Sleuthers Hope Hallmark Media CEO Exit Means ‘Mystery 101’ Return

Mystery 101 Photo: Jill Wagner, Robin Thomas, Kristoffer Polaha Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Kailey Schwerman

On Tuesday, Hallmark Media President and CEO Wonya Lucas shocked viewers and industry insiders by announcing that she is stepping down from her position at the end of the year.

Although she has been praised for bringing more diversity in casting and storylines for the network, there is one group of fans who are not unhappy she is moving on. This would be Sleuthers.

Now, these dedicated mystery fans want to see one change from the Wonya Lucas-era reversed. What do they say about mysteries, especially Mystery 101?

Hallmark Photo: Jill Wagner, Robin Thomas, Kristoffer Polaha Credit: ©2021 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Eike Schroter
Hallmark Photo: Jill Wagner, Robin Thomas, Kristoffer Polaha Credit: ©2021 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Eike Schroter

Sleuthers Hope New Hallmark CEO Will Bring Back Mystery 101

Social media lit up on Tuesday when Hallmark Media CEO Wonya Lucas announced she was stepping down at the end of the year.

While she received praise for changing the network with the new Mahogany line, as well as bringing comedy and tearjerkers to the network. However, Sleuthers are happy to see her go.

On Reddit, the conversation was lively. Moreover, Sleuthers were none too happy to see her go.

One poster expressed relief that she left, and then wrote, “Inclusivity is fantastic if we actually get it, but her decisions on the mystery side were awful. Hopefully, this will allow the return of a show like Mystery 101 now.”

Hallmark’s Mystery 101 was officially canceled in April after Sleuthers waited two and a half years for the resolution of a very upsetting cliffhanger.

Unfortunately, the series cancelation announcement was on social media, not in a press release. Moreover, when Lucas was asked about the long-running Hallmark Signature Mystery back in June, she had a brief statement.

Well, we hadn’t done it in a long, long time, right? And we just brought the mysteries back. So, we’re just looking at mysteries a little differently now.

Hallmark Photo: Kristoffer Polaha, Jill Wagner Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Kailey Schwerman
Hallmark Photo: Kristoffer Polaha, Jill Wagner Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Kailey Schwerman

Hannah Swensen/Murder She Baked Had Similar Obstacles

Hallmark mystery fans may have waited over two years for the resolution to the Mystery 101 episode “Deadly History,” which aired in September 2021. But, they still had hope it would return. This is because they had another mystery that took over four years to return.

Originally called Murder She Baked, Alison Sweeney’s popular mystery series returned four years and just over four months later with the new name Hannah Swensen Mysteries. In addition, Hallmark filmed two new mysteries in that series this year alone. The second should premiere in October. Those delays did not affect the status of this series.

In addition to the lengthy gap between movies, the other big Mystery 101 obstacle has always been that Jill Wagner has done movies for GAF. Although Hallmark never cited why they canceled the series, many Sleuthers assumed it was for this reason.

However, Hannah Swensen Mystery star Cameron Mathison has also worked for Great American Family.

Understandably, Mystery 101 fans still feel the sting that their show is canceled. Meanwhile, Hannah Swensen is returning with more mysteries.

Therefore, although fans are acknowledging Wonya Lucas’ accomplishments, Sleuthers still are upset that Hallmark mysteries are still in limbo. In addition, Wonya’s replacement was her previous boss, Mike Perry. He is the President & CEO of Hallmark Companies.

Therefore, it seems unlikely Hallmark will reverse their Mystery 101 cancelation decision.

Georgia Makitalo

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