Nearly five years after Danica McKellar surprised fans by signing an exclusive movie deal with the new Great American Family network started by former Hallmark Channel CEO Bill Abbott, the 90s TV icon says the move was an act of loyalty, rather than an act of defiance against Hallmark, where she starred in more than a dozen movies from 2015 to 2021.
In a virtual interview with Us Magazine posted to its social media accounts on August 20, 2026, McKellar said “divine” timing led her to follow Abbott, whom she credits with turning her into a TV rom-com queen, explaining, “People were like, ‘Oh, why did you leave Hallmark?’ I didn’t leave Hallmark. I stayed with the person, you know what I mean?”
Danica McKellar Says Her Faith Journey Happened to Coincide With Her Move to Great American Family
McKellar told Us Magazine that she credits Abbott with the second chapter of her career in TV rom-coms after first rising to fame on the 90s hit “The Wonder Years,” explaining, “You know, Bill Abbott, he had been at Hallmark and he asked me to come over. And, I mean, I credit (him with) my whole career, like my whole second life of a career after ‘The Wonder Years’ and ‘West Wing,’ like coming into this whole Christmas movie, rom-com era of my life. That’s Bill Abbott.”
After more than a decade at the helm of Hallmark Channel, Abbott stepped down in early 2020 amid a public relations crisis and launched his competing network the following year. He made headlines by convincing multiple Hallmark stars, including McKellar and Candace Cameron Bure, to sign exclusive deals with Great American Family at the time, procluding them from also appearing on Hallmark.
Days after the premiere of McKellar’s last Hallmark movie, “You, Me & the Christmas Trees,” in October 2021, news broke of her multi-picture deal with Great American Family. Six months later, in April 2022, she opened up to fans about her evolving faith, revealing that while attending church with Bure, shifted something in her and she began to explore the Bible and her relationship with Jesus.
McKellar told Us Magazine that the timing of her move to Great American Family, which has increasingly leaned into developing Christian-themed programming including streaming an “America Reads the Bible” initiative in March, and her own faith journey wasn’t a coincidence, but “obviously divine timing.”
“The timing of that with me coming to faith … was completely not planned,” she said. “And one didn’t influence the other. It happened to work out that way, so it was a Godwink.”
In an August press release about one of two Christmas movies McKellar will star in this year, Abbott said, “At Great American Media, we are proud to be the only major entertainment company unapologetically dedicated to faith, telling stories that reflect the hope we share in one another.”
Danica McKellar Left Hollywood for Nashville in 2022, Where She’s Found a Community of Faithful Friends
GettyCoinciding with her move to Great American Family and her newfound faith, McKellar’s family — attorney Scott Sveslovsky, her son Draco (whom she shares with ex Mike Verta), and her mom — moved from Los Angeles to the Nashville area in the summer of 2022, per People.
McKellar told Us Magazine that she cherishes her community of friends there, including Bure and Melissa Joan Hart, both whom she’s known since their days as 90s child stars and who’ve followed a similar career trajectory.
“Oh my gosh, it’s great to be friends you’ve known for so long, but also somebody who has a similar life,” she said. “We kind of understand each other. It’s a bizarre life, running off doing these movies, and … have chemistry with this total stranger. Great, and now you’re never gonna see them again, probably? It’s a very unique job that we have.”
“We’re all also strong in our faith, which is nice as well, so we have that in common,” she added. “It’s super important. When you’re busy with your career and being a mom and a wife, it’s easy to let friendships fall by the wayside so I always try to send that text and reach out and, like, make a plan to grab lunch in the midst of all the other stuff.”
As the 69th most popular TV channel in 2026, Great American Family has struggled to score TV ratings anywhere near Hallmark, which currently ranks 15th among all TV channels. But the network will once again produce a full slate of Christmas rom-coms this season, including two starring McKellar — “The Greatest Christmas Gift” and “The Christmas Yes List.”
