Could Latest Jill Wagner News Mean Hallmark ‘Mystery 101’ Filming Soon?
In this past week, fans of Jill Wagner learned some news that could possibly free up the Mystery 101 star for the next two months. Could Hallmark take advantage of this and finally make the eighth movie of this Signature Series?
Here is the latest news.
Jill Wagner’s New Paramount+ Series Lioness Production Now Delayed
Earlier this week, the Mystery 101 star’s new series, Lioness got a new showrunner. Yellowstone creator, Taylor Sheridan, is now the showrunner. Sheridan co-created Lioness with Hallmark alum, Jill Wagner. However, that is not the only new piece of news.
When Variety reported on this story, they stated that although the work in the writing room is done, production will not start until September. Until now, production had been slated for June.
In addition, in mid-June, Wagner even got a major hair makeover, cutting her signature locks into a short style to play Bobby in the new series. She would not have made that drastic change unless they were about to start production.
Therefore, this major Lioness production change must have happened in the past two weeks. Moreover, Sheridan currently has an extremely busy schedule that includes filming Yellowstone Season 5 and preparing for the production of the successful show’s spinoffs. That could account for the two-month change.
But, why does this matter to Sleuthers? Because this gives Hallmark a possible window to film the eighth Mystery 101 movie.
Could Hallmark Film New Mystery 101 Movie Now?
Sleuthers have been waiting since September 2021 for a resolution to the last Mystery 101 movie, Deadly History. The movie ended with a cliffhanger, and there is still no resolution.
Moreover, according to an interview with the Deck The Hallmark podcast, screenwriter John Christian Plummer revealed he had a script for the eighth movie all ready to go.
In early June, Mystery 101 star Kristoffer Polaha spoke to Metacritic, promoting his Lifetime movie with Angie Harmon, Buried In Barstow. Eventually, the conversation went back to the Hallmark mystery series.
Kris revealed that he had spoken to Jill about the series. Originally, they were going to start filming it in November. Then, that was postponed to January. Now, no one knows. But, he did reveal that the series is “not canceled.”
Mystery 101 is, for all intents and purposes, on a very long hiatus. We will find out about the future of Mystery 101. That’s not to say it’s canceled, but I have no dates as to when we’re going to do No. 8.
Why is that “not canceled” detail so important? Because the series that we know is canceled, which includes Matchmaker Mysteries, Hailey Dean Mysteries, and Picture Perfect Mysteries, we know that they are canceled because the stars were told they were canceled. Afterward, the stars told the fans who asked about them.
If Mystery 101 was indeed canceled, Kris and Jill would know. Moreover, both stars would tell fans.
Kristoffer Polaha Comments On Mystery 101 Tweet
Since that interview in early June, something happened that gave Sleuthers more hope. This was shared on all social media platforms.
On June 14, a Mystery 101 fan went to Twitter and wrote, “So @hallmarkmovie are we ever going to find out what happened between Amy and Travis in #Mystery101 or nah? @KrisPolaha @JillWagner.”
The next day, Kristoffer Polaha replied, “I think we will.”
While this should certainly make Sleuthers happy, this is still not a confirmation. However, this is hopeful. Kristoffer Polaha just filmed a Hallmark Christmas movie. He was hanging around with Hallmark people. Could there have been a discussion about making another Mystery 101? We don’t know.
But, Kristoffer Polaha has always been a man of integrity. Most of all, he would not give a hopeful answer like “I think we will,” unless he had at least a gut feeling about where this was going.
However, we can assume that Polaha will soon be filming another Barstow movie. This was a huge movie for Lifetime, with over a million viewers. But, Kris, Angie Harmon, and Lifetime have yet to make an announcement about when production could start. Maybe they will not start until September? That would be ideal.
Therefore, we can hope Hallmark can find three free weeks, in the next eight, to finally make the eighth mystery.
Sleuthers, what do you think?
