There’s nothing quite like the passion and camaraderie of Hallmark fans. But the cast of one of 2024’s biggest hits, “Three Wiser Men and a Boy,” says the response to their latest movie — a sequel to their 2022 smash hit “Three Wise Men and a Baby” — has blown them away.
EntertainmentNOW caught up with the much-beloved cast at ChristmasCon, held in New Jersey from December 13 – 15 for diehard holiday movie fans. The 2024 convention included a special screening of “Three Wiser Men and a Boy” with cast members Tyler Hynes, Paul Campbell, Andrew Walker, and Kimberley Sustad — a night they seemed just as excited for as the fans.
Kimberley Sustad Says Watching Movie With Fans for the 1st Time Was ‘Incredible’
EntertainmentNOWMoonlighting as screenwriters, stars Campbell and Sustad co-wrote the first “Three Wise Men” movie and later collaborated with fellow rom-com screenwriter Russell Hainline on the second one, which premiered on Hallmark Channel in November. On the red carpet before the Christmas Con screening, Campbell and Sustad told EntertainmentNOW that witnessing audiences’ reactions to the newest movie has been incredibly rewarding.
“It is so fun watching our work in front of people (because) they’re actually reviewing it for us in real time,” Campbell said. “When they laugh or when they ‘ooh’ and they ‘aww,’ we as writers get instant feedback on what works and what doesn’t.”
“Sometimes it’s exactly what we expected, and sometimes it’s really surprising what people respond to,” Campbell continued. “This is like the old days of audiences testing TV shows. You really get to workshop your words. Sometimes it’s terrifying, but so far so good.”
He and Sustad told EntertainmentNOW that the first time they saw the completed sequel was aboard a Hallmark Christmas Cruise in November with about 800 fans watching for the first time, too.
“Paul and I waited to see the movie, actually,” Sustad explained. “We had not seen it. And we were so moved just listening to everybody’s responses — laughing, looking over, people crying. You couldn’t ask for a more incredible experience.”
Walker echoed their excitement ahead of the Christmas Con screening, telling Entertainment NOW, “We love seeing this movie with a whole group of people. (I) don’t usually get to watch our movies with more than my two kids, who kinda care but don’t really about their dad being on TV. Sometimes (the casts) will get together and watch, but we don’t (typically) get to do it front of a crowd like this.”
Tyler Hynes Lost His Voice Before Christmas Con, But Still Showed Up for the Fans
EntertainmentNOWSince October, Campbell, Sustad, Hynes, and Walker have been among the stars participating in major fan events across the U.S. In 2024, for the first time, Hallmark held two sold-out Hallmark Christmas Cruises, hosted four weekends of the Hallmark Christmas Experience in Kansas City, and brought more than a dozen stars on a bus tour from Washington DC to New York, stopping to meet fans along the way.
Hynes has been running ragged promoting “Three Wiser Men” as well as his other movies this season — “The Groomsmen” trilogy on Hallmark+ and the biggest cable movie of the year, “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.” The wild schedule finally caught up with him just before ChristmasCon. Hynes lost his voice due ahead of the convention, he wrote in his Instagram Stories one day before it started, noting that he didn’t want to skip it and disappoint fans.
EntertainmentNOW captured a photo of Hynes on the red carpet using a dry erase board to communicate. “I lost my voice,” he wrote at the top, adding, “I (love) Paul and Drew. Only on Hallmark.”
Though Hynes couldn’t talk much at Christmas Con, he has repeatedly expressed on social media how grateful and touched he has been by the outpouring of love and support from fans this season. The actor regularly connects with his fanbase — the Hynies — and has created special ways for them to connect with each other, including his annual “Boot Shot” tradition.
Sustad told EntertainmentNOW that witnessing how bonded Hallmark fans are with one another has been an amazing thing to witness over the last three months, recalling that one fan said her favorite part of attending the events was the “unexpected friendships” that come out of them.
Still touched as she recalled that moment, Sustad said, “I don’t think that there’s a better thing that anybody could walk away (with) than making new friends and community. Things like this bring people together and that’s a beautiful thing.”
“Three Wiser Men and a Boy” is scheduled to air again on Christmas morning at 10 a.m. Eastern time. It’s also available to stream via Hallmark+.
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EXCLUSIVE: ‘Three Wiser Men’ Cast Reveals Why They’ve Been ‘So Moved’ by Fans This Season