Hallmark’s newest movie, “All’s Fair in Love and Mahjong,” premieres tonight — May 9 — at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. The movie stars Fiona Gubelmann and Paul Campbell, and Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, Tamera Mowry-Housley, and Melissa Peterman. Read on to learn all about where it was filmed and see behind-the-scenes stories from the cast and crew.
‘All’s Fair in Love and Mahjong’ Was Filmed in Victoria, Canada
“All’s Fair in Love and Mahjong” was filmed in British Columbia, Canada — more specifically, in the Victoria region, according to Front Street Pictures and Creative BC.
A post by Victoria Film Industry on Facebook also celebrated actor Beverley Elliott’s casting, writing in February that she “will soon travel to exotic Victoria” to make the movie.
A Reddit post revealed that three months ago in March, a scene from the movie was filmed in the Inner Harbour.
Housley wrote on Instagram about the filming: “We had so much fun filming this, and I can’t wait for you all to see it! This film is so refreshing and fun. What a treat to have found friendship and also a new love for Mahjong! 🀄️”
Meet the Cast
Hallmark’s synopsis reads: “A school nurse finds unexpected hope through teaching Mahjong, the centuries‑old Chinese game, which helps her build community and open her heart again.”
Fiona Gubelmann stars as Ronni. She’s well known for numerous films and TV productions, like “Wilfred,” “The Good Doctor,” “Mad Men,” “New Girl,” “Modern Family,” “Castle,” “One Day at a Time” on Netflix, and more. Of course, Hallmark fans love her too, for movies like “Christmas Next Door” and “‘Tis the Season to be Irish.”
Paul Campbell is Ben. He’s known affectionately as one of the “Hallmark Hunks” of the network. His many movies include the “Three Wise Men” series with Tyler Hynes and Andrew Walker, “Wedding Every Weekend,” “Christmas by Starlight,” “Surprised by Love,” “Dating the Delaneys,” and more.
Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe is Shelley. She’s very well known for her role in the “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” movies. Her other credits include “Stargate SG1,” “The Twilight Zone,” “The L Word,” “Primeval,” and more. She’s also recently begun spending more time directing films.
Tamera Mowry-Housley is Carly. She’s an Emmy-award-winning host, actress, and more. Her career lauched with the hit series “Sister, Sister.” Now she’s a beloved staple at Hallmark, with films like “Christmas Comes Twice,” “Haunted Harmony Mysteries,” “Scouting for Christmas,” “Dream Moms,” and more.
Melissa Peterman is Melissa. She’s currently starring in “Young Sheldon” on CBS, and is known for her numerous roles on other hit shows like “Last Man Standing,” “Reba” (123 episodes), “The Pitts,” and more. As for Hallmark, she’s starred in the “Haul Out the Holly” series of movies, much to fans’ delight.
Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe Addressed Concerns About the Casting
Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe addressed some concerns on social media about the casting and how the is the only lead character of Asian descent in the movie.
In an interview with ABC12, she said: “I grew up with Mahjong, but Chinese Mahjong, obviously. So to know that the game has reached as far as it has reached is incredible for me. What I hope this film does is it brings people to go, ‘Where did this originate from?’ And then you can start looking into the Chinese Mahjong and understanding why it’s so important to us.”
She also told ABC12 that the executive producer, Joel Rice, wanted to honor the origins of Mahjong, which included filming parts of the movie at a Chinese cultural center.
“It was very important to Joel Rice — very, very important,” she said. “We talked about it every day of shooting to make sure that we honored where I came from.”
