With the Hallmark Channel premiere of “Hats Off to Love” on May 3, 2025, longtime fan-favorite Holly Robinson Peete will be back in the saddle again — literally. The movie marks her return to the network after a nearly two-and-a-half-year absence, which both she and fans are thrilled about.
Robinson Peete, who last appeared in 2022’s “Holiday Heritage,” has been busy juggling family, her charitable foundation, and other TV roles, telling EntertainmentNOW it took a while to “reconnect and get back in the groove” with Hallmark, but that she’s hoping “Hats Off to Love” is the first of many more projects there.
“I went, you know, pretty much since 2015, making one, two, sometimes three movies a year,” she said of her history at Hallmark. “So I’m just excited to be back in the mix, and especially excited about this
particular project. It was a lot of fun.”
Holly Robinson Peete Drew Inspiration for Movie From Her 1st Trip to the Kentucky Derby in 2024
HallmarkAn alum of “21 Jump Street” and hit sitcoms like “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper,” Robinson Peete first appeared on Hallmark Channel in 2015’s “Angel of Christmas” and quickly became a fan-favorite on the network, starring in the “Morning Show Mysteries” franchise and many holiday films, as well as her family’s reality show, “Meet the Peetes,” in 2018 and 2019.
In “Hats Off to Love,” she plays Louisville socialite Rosalind, whose son Christian (John Clarence Stewart) is training a horse for the upcoming derby when he falls head over heels for Stella (Ginna Claire Mason) who designs derby hats and fascinators for the annual race day.
“She’s a woman who’s finding her way,” Robinson Peete said of her character, “and realizing that, you know, she’s getting older, but that it’s never too late to go for it in life. And I think that’s the message that Rosalind has. She’s a very astute, fashionably put-together business woman who loves her horses. She can be a little cold in some ways, but she’s also full of love.”
Robinson Peete told EntertainmentNOW that she serendipitously got immersed in Derby culture a year prior, when she attended the 2024 Kentucky Derby with her friend and “Derby veteran” Smokey Robinson.
“Had I not gone to that Derby, I would not have really known how seriously people are about the Derby,” she marveled. “They take their outfits, their hats — they plan them months and months and months and months in advance! I was so blown away by that, so glad I went. I had the best time.”
“It’s food, it’s mint juleps, it’s parties and music, and it’s rubbing elbows,” Robinson Peete gushed, noting that when she arrived, she had to find a custom hat maker to create hats and fascinators that would coordinate with her outfits. “It is a whole thing.”
Once she was offered the Hallmark movie, Robinson Peete said she drew inspiration from her friend Eden Bridgeman, the owner of Ebony magazine and a Kentucky Derby aficionado.
“She’s very connected in this society and just fabulous,” Robinson Peete said. “I was watching her (at the 2024 Derby) with the outfits and showing up at this party and hosting that (event) and I was like, ‘Look at this lady!’ So she was my inspiration (for Rosalind). I kept sending her pictures during the film and going, ‘Would Rosalind wear this?’ I’m really looking forward to her seeing this. She’s excited!”
Holly Robinson Peete Says She Loved Working With Horses in ‘Hats Off to Love’
Among Robinson Peete’s favorite things about filming “Hats Off to Love” were getting to know Broadway alum Mason, whom she described as “talented beyond belief,” and working with the horses.
“I love horses, I think they’re amazing,” she told EntertainmentNOW. “I’ve always, from the time I rode my first one — I think I was 11 or 12 and a friend of mine owned one — and it was always a dream of mine to own one.”
“Never happened,” she laughed, “but I lived vicariously through Rosalind, who owns several. I love being around them. I understand their energy, you know? And I hadn’t ridden in a long time, and it was kind of like riding a bike. The handlers were saying, ‘You seem very comfortable on this horse.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I guess I am!'”
Robinson Peete joked that there was one day on the Tampa set when “a couple of horses were like, ‘Call my agent, I’m not doing this,'” but that most of them were “very cooperative.”
“At one point in the stable scenes, there were like, 20 or 30 horses in there,” she said, “and I just had the best time, because our dressing rooms were in the stables, so you would hear noises and I’d go out and say hi to them. And some of them are super friendly and curious about you. That was so much fun.”
Although Robinson Peete isn’t sure what’s next for her at Hallmark, she said she’s “talking with them all the time about doing more” and even has some ideas for unscripted shows. In the meantime, “Hats Off to Love” premieres on May 3 at 8 p.m. Eastern time and will be available to stream on Hallmark+ the following day.
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Holly Robinson Peete Thrilled to Be ‘Back in the Mix’ at Hallmark in New Movie (EXCLUSIVE)