Murder, mystery and romance have been in the air lately with a swathe of new Hallmark movie releases hitting the 2023 TV schedule. Though the channel is trying out some new titles like Curious Caterer, it’s also bringing back some major fan favorites. Among them is the latest installment in the Hannah Swensen Mysteries series (formerly Murder, She Baked). I was lucky enough to hear from Alison Sweeney about the latest installment Carrot Cake Murder. Ahead of the film’s release we talked weddings, “prop” desserts, one reader-favorite cat and more.
As fans already know, Hannah (Sweeney) and her partner in crime solving Mike (Cameron Mathison) have been engaged for a while – even during the course of events of the last franchise flick, Sweet Revenge. When I asked Ms. Sweeney about whether a wedding was imminent in her follow-up to the second Wedding Veil trilogy, she brought up what we know from Joanne Fluke’s books, but also joked about a body near a wedding cake.
Since Hannah hasn’t gotten married for real in the books, (except one time to a con artist that ended up being annulled lol), I can only imagine what her wedding would be like! I mean… would she find a dead body underneath the cake?!
Speaking of cake, I’ve always wondered how the cast manages to film all those dessert scenes without it impacting their waistlines, and Ms. Sweeney let us in on a bit of a secret: “prop desserts.” Though there seems to be some eating involved, as the actress told CinemaBlend she often chooses which Joanne Fluke book she’d like to try next based on the recipes included in the books, keeping those sweets in check is part of the movie-making magic.
Yes - I often narrow down the books to consider what’s next based on the delicious titles. So many yummy recipes to choose from, and then lots of 'prop' desserts to avoid eating too much of [them]!
I guess one really can have their (carrot) cake and eat it too.
Sweeney and co. acquired the rights to the Fluke books ahead of the last film in the series, which led to the name change from Murder, She Baked to Hannah Swensen Mysteries. Despite some BTS complications related to the changes, the franchise is still going strong and Hallmark announced this week another one will be released in the coming months. The next film, A Zest for Death: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, will be based on the Joanne Fluke novel Lemon Meringue.
It's great news for the fans, as we have seen some murder mysteries canceled at Hallmark in recent months. There's so much more for the franchise to explore regarding Hannah's growth in mystery-solving as well as in her personal life, so I'm happy the movies were able to continue.
Sweeney previously told TV Insider the couple is “not very far into planning the wedding,” when the new movie picks up, so fans will likely be waiting for another Swensen sequel before they can get excited for a body at a wedding or -- let's be honest about what we're most excited about -- Hannah's choice of a dress. For now, she’s keeping mum on actual wedding plans, but she did say book fans should keep an eye out for “Moishe the cat” not being so happy about the engagement in the new film.
The plot's an Easter egg book fans can look forward to, though I'm still hoping we'll get more forward momentum this time around, and I'm not just talking about solving a mystery. Carrot Cake Murder premieres on Friday, May 19th at 9 p.m. ET, only on Hallmark.
