole) stumbles onto a murder, she discovers she has a knack for solving crimes — and a desire to beat the police to the suspect. While detective Jake Killian (Stephen Huszar) is initially reluctant to call Ruby a good sleuth, he eventually sees how her reporter skills can come in handy.

Number of films: 3

Ruby Herring Mysteries: Silent Witness, Ruby Herring Mysteries: Her Last Breath and Ruby Herring Mysteries: Prediction Murder.

Upcoming release: Prediction Murder aired in April 2020.

In October 2013, fans were introduced to the Postables a.k.a the Dead Letter Office workers for the U.S. Postal System. Oliver O’Toole (Eric Mabius) leads his team of oddball characters — including Rita Haywith (Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe), Norman Dorman (Geoff Gustafson) and Shane McInerny (Kristin Booth) — in their mission to deliver the most undeliverable items that get lost, mangled or forgotten in the mail.

Some of their tasks take place in Denver, which is where they are headquartered, while others take them all over the world. Every adventure will keep fans guessing and nothing is an easy fix.

Number of films: 11

Signed, Sealed, Delivered — The Movie, Signed, Sealed, Delivered for Christmas, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: From Paris With Love, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Impossible Dream, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: One in a Million, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Lost Without You, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Higher Ground, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Home Again, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Road Less Traveled, Signed, Sealed, Delivered: To the Altar and Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Vows We Have Made.

Upcoming release: Film No. 11 premiered in October 2021.

Paul Campbell and Aimee Garcia teamed up for The Cases of Mystery Lane in March 2023. In the original film, Birdie (Garcia) and Aldean Case (Campbell) manage to keep the mystery alive in their marriage by becoming amateur sleuths when someone is murdered. Aldean, for his part, is learning to be a private investigator while following the clues. His wife, meanwhile, could be harboring secrets of her own as she agrees to help her spouse dig into the crime.

Number of films: 1

The Cases of Mystery Lane.

Upcoming release: The first film in the franchise premiered in March 2023.

Chabert teams up with Will Kemp for a new take on crime solving in the first installment of The Dancing Detective films. A Deadly Tango, which premiered in June 2023, follows a no-nonsense detective named Constance Bailey (Chabert) as she goes undercover as a ballroom competition contestant following the death of a high-profile CEO in Malta. She looks to performer Sebastian Moore (Kemp) to help her pass as professional while trying to fly under the radar.

Number of films: 1

The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango.

Upcoming releases: The first movie in this franchise, The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango, premiered in June 2023.

Viewers met singer Jane DaSilva (Jodie Sweetin) in May 2023’s The Jane Mysteries: Inheritance Lost. In the debut film, Jane inherits the family foundation, which is actually a non-profit detective agency. While she has no background in solving crimes, Jane leans on her Aunt Sadie and Detective John Cameron (Huszar) to help her uncover what really happened to her mother, who died years prior.

Number of films: 1

The Jane Mysteries: Inheritance Lost.

Upcoming releases: The debut sleuth drama from Sweetin, The Jane Mysteries: Inheritance Lost, premiered in May 2023.

Chole Day (Nathalie Kelley) is surprised to find herself at the center of a murder coverup when she witnesses someone fall to their death outside her Malta hotel window. The Destination Traveler Magazine writer teams up with a secret agent named Aaron Maxwell (Colin Donnell) to try and solve the mystery of who died and what happened.

Number of films: 1

To Catch a Spy.

Upcoming release: The movie hit Hallmark in June 2021.

True Justice: Family Ties kicked off the network’s mysteries lineup in 2024. The initial True Justice film was written by Hallmark star Nikki DeLoach and Megan McNulty. It follows a law student named Casey Barlowe (Katherine McNamara) and her friends as they look to clear Casey’s brother’s name and find the real killer in a local murder trial.

Number of films: 1

True Justice: Family Ties.

Upcoming release: True Justice: Family Ties premiered in January 2024.