Exclusive Interview: Alison Sweeney On Hallmark’s ‘Reality Bites: A Hannah Swensen Mystery’
Alison Sweeney is back with her eleventh mystery in the Murder She Baked/Hannah Swensen series. The new Hallmark Mystery movie is Reality Bites. Alison Sweeney wrote this script. Moreover, she is back with Barbara Niven, Victor Webster, and Gabriel Hogan.
In this TV Shows Ace Exclusive Interview, Ali talks about writing this script that includes a lot of Blueberry Pie Easter eggs , working with Barbara Niven, and what is next for Hannah and Chad.
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What Is Reality Bites: A Hannah Swensen Mystery About?
Alison, what Is Reality Bites: A Hannah Swensen Mystery About?
I love this story. It’s been fun to play. It’s the story of a celebrity chef, and her cooking show are coming to Lake Eden to film an episode at Hannah’s, The Cookie Jar. So, it starts out real fun, behind-the-scenes, Hollywood tv-type story. And Hannah is just gobsmacked, excited, and fanning out over this big celebrity coming to her shop. I think this was a fun thing to play.
Meanwhile, Chad is working on a case he has to take to trial. You get to see the serious side of Chad, and the work that goes into that, and that work with Lonnie. He shows how important it is to get the evidence they need to get the bad. Stuff like that has been fun to layer in to that character.
It starts out very serious for Chad and very fun for Hannah. When there’s a dead body and now a murder to solve. The timing seems suspicious and Hannah starts suspecting that the two things may be connected. Of course she needs her whole team-her whole murder club. Of course, Delores has some fabulous moments in this. When we were developing this, everyone was imagining how Delores was going to do it.
And the director of this project, Kevin Leslie, did a great job of all the behind-the-scenes aspect of making this look a tv show. He made it feel different from the regular movie. Then we have some fun stunts along the way.
How Does Alison Sweeney Incorporate The Joanne Fluke Novel Into The Script?
Ali, I understand you wrote this script. How do you pick and choose moments. from Blueberry Pie Mystery for this mystery? You did a little twist.
It’s really fun to have the books to work from and to use. Joanne Fluke is fantastic! She has so many great crime scenes, villains and really fun characters. I love her character names. I always start with her character names because she is so great. When I re-read these books again and again, there are certain things that stick out that I include for the lovers of her books. A little nod to the classic ‘if you know you know’ kind of moment.
I am also aware I have much less time to tell these stories. She has as many pages as she wants. I have to kinda condense it to an 83-minute story. Also, updating it. A lot of these books were written a long time ago. You have to keep in mind of Google, smartphones. Everyone has a recording device on their phone. This modern stuff takes a lot of the clues from the older mystery.
Like if you watched a Columbo now, there’s not even a mystery now. You just have the answer in your pocket. You have to really mix things up to keep those mysteries alive today. Also, no one wants to go online Googlng stuff. Keeping the clues things around for Hannah to solve makes things fun.
Also I keep an eye on the movies we just finished and what people have just seen. How can I strengthen Chad’s role in this town? How to get the audience and Hannah to learn a little more about him. That’s what prompted me to tell his story with the trial and mixing it with the murder mystery. It was really fun thing to develop. I spend a lot of time thinking about it.
I feel like you want to answer the questions that the fans are going to wonder about. But you also don’t want to spend a lot of time dwelling, you want to get to the good stuff. It is a balance. There are also some fun moments and dialogue. Maybe you need to watch it all again? You may have missed something? I really try to have multiple layers for people to discover, one more fun thing.
With Addition Of Chad, Hannah Is Learning Legal Side
I believe in this episode Hannah has not done one single illegal thing to gather evidence. Was learning the legal side of a case from Chad something that helped you grow your character? Has it made it more fun for you to play her?
It definitely has. The development of the relationship with Chad and her understanding the complexity of Chad’s job is as opposed to just figuring it out has been a really fun thing for me as a writer and for the character to develop and challenge herself to be better. It is not enough to know. You have to prove it! That’s been a really fun thing for me to tackle…to play.
At first I think she was annoyed by it, and now that she knows Chad better and has come to court, as we see in this movie, see what the court process is like, I think that helps her take on the challenge. And want to do better. And understand what is at stake. That has been fun to play too.
Alison Sweeney’s Two TV Moms Work Together In New Hannah Swensen
Laura Soltis is in this. To have her and Barbara, your two Hallmark TV moms in the same movie is pretty special. How did this happen?
That is a really fun thing to call out. We got to know each other on This Time Each Year. I asked if she would come and play a role in my murder mystery. It was a really fun little Easter egg for the audience. You haven’t seen the last of her character! She did such a great job.
Alison Sweeney Talks About Chad And Hannah
What is next for Chad and Hannah? How is their relationship going to continue to grow?
I think we set the stage for what is next. At the end of this movie, you get a tease of what’s to come. I liked that it is more what Hannah and Chad talk about together. It was funny and fun, and love that Delores tricks them into being on a date with each other. But, now it is a little more about something they talk about and want to do together. Of course, they are busy people, with lots going on. He has a lot on his plate. Hopefully, we see something develop that allows them to spend more time together.
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In New Hannah Swensen Norman’s Profession Adds Comic Element
Hannah and Norman work together in this movie. That was hysterical!
His work as a dentist gets a shout out in this one. This was so funny. I could hardly keep a straight face to be honest with you. I was like really holding it together. Gabe is so funny and so talented, and so great. We got to make the most of it.
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Does Allison Sweeney Make The Blueberry Pie?
My only regret while watching this was not having any blueberries to make muffins–this was so delicious looking. For many fans including me, the baking sessions are some of my favorites. Did you make that amazing lattice on the blueberry pie?
I did! I have this great prop team who helps me prep. We talk about it ahead of time including the design. The production designer and I email each other with beautiful looking pies or whatever the star dessert is. I try to base on the title of the book. This was based on blueberry pie. Of course, we had to have blueberries everywhere.
And then we talk about how we do the baking montage. On the day we have all the elements, and I just start doing it. The director Kevin Leslie picks his favorite moments from the montage. He had the idea to have the diamonds from the burglary scene and cross them with the blueberries in my hand. I think we had some fun making that work.
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Alison Sweeney Talks About Juliana Wimbles
It was a lot of fun seeing Juliana Wimbles in this as Lisa so prominent. For a lot of fans they may not realize she wrote the script for This Time Each Year. Talk about your relationship with each other.
She’s fantastic. We have worked together for a long time. Really fun to have that develop, get to see the character to be more featured in these movies as we progress. Hopefully, this continues for Lisa in the movies. It’s also fun to build out the town. It is not something you can do in one move. You kinda have ten movies, or eleven movies to make that happen. There isn’t enough time to tell the mystery, have all the clues, and delve into the characters in her life.
It’s been fun to work with Juliana all these years. It was also fun to work with her, writing This Time Each Year. It was a fantastic experience. She is delightful. We had such a good time doing that. And then to see this next one, and bring Lisa into that. Believe me, there is more of Lisa to come.
Don’t miss the premiere of Reality Bites: A Hannah Swensen Mystery premiering on Thursday, February 6, at 8 p.m., Eastern, on Hallmark Mystery. On the next day, this new mystery will be available to stream on Hallmark+.
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Thank you once again Ali for taking the time to answer our questions and give us Sleuthers more insights into these wonderful mysteries.
