Change is in the air — and on the air — at Hallmark Channel. On April 3, 2025, the cable network announced that in addition to its hugely popular rom-coms and scripted series like “When Calls The Heart,” just renewed for its 13th season, it will soon become home to a full lineup of unscripted series, too.
Dubbed “Reality TV With Heart,” the new programming slate announcement comes days after the network revealed that actress Connie Britton’s new unscripted series, “The Motherhood,” will debut on Hallmark Channel on May 5. The series was initially scheduled to premiere exclusively on Hallmark+, the streaming platform that launched last September. While Hallmark Channel’s new reality lineup will premiere on Hallmark Channel, all new episodes will be available the following day on the streamer.
Nikki DeLoach & Jonathan Bennett Among Stars of Hallmark Channel’s New Unscripted Series Lineup
HallmarkHallmark+ has served as a successful test tube for numerous unscripted series, including the successful first seasons of “Celebrations With Lacey Chabert,” which has already wrapped filming its second season, and Hallmark’s first-ever competition show, “Finding Mr. Christmas,” co-created and hosted by Jonathan Bennett. According to a press release from Hallmark Media, both series will move to Hallmark Channel in 2025.
Ahead of the big announcement, Chabert told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m not used to just being myself on camera. I’m used to playing a character, and so it was something completely new and slightly intimidating at first, but I absolutely loved it, because I love talking to people, I love hearing people’s stories.”
In addition to the second seasons of Chabert and Bennett’s hit series, Hallmark Channel will also introduce other original shows including “friendly competition series” and series focused on “community building, home and lifestyle enhancement.” Each show, Hallmark said, aligns with “the company’s brand principles of joy, hope, warmth, connection, family and most definitely…love.”
Among the new shows in the works is “Armed to Build” featuring longtime Hallmark star Nikki DeLoach. In that new series, per Hallmark, the “Curious Caterer” star will help communities “honor, celebrate, and give back to their first responders and veterans by delivering distinct life transformations, enabling them to continue their heroic work.”
Bennett, meanwhile, is one of the masterminds behind another unscripted series called “Murder Mystery House.” According to Hallmark’s release, the series will invite “Hallmark Mystery fans to join in on the investigation – inviting them to a gorgeous mansion where there’s been a ‘murder.’ These real-life sleuths must narrow down the suspects, made up of favorite Hallmark actors, and figure out who the culprit is for a cash prize.”
New Hallmark Channel Reality Shows to Also Include Baking Competition
Though Hallmark hasn’t revealed who will host or star in its other unscripted series, it did reveal that a kitchen competition is in the works. “Baked with Love: Holiday” will be a “family recipe bake-off where talented home bakers showcase their signature family holiday bakes and the heartfelt stories behind them.”
It won’t be Hallmark’s first foray into cooking competitions, though. In 2019, cast members from “When Calls The Heart” appeared in a five-episode show called “Christmas Cookie Matchup,” hosted by Jack Wagner.
Meanwhile, Hallmark Channel also announced plans for “Daughter of the Bride,” which will showcase “genuine and heartfelt stories of adult daughters helping their mothers as they prepare for a new beginning in love.”
Though no talent has been announced for that series, a natural fit would be Hallmark alum and “Father of the Bride” star Kimberly Williams-Paisley, who’s currently hosting her first reality show, FOX’s “Farmer Wants a Wife.”
In announcing its new unscripted lineup for Hallmark Channel, the company did not reveal whether its most recent reality series on Hallmark+, Ashley Williams’ “Small Town Setup” and Luke Macfarlane’s “Home Is Where The Heart Is,” will make the crossover and also air on the cable channel.
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Hallmark Channel Announces New Programming Lineup for 2025: ‘Reality TV With Heart’