Victor Webster Was ‘Shocked’ by How Physical Things Got in New ‘Hannah Swensen Mystery’ (EXCLUSIVE)

When the newest movie in Alison Sweeney’s popular “Hannah Swensen Mysteries” franchise premieres on Hallmark Channel, fans may be surprised by how physical things get in “Pie To Die For.” Premiering on June 22, 2025, the movie required her and co-star Victor Webster to learn to tango together, and includes an extensive fight scene for him.

“That’s something I have never done in a Hallmark movie before,” Webster told EntertainmentNow. “It was nice to read the script and be pleasantly surprised — and shocked: ‘We get to do this!?’ And then having it stay in the script, and then actually getting to shoot it. I’m really excited to see how it turned out.”

Victor Webster Says Timing of Fight Scene Was ‘Meticulously Rehearsed’

In Webster’s fourth “Hannah Swensen Mystery,” he reprises his role as Detective Chad Norton, trying to help Swenson prove that her mom Delores, played by Barbara Niven, didn’t murder her rival on the local theater scene — and work to figure out who did.

During the dramatic fight scene that Webster was so surprised to get to film, he and a masked criminal throw punches as Swensen adds a bit of levity, searching for a knife or anything to help Detective Norton. At one point, she tosses a frying pan to him — which he said took a few takes to get just right.

“Three times I got knocked unconscious,” Webster joked. “I think it was the fourth time that I caught it!”

In all seriousness, Victor said, “The timing was meticulously rehearsed. And then, you know, after you rehearse it, stuff always goes wrong. Because once you yell ‘action,’ everybody always takes it up 20%, and there were some times where it didn’t work. But I don’t think we did a lot of takes. I think we got that pretty quick. We got lucky.”

Victor Webster & Alison Sweeney Got a Workout Filming Dance Scenes, Too

Hallmark

Some of the scenes in “Pie To Die For” take place in a local dance studio, including Sweeney and Webster’s characters taking tango lessons.

Webster told EntertainmentNow that Sweeney picked up the steps quicker than he did, but that the most physically challenging aspect was holding their poses for their director — and fellow Hallmark star — Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, including a dramatic scene-ending dip that required them to freeze in place.

“You know, I talked with Ali about it the other day,” he said, “and she was like, ‘One of the hardest things was, you know, to look super relaxed and comfortable while you’re, like, laying backwards and being held up and like, you can’t put any stress in your neck.’ You see stuff on screen — you can’t compare that to real life. Like, we have to go through a lot to make that look real, right?”

But filming with Sweeney is always joy for Webster, who teamed with her on Hallmark’s “Wedding Veil” movies before joining the “Hannah Swensen Mysteries” franchise in early 2024.

“She’s so funny and delightful and fun,” he told EntertainmentNow. “I’ve worked with Ali, you know, a few times, and I think that she’s just fantastic, she’s a great person, she’s a great actor.”

In addition to the fight scene and dance scene in “Pie To Die For,” their new action-packed movie also includes a chase scene for Sweeney, multiple spilled pies, and — perhaps most exciting for fans — things heating up in the romance department.

“Pie To Die For: A Hannah Swensen Mystery” premieres on Hallmark Channel on June 22 at 9 p.m. Eastern time and available to stream on Hallmark+ the next day.