HOT NEWS: Hallmark Exclusive: Days of Our Lives’ Alison Sweeney Reveals Why the New Hannah Swensen Movie May *Not* Give Fans What They Want… Yet
It’s been six months since Hannah Swensen was last on the scene solving mysteries in Lake Eden, Minnesota, but she’s back… and this time there’s a little love on the landscape. Days of Our Lives star Alison Sweeney is returning as our favorite baker turned detective in A Sprinkle of Deceit: A Hannah Swensen Mystery debuting on Hallmark Mystery on Friday, Oct. 4.
Hannah finds herself knee deep in yet another murder mystery when she and the town’s prosecuting attorney Chad Norton, dashingly played by Victor Webster, find themselves working hard to clear a friend’s name after being implicated in the crime. Chad was introduced in the last film, One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, and he’s making Hannah blush with every interaction.
But viewers shouldn’t expect a full-blown romance because there’s work to be done first, and Hannah is getting in the way at every turn. “It’s interesting, right? Because they really are at cross purposes quite a bit,” Sweeney tells Soaps.com. “He has a real job to do, and he takes it very seriously, and yet Hannah is interfering with his business and doing the wrong thing. He keeps telling her, ‘You can’t be here. And she’s like, ‘Yeah, okay, well, I’ll see you at the next crime scene.’”
That delightful Hannah meddling is something “Chad is going to have to come to terms with,” but he also “intrigued by her.” That sparkling chemistry between the characters is why Sweeney is thrilled that there’s a bit of daytime soap magic happening here — they’ve been given a “slow burn.” She laughs, “I did not want to rush them into something or someone new. And so, for me, especially from my history in daytime, I knew that you have to bring them in. You have to make them fight for it as fans so that they want it before you give it to them.” That’s the daytime secret to her Days of Lives and Hallmark success!
This is her 10th movie in the Hannah Swensen franchise and Sweeney couldn’t be more delighted to continue with the role since there are 20 more books by author Joanne Fluke in the series to tackle. But what happens once all of the books have been adapted into film? Is there a TV series in there somewhere? “Oh, my gosh, I love playing Hannah,” gushes Sweeney. “I can’t believe how lucky I am that we’ve made 10 movies of Hannah. So, if they were to suggest more or something different or spinoffs, I would be open to all of those conversations because this is just a delight for me every time.”
Sweeney then remembers that there’s another major benefit to playing inquisitive baker. “And all those cookies, too,” she smiles, “There’s never anything bad when there are baked goods on the set.” Hannah Swensen knows that life’s “batter” with cake!
A Sprinkle of Deceit: A Hannah Swensen Mystery premieres on Friday, Oct. 4 at 9/8c on Hallmark Mystery.
