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For the first time, the Distinctive channel presented at the Television Critics Association press tour Tuesday morning with three panels: one featuring his talent Hallmark Movies & Mystery, another highlighting his film “Loveuary,” “Sense and Sensibility”; and the final with the cast of “The Way Home”.

The network has had a press tour presence with cocktail parties or receptions for more than a decade, but now was the time to take it a step further, says Lisa Hamilton Daly, executive vice president of programming for Hallmark Media.

“I think we felt that the variety of programming we had to offer this year was unique and varied. I’m very respectful of Hallmark’s history, the brand and what they did, but I think they had a very clear function for the movies. Many thought that everyone has the same experience when you come,” says Daly. Variety. “I think we are now in a somewhat more competitive world, where programming must be differentiated from each other. It needs to feel more unique and more special. There has to be a reason why people come to you, whether it’s cable or streaming, they have to like coming to you now because there are so many options.”

After his presentation, Daly spoke with Variety about what’s next for the network, the 2024 “Countdown to Christmas” lineup, whether Lifetime’s “adult” stories will continue, and more.

Only one of the “Loveuary” films has been released, but how do you feel about it? And the focus on Jane Austen stories?

We are very excited. Each of them occupies a special little niche; They really are different from each other, but they cover a wide range of ways of approaching Jane Austen. I think it’s a fun evolution for us to really delve into the era and think about the origins of the romance genre, which we’re a part of today, and really think about what that means.

Wonya Lucas Low at the end of last year and its main initiative revolved around inclusion and diversity. “Sense and Sensibility” is a great example of this, but how do you continue to keep that as a priority since your departure?

We really thought about casting. I think making sure that our casts are diverse, that the stories we tell are diverse, is still a big focus for us. It hasn’t gone away and it won’t go away, because I think we’re trying to tell everyone’s story, which means making sure that people see themselves when they come to us, so that’s not going to change.

Right now, the Hallmark Movies Now app and Peacock are getting some of the network’s movies, but only for a limited time. Will that change, where maybe all the Christmas movies are available year-round? streaming?

It’s still a work in progress, I think we’ll have more to say about it probably later this year. On Peacock right now, you can watch the movies for the next three days; Peacock would like to have them for more days, but right now, only three days. We also have the day after update series, which is important because it seems like the right strategy. Our films need to be linear and we need to monetize them linearly for a little longer. I do know that our fans come to streaming to see everything.

Reunions are a big deal on all networks, including Hallmark. You had Scott Wolf and Lacey Chabert last year and Erin Krakow and Daniel Lissing this year. Is that something you plan to do more of as you plan your holiday programming?

100%. That’s one of our categories that we think about: Who can we meet on screen that will excite fans so much?

So, do you have more in store for this holiday season?

We’re in the middle of Christmas planning right now, so I can’t announce anything yet.

Where are you in that whiteboard process?

We know what the majority of our films will be for Christmas 2024 and we are starting to shoot them. We have international destinations that excite everyone again, as well as comedies.

I think this year was the first year that Hallmark aired a sequel to a Christmas movie. directly following the first movie with “Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up.” Are there any other films from the last two years that you would like to make a sequel to or that might be in the works?

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In that same area, there is an opportunity to bring some of these Christmas movie couples to films from another season; For example, Jack (Kris Poloha) and Lucy (Bethany Joy Lenz) could get married in a “June Weddings” movie. Have you talked about that type of crossings?

We haven’t had that idea. Thinking about seasons like that is interesting. We certainly have a lot of recurring pairings of people we know who work well together, so we lean on that quite often. We love both Kris and Bethany.

So this year, Lifetime presented a love scene in one of his Christmas movies and said his audience was hungry for a more adult romance. Would you go in that direction?

In a Christmas movie? No. I think our series occupies a slightly different space. Our films are largely prior to that final kiss. Everything is based on that. Our series have a different pattern. Some of those kisses last a little longer, get a little spicier, but we’ll never be anything more than PG. I think we’re pretty friendly in the living room. You know your kids will never get in and you’ll have to turn it off.

Understood. Speaking of your series, “When Hope Calls” is apparently on hiatus. Have you talked about any other expansion of the “When Calls the Heart” universe?

We always have conversations about expanding our intellectual property. It’s a constant conversation, but it’s still going very well. It’s hard to think, who would you take away? Erin is really central to the show, as are many of the cast members. It’s possible, if that program came to a conclusion, then we could think about what to do, but at this point, we plan to move forward.

Following the direction of the series, you said in 2022 that there was the possibility of being able Please revisit “Good Witch” or “Signed, Sealed and Delivered” universes. Is there any movement there?

Again, on hold… The “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” fans are all over me every day. I love it, I listen to them. As we said today, we really listen to what our fans want and, when possible, we try to lean into that.

For some networks, broadcast exclusivity agreements. they are still very important. What is Hallmark’s position on this?

In fact, we’ve gone back a bit on exclusivity. When I got here, we were on a bit of a talent exclusivity spree, and I think we’ve moved away from that, partly because we like our talent to be in a lot of other places too. We like that people can find them in other places and want to come back and see them here. And we’re also constantly looking to expand our talent pool, so getting people on board for a one-off film is really exciting for us. We definitely have some of those Hallmark favorites. They know they have a place here and they’re going to have a Christmas movie, and then maybe another movie, and we’re definitely leaning toward that, but we’ve kind of moved away from exclusivity.

Last but not least, you really leaned into the NFL this year, first with the ESPN segment and then with the Chiefs playoff campaign, starring Tyler Hynes and Janel Parrish. How long will it be until you lean into that with a football-centric movie?

I can not tell.

This interview has been edited and condensed.