THE WEEKLY NEWS 196: NEW ROMANCE MOVIES + A REAL-LIFE HAPPY END
Hello readers. Welcome back and thanks for being a reader here on RissiWrites[dot]com! It’s Friday, which means we have our usual end of the week new roundup. A collection of pop culture-y stories that made headlines or fit with the type of content we cover here. Are all of these stories “old news”? Likely, yes, but it’s still fun to roundup the things and share with you what’s new. Plus doing this is an opportunity to talk about all the things. the weekly news 196
Of course, the “news” we recap is fun things like movie announcements or new TV shows. Let’s see what we find making the headlines this week. (And this week, the news stacks up!)
THE WEEKLY NEWS 196
ACORN TV NEWS
If you love Acorn TV (and if you don’t, read on and let me introduce you), there is some good news coming out from them. The streaming service is under the AMC Networks umbrella and self describes as being “North America’s largest streaming service specializing in premium British and international television.” The streamer has lots of interesting shows, including favorites (like Whitstable Pearl… and that slow-burn romance!), and is still adding more to its exclusive ranks.
But first there is good news on their Murder Mystery May campaign. The event had “Record Engagement, Record Viewership – With More Than 20 Million Hours Watched – And A Multi-Year High In Subscriber Acquisition.” Titles that were part of the event included “The Brokenwood Mysteries and Harry Wild, starring Jane Seymour, which both posted growth from prior seasons; new Welsh mystery The One That Got Away […] which ranks among Acorn TV’s top 10 most watched new series of all time.” There is also interest still “in established favorites like London Kills and Agatha Raisin, both hitting multi-year highs in viewership.”
In more Acorn TV news, the previously announced new mystery with Alicia Silverstone will drop on August 11! The show is called Irish Blood and does now have a trailer. How excited are we?? Plus, seeing a new show with Silverstone is cool because this is a bit anniversary year for her breakout role in Clueless!
Acorn TV is available for $8.99/month or $89.99/year. Or add it to your Prime Video subscription for $8.99/month after a 7-day trail, after which the service will automatically begin the per month $8.99 charge.
CW joins the ROMANCE MOVIE RANKS
According to an official press release and multiple other outlets (like I said, yes, this roundup is probably redundant), The CW (which seems in no hurry to make official its fall TV lineup) will be airing a group of romance flicks. These are going to be adapted from Harlequin novels and will number to six. According to Heather Olander, who is Head of Scripted and Unscripted content, the CW is doing this in pursuit of what they are building which is “a passionate weekend audience of movie lovers, and this new slate of original films is for romance fans everywhere […] These feel-good stories, inspired by hugely successful blockbuster Harlequin novels, are the perfect blend of nostalgia and escapism […] giving fans the chance to laugh, swoon, and fall in love…” The first is Montana Mavericks. According to the press release, these are the films and who will star.
THE WEEKLY NEWS 196: NEW ROMANCE MOVIES + A REAL-LIFE HAPPY END ✨ Co-stars marry, new #romance movies are coming + #TheRookie has an additional home! #UPtv #ErinKrakow #TheCW Share on XMontana Mavericks will have Katherine McNamara from Walker: Independence and will first make its mark on a theater screen August 26 – 27 before it debuts on the CW. She will play Heather a NYC best-selling author who wants to “conquer” her writer’s block. She then inherits a ranch in Montana and along with friends, she visits where she meets Cliff, a “charming cowboy.”
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The five additional films, in order of the press release listing will include Ordinary Girl in a Tiara (inspired by the Jessica Hart novel) about nemeses who must help each other in a story where “moxie proves that opposites […] attract”; Paws in the City is going to have Emeraude Toubia and Carter Jenkins about an “unemployable social media manager” and a (presumably) cute dog owner; Based on Carla de Guzman’s Sweet on You is Recipe for Romance about “would-be enemies turn to heartwarming lovers [and] warring businesses”; Amber Riley will lead Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell about a woman who is juggling a lot including her job, and a “situationship” and the recent loss of her grandma; finally (according to the presser), Danielle Panabaker will lead Second Guessing Fate about a “a successful event planner […who has] given up on dating.” A fortune teller changes her mind and she meets two guys played by Corey Sevier and Brendan Morgan.
If you think you’ve seen a Harlequin flick before, you probably have. Recent years gave us After the Storm about a town ravaged by storms and the romance that blossoms in the rebuilding and also My Perfect Match about two rival co-workers who match on their company’s dating app!
LAST THINGS
Devoted fans of Hallmark likely saw, but if you didn’t, two of its stars Erin Krakow (from various movie titles) married Ben Rosenbaum. Not only are these two married, but they share credits on the Hallmark show When Calls the Heart. The newlyweds, who seem very private about their private lives, shared two photos (which has lots of congrats from co-stars) of their special day on Instagram.
If you love The Rookie but don’t watch it live or you don’t want to add a streaming service, you can now watch it this summer on UPtv. According to a press release, the network now has the right to air all seven seasons of the show and will begin airing this summer! You can watch The Rookie beginning July 6th with an “all-day marathon” beginning at 9 a.m. ET. The regular slot, the presser says, will be Monday – Friday from 7 to 11 P.M. ET and Saturday and Sunday from 3 – 11 P.M. ET.
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The show is about Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan pursuing a career with the LAPD as the “force’s oldest rookie” officer, and being “met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis.” According to Hector Campos, the SVP, content strategy and acquisition at UP Entertainment, he says “I’m thrilled that The Rookie is joining the UP family […] It’s about finding your purpose, leaning on your community and never giving up.” Will you be watching this popular ABC show with UPtv?
According to their X page, Hallmark will bring back The Chicken Sisters for season two on August 10. The show will drop on The Hallmark Channel with weekly episodes on Sundays and then stream next day on Hallmark+. The show, according to their X post, this season will “follow along in this new chapter as the Moore-Hillier women learn to rise above the roost with new challenges.”
More Austen is on its way! This past week it was announced that Focus Features, after bringing us 2005’s Pride and Prejudice and 2020’s Emma, will adapt Sense and Sensibility. There isn’t a long cast list (yet), but Daisy Edger-Jones will star as Elinor Dashwood. According to Focus Features, this version that Focus Features and Working Title Films “are bringing audiences a fresh take on Jane Austen’s classic Sense and Sensibility.” This joins the recent announcement from Netflix that they will adapt Pride and Prejudice. Are you excited to see Sense and Sensibility again?
Ok, so it’s your turn, comment all of the thoughts below. Did you read about any of these stories? Which ones were funny to you? Which annoyed?
