Hallmark fans have plenty to look forward to this month with the return of the network’s “May for Moms” programming event, featuring several all-new, original romantic movies that premiere on Saturday nights during the month. The event is centered around the celebration of love and motherhood. The lineup will feature four exciting premieres. The programming event kicked off with the premiere of “Kentucky Roses” on Saturday May 2, followed up by “All’s Fair in Love and Mahjong” on Saturday, May 9.
It continues with the highly anticipated “Best Served Cold: A Hannah Swensen Mystery,” the next installment in the “Hannah Swensen Mystery” franchise. The official synopsis for the film reads, “When a suspect in a forgery case is murdered and the prosecutor goes missing, Hannah and Chad must uncover how the two cases are connected and solve them in time for the trial,” per Hallmark Channel. It stars Alison Sweeney as the titular character, Victor Webster as by-the-books prosecuting attorney Chad Norton, and Barbara Niven as Delores, Hannah’s mom.
When Is ‘Best Served Cold: A Hannah Swensen Mystery’ Premiering?
Hallmark Channel’s newest movie will be premiering on Saturday, May 16 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT, the same day as the 2026 Kentucky Derby, which is famously held the first Saturday in May every year at Churchill Downs.
How to Watch ‘Best Served Cold: A Hannah Swensen Mystery’
You can watch the movie live by tuning into the Hallmark Channel. It will be available to stream the next day on Hallmark+.
Watch the Sneak Peek for ‘Best Served Cold: A Hannah Swensen Mystery’
Ahead of the premiere, check out a sneak peek of the film from the official Hallmark Channel Youtube account:
Sweeney Discusses Writing the Script for ‘Best Served Cold’
Hallmark[Warning: General spoilers ahead]
Series producer and star Sweeney wrote the script for the film based on Joanne Fluke’s “Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder” for director Peter Benson, who also directed the “Sugar & Vice” chapter in the “Hannah Swensen” series. This will be the fifth script that Sweeney has written for the series.
In an interview with TV Goodness, Sweeney opened up about the challenges of adapting the book into a script. Since “Best Served Cold” centers around Webster’s character, Chad, who’s not in the books, Sweeney had to “work with that one from scratch” and “extrapolate,” especially because being in a courtroom setting is “a divergence from [Joanne’s] stories.”
Sweeney continued, “I wanted to give Chad his moment and to have us all see what he does and be a part of his world, for once.”
“It was harder because it’s a lot to do at the same time. It’s normally one story. But I enjoyed it,” she explained, saying that there were “tent pole moments” where she could imagine how she wanted a scene to go, then she had to “work out the clues and the mystery to pull it all together.”
