Bill Abbott Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Still the Christmas season guru? Candace Cameron Bure shocked fans in April 2022 when she announced that she was leaving Hallmark Media for Great American Media.

Emily Longeretta The holidays are upon us, beginning Friday, Oct. 21 — and this year, there’s more places than ever to find content. In addition to Hallmark, Lifetime, Great American Family and UpTV, this year features original holiday movies on BET+, Discovery+, CBS, Netflix, OWN and Fox Nation.

Emily Longeretta Great American Family‘s original Christmas movie slate is here — and has increased by 50% in its second year. On Thursday, Bill Abbott’s network unveiled the 18 all-new original movies kicking off their “Great American Christmas” programming franchise. This year’s annual event kicks off on Friday, Oct.

Lori Loughlin’s post-jail career is kicking off.

disgraced former “Full House” star turned not-so-wholesome queen of the Hallmark Channel, is making her big return to movies following her stint in prison. She’ll star in the TV movie “Fall Into Winter” for the network Great American Family.According to the network’s press release, the plot of the movie is as follows: “Keely (Loughlin) is aghast when her brother sells his half of their family-owned, upscale candy shop to his best friend from high school (and her nemesis, Brooks) forcing a sudden urgency to find connection and common ground. Keely has been hurt before; change is her new nemesis.

Her next big role! Lori Loughlin is making her return to TV movies with a first time collaboration with Great American Family.

Lori Loughlin is returning to Great American Family to headline Fall Into Winter, her first romantic comedy for the network. The casting follows Loughlin’s appearance on the network in When Hope Calls Christmas in a reprisal of her role of Abigail Stanton from Hallmark Channel’s When Calls The Heart. Fall Into Winter begins production October 23 for premiere in January 2023 as part of the network’s annual winter programming event.

Emily Longeretta Lori Loughlin is back with her “Full House” family on Great American Family. The actress, who has not led a film since 2018, will star in “Fall Into Winter,” a January movie for the network. Production begins in October. “Lori is a genre-defining star that I have had the honor to call a close friend and collaborator for more than 15 years,” says Great American Media president and CEO Bill Abbott. “We have a shared vision for creating meaningful and memorable movies that resonate with our passionate fans, and I look forward to welcoming her back to Great American Family to anchor our 2023 winter programming slate.” Abbott recently opened up to Variety about his high hopes to work with Loughlin again, noting that the pair talk three times a week and were deciding between two different scripts.

Ready for her return. Bill Abbott said he can’t wait for Lori Loughlin to return to the small screen.

Emily Longeretta Great American Family is continuing to rollout their slate of original holiday movies. Jessica Lowndes, Paul Greene and seven-time Grammy winner Gladys Knight will star in “Someday at Christmas,” set to premiere this November. Production begins today on the film, which marks the reunion of Knight with former Motown chief, writer-producer Suzanne de Passe. “Great American Christmas,” the network’s franchise, will return with a new slate of original holiday movies premiering every Saturday and Sunday on October 21. Christmas movies will air all day and all night through the end of 2022. This marks Greene’s first appearance on Great American Family. The “When Calls the Heart” star is a staple on Hallmark Channel, leading nine of their movies since 2015. This year, he will also appear in CBS’ holiday movie, “Fit for Christmas,” alongside Amanda Kloots.

Great American Community, the direct-to-consumer service from former Hallmark Channel head Bill Abbott’s Great American Media, will launch with 15 new short form series when it becomes available September 26. The Great American Community series will be exclusive to the platform and will feature fresh advice and inspirational stories from their hosts, many of whom are familiar to Hallmark viewers.

Emily Longeretta When Great American Media’s free app, Great American Community, launches on Sept. 26, it will introduce viewers to 15 original short-form series, each headlined by well-known lifestyle experts and TV stars.On launch day, multiple episodes of all series will be available.

Emily Longeretta Hallmark Media isn’t worried about losing talent from their roster. During Wednesday’s Television Critics Association press conference, President and CEO Wonya Lucas and EVP of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly discussed the changes happening at the network with talent heading to competitors, including Great American Family (previously titled GAC).“We’ve kept a lot of our talent under options, save for Christmas movies. We’re looking for new talent all the time.

Danica McKellar is making moves. The actress is ready to be “a hands-on producer” with her new GAC Media deal following her exit from Hallmark.

Holiday in the sun! Trevor Donovan was a fan favorite on the Hallmark Channel before moving over to GAC Media in fall 2021 — but no matter what the network, his Christmas movies continue to get fans’ attention.

Summer loving! Luke Macfarlane has been a Hallmark Channel staple since 2014 — and after signing a multi-picture deal with the network in May he doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.

Feel good film guru! Bill Abbott made Hallmark Channel the go-to hub for all-things holidays for 20 years before his departure in 2020 and launching GAC Media in 2021.

Feel-good films for all! After decades of being the ruler of holiday movies, Hallmark Channel found itself competing for Christmas viewership at the hands of GAC Media.

Following the huge news about a major star leaving Hallmark Channel for GAC Family, it looks like they aren’t the only one!

No hard feelings? Hallmark responded to Candace Cameron Bure’s new deal with GAC Media after working on more than 20 films together.

Emily Longeretta After 29 films with Hallmark Channel, Candace Cameron Bure will not be starring in any upcoming projects with the Crown Media network and there are no plans for new “Aurora Teagarden Mysteries” films, multiple sources tell Variety.On Tuesday, GAC Media, run by former Crown Media president Bill Abbott, announced a megadeal with Bure. Not only will she develop, produce and star in programming across both GAC Family and GAC Living, she will also be in an executive role at GAC and help to curate programming for the networks overall.She is set to develop and produce original content through her company, Candy Rock Entertainment, will help create year-round seasonal celebration content and will have a large part in the company’s annual “Great American Christmas.” Although the new GAC deal is not exclusive, she will not appear in any holiday films on other networks in the 2022-2023 season.“Crown Media has enjoyed over 10 years of collaboration with Candace,” a Hallmark spokesperson tells Variety.

Candace Cameron Bure is making moves!

The Queen of Christmas is taking her talents elsewhere. Candace Cameron Bure inked a deal with former Hallmark Channel boss Bill Abbott’s GAC Media, the network announced on Tuesday, April 19.

Emily Longeretta The battle of the holiday content continues. GAC Media has signed longtime Hallmark staple Candace Cameron Bure to develop, produce and star in movies and television programming across GAC Family and GAC Living, Variety confirms.

GAC Media has signed Candace Cameron Bure to develop, produce and star in movies and TV shows for GAC Family and GAC Living, it was announced today. The Fuller House star is expected to take a prominent role in the company to help curate programming, and will develop and produce content for GAC channels through her Candy Rock Entertainment.

Emily Longeretta The 2022 holiday season is underway at GAC Family. Merritt Patterson and Daniel Lissing will star in “Catering Christmas” (working title), set to being production on April 3. The movie is the first announced movie in GAC Family’s annual Great American Christmas slate.“Catering Christmas” follows Molly Frost (Patterson) as she struggles to launch her new catering business and unexpectedly lands New Hampshire’s biggest event of the year.

EXCLUSIVE: Hallmark veteran Brennan Elliott is expanding his relationship with Crown Media Family Networks, with an exclusive, multi-picture overall deal.

EXCLUSIVE: Multi-hyphenate Jessica Lowndes has signed a four-picture deal to star in, write, direct and executive produce original films for GAC Family.

Emily Longeretta GAC Media has acquired and renamed the Kitten Bowl, once a Hallmark Channel staple, Variety can exclusively reveal. The new special, set to premiere on Sunday, Feb.

The Kitten Bowl may be heading to a new home. Following word that Hallmark Channel has canceled the annual Super Bowl alternative program, GAC Family, run by Bill Abbott, former Hallmark Channel president and CEO, is looking at bringing the event to GAC in 2023, we’ve confirmed.

The Kitten Bowl has been cancelled.

EXCLUSIVE: Jen Lilley is the latest Hallmark Channel alumna to get into business with GAC Media. Lilley, who starred in several holiday movies for Hallmark, has signed a multi-picture overall deal with GAC Media, whose flagship brands include GAC Family and GAC Living. As part of the deal, Lilley will star in four original movies over the next two years.

EXCLUSIVE: Hallmark Channel veterans Jessica Lowndes and Jesse Metcalfe have been tapped to star in Harmony From The Heart, a GAC Family film set for premiere on February 12. Lowndes also wrote the film and will executive produce, and performs several of the film’s original songs, which she also wrote and produced. Production is underway.

For years, when thinking of holiday movies on TV, Hallmark Channel has been the go-to — mostly because of the team behind it and the celebrities attached. However, GAC Media is giving the network a run for its money.

Denise Petski Senior Managing EditorWonya Lucas has been named president and CEO of Crown Media Family Networks.