Hallmark+ Sets Official Launch Date and Pricing — Plus, Get Release Dates for The Chicken Sisters, Lacey Chabert Series and More
Hallmark Media’s on-demand streaming service is getting a facelift: Hallmark Movies Now is being rebranded as Hallmark+ starting Sept. 10, and will incorporate ad-free viewing with retail and product benefits, TVLine has learned.
Currently, plans for on-demand service Hallmark Movies Now begin at $5.99 a month or $59.99 for a year; Hallmark+ plans will start at $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year. According to the report, the membership includes exclusive benefits and rewards, including monthly $5 Hallmark Gold Crown Store coupons, free unlimited eCards, rewards for shopping and surprise gifts.
The company has also announced the upcoming streamer’s very first release dates. The eight-episode series adaptation of The Chicken Sisters will be available upon launch on Sept. 10, with new episodes premiering every Thursday starting Sept. 12. In addition to the previously announced cast, Margo Martindale has joined as the narrator, and James Kot, Rukiya Bernard, Ektor Rivera and Jake Foy have been added.
Also available Sept. 10 is Celebrations With Lacey Chabert, which will follow the actress as she surprises deserving individuals who are making a positive impact in their communities with the celebration of a lifetime. With the help of professional party planners and celebrity friends, Chabert will create unforgettable events, blending heartwarming stories with dazzling celebrations. There will be 10 episodes total, and new installments will follow every Thursday starting Sept. 12.
Love on the Danube, a new movie trilogy, will also be available upon launch with the first being titled Love Song. Nazneen Contractor (Ransom) and Wes Brown (Haul Out the Holly) “are fellow passengers on a cruise who serve as matchmakers for their widowed, music-loving parents,” reads its description. Sequels Royal Getaway and Kissing Stars will follow Sept. 19 and 26, respectively.
Three new installments of The Jane Mysteries also hit Sept. 10 which will follow Jane (Fuller House’s Jodie Sweetin), a singer-turned-sleuth, and Detective John Cameron (Navigating Christmas‘ Stephen Huszar) as they solve intriguing cases. Sequels Murder at Moseby and Too Much to Lose will release Sept. 19 and 26, respectively.
Lastly, Tamera Mowry-Housley will host Hallmark VIP Movie Pass, which will feature stars of favorite Hallmark movies as they “share behind-the-scenes stories, personal anecdotes and participate in fun activities, trivia and games,” reads its official description. Some of the spotlighted films include Blind Date Book Club, Branching Out, The Wedding Veil, Curious Caterer: Fatal Vows and The Professional Bridesmaid.
As for its near future, limited series Holidazed follows six families from different backgrounds coming together over the holidays, and stars Dennis Haysbert, Erin Cahill, Holland Roden, John C. McGinley, Ian Harding and more. Jonathan Bennett will host Finding Mr. Christmas, a competition series that aims to find the company’s next leading man (get more details here), and Wes Brown will host Ready, Set, Glow!, as he travels to some of the most festive displays around the country and meets the people who designed them. Rom-com trilogy The Groomsmen will follow three lifelong best friends who stand up for each other at each of their big days. Jonathan Bennett, Tyler Hynes and B.J. Britt star. Release dates for these remain TBA.
Then in 2025, two more unscripted series will follow. In Small Town Setup, Ashley Williams will help parents play matchmaker for their adult kids, and in Home Is Where the Heart Is, Luke Macfarlane helps families renovate an important room in their home.
“Hallmark+ marks a seminal moment for Hallmark,” Hallmark president and CEO Mike Perry said in a statement. “By intertwining new, rich content experiences with tangible rewards and premium Hallmark gifts, we are delivering a unique, new program that reflects our commitment to spreading joy through our deeply beloved brand touchpoints.”
In addition, Peacock subscribers will continue to have access to Hallmark content the day after airing, Perry confirmed during the 2024 Summer TCA Tour.
Will you be subscribing to Hallmark+? Which series or movies are you most excited about? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Because we need more streaming companies.
I guess it’s been decided that “+” is now the universal designation for “streaming.”
They usually end up combining with another streaming service so I guess it’s appropriate.
This service is a specialty boutique streamer that could potentially have a loyal subscriber base. I am unclear from articles like this one if new movies will be available on this service. In particular Christmas movies during the season. If so, I will be very interested. But I also enjoyed their Jane Austen themed movies last February. I think the tie in with Hallmark stores and gifts is smart. I do think they need to have movies throughout the year that are a draw in order to avoid churn.
If your library supports Hoopla they have a Hallmark bingepass which gives you full access to Hallmark for a week for free. You can get that pass as many times as you have borrows.
Brian, Where /how on the hoopla app do you get the bingepass? I’ve borrowed movies.indiviually but never the pass! Thank you 😊
There’s a thing right at the top where they give the categories of audiobooks, comics, ebooks, movies, music, television, bingepasses.
It seems they removed the regular Hallmark bingepass. They still have Hallmark Movies Now BingePass. If you search Hallmark bingepass on the web site it still comes up as a result but when you click on it you get “Sorry, this content isn’t available right now.”
Go to the Hoopla website and see if your local public library or another for which you are eligible for membership participates. Some libraries offer free or paid memberships to people outside their coverage areas, usually nearby residents. I live in Brooklyn and while neither the Brooklyn Public Library nor the New York Public Library (Manhattan, Bronx, and Staten Island) use Hoopla, Queens Public Library does and accepts members from all of NYC, so I joined. Any LA County resident can get a library card for the Santa Monica Library, a participant in Hoopla participant. Once you put in your library card information, you can “borrow” episodes for three days to watch on the Hoopla app. You are limited by your as to how many videos, audio books, music albums, comics, or binge passes you can borrow. Queens limits me to 10 a month. In addition to the Hallmark binge pass, Hoopla has a lot of Acorn TV shows. You can search by “publisher,” such as Acorn TV or BBC, so you don’t have to know the title. I use it to watch their mysteries. Acorn-produced Brokenwood Mysteries from New Zealand is wonderful. Since I have no interest in Hallmark’s romance films, I’ll use the binge pass to watch any Hallmark+ mysteries if they don’t eventually show up cable or Peacock but do on the binge pass. I hope you find a local library that uses Hoopla.
I think it will definitely depend on if they’ll have current content available. I did a trial of their current streaming service a while ago and didn’t keep it because they didn’t have the latest movies and the selection they did have wasn’t great. The new shows are nice, but I won’t pay for this if I also have to have some other subscription with a cable provider or something to get their current channel content.
If it’s similar to Max with regular channel content plus extras I’m in
I saved some money by tinkering around with all the services I was paying Xfinity for and was finally able to subscribe to Hallmark Now, soon to be Hallmark+.
I subscribed because I try to catch every Hallmark original aired throughout the year and a few years back as an incentive to get people to try Hallmark Now they started airing a couple Christmas films exclusively on Now (they would air many months, if not nearly a year later during Hallmark’s Christmas in July event (usually) and I like to see them pretty much when they air (or at least not many months later).
I do feel that they are going to stick with airing most of the Countdown To Christmas films around 1 week later on Now (+), it is just that we are now getting more originals exclusive to H+. This means I will still be filling up my DVR with Hallmark films the last few months of the year, lol.
I also noticed that Caribbean wedding film airing this Saturday first aired on Now (I already watched), so they are playing around with putting up content ahead of its airing on the Hallmark Channel to keep folks interested in sticking around.
Get ready for more 8 episode only shows
Thank goodness for Peacock and Hoopla. That’s all I need.
Will cancel my HMN subscription before monthly rate increases. The additional “perks” are of no interest to me.
I’m so excited about this new channel coming to Hallmark Movies!! I’ve been a member to Hallmark Movies for quite a long time now and I’ve been enjoying this channel since I first started watching it! For me, I honestly can’t wait until these new shows arrive for me to enjoy! Thanku so much!!
OMG I Hope You Received My Last Message?? I’m So Excited Abojt Hallmark+ Just As You Are! So Excited About Watcjjnf Christmas Movies 24/7!😀
Won’t be interested in a series as listed. No DIY shows or matchmaking. Series like when calls the heart or Good witch and the way home. Love Heartland. And cheasapeake shores. Personally I don’t like the mysteries but I understand millions do.
Can we please retire the + from streamer names? Especially since we all know the + means “plus money” so appending a $ seems more appropriate.
You got any good ideas?
I already subscribe to Hallmark Movies Now so I assume I will be subscribing to Hallmark Plus if it’s an automatic thing. If not, I will go ahead and subscribe to Hallmark Plus when it becomes available! Love me my Hallmark! All of them! ❤️
Ms Kathleen M McGarth OMG Me 2!! Looking Forward 2 Hallmark+ Btw My Name Is Mike I Live N Hou Tx! I Luv The Hallmark Channel Can’t Wait 4 Mid September 2 Arrive! Hoping Hallmark+ Will Show Christmas Movies!!😀
OMG I Hope You Received My Last Message?? I’m So Excited About Hallmark+ Just As You Are! So Excited About Watching Christmas Movies 24/7!😀
Calm down stalker
I have an annual subscription that was renewed last month at $59.99. Will this be honored until the end of my contract or will I be charged the additional $20 when the rate increases?
I feel it’s quite a price hike. Some people may not want cards, extra point system. And the other undesirable stuff. It’s unfortunate we do not have a choicee
Everything doesn’t need a streaming services. These out of touch higher ups in Hollyweird need to get a grip and a clue QUICKLY! These streaming services are mostly going to fizzle out before we reach the 2030s so their best bet is to merge with larger ones and quit trying to standout where they won’t even make a buzz or be able to compete with the top dogs.
And even the bigger ones will collapse by the mid 30s. The costs are too high, because fan expectations are too great. Without commercials, and with binging as an option, the business model just isn’t sustainable.
It should come with a free trip to your hometown following a personal or professional setback, where you’ll meet an attractive local and discover the true meaning of Christmas.
Will Peacock subscribers have access to Hallmark+ content?
So, um, yeah…tell me you didn’t bother to read the article without telling me you didn’t bother to read the article.
So, um, yeah…the article says “Peacock subscribers will continue to have access to Hallmark content the day after airing”. That means NETWORK content, Shari. I’m asking if there is any plan to make Hallmark Plus content available to Peacock subscribers.
Hi there,
You will want to check with Hallmark about Hallmark+ streaming on Peacock. I was told no-only content from OG and Mystery channel. You may want to verify this so we all know what is happening. I would appreciate it as I have Peacock.
Thanks!