Five years after leaving the Hallmark Channel series “Chesapeake Shores” and the subsequent cancellation of his “Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries” franchise, Jesse Metcalfe will return to the network in a new rom-com opposite longtime Hallmark fan-favorite Kimberley Sustad.
The “Desperate Housewives” alum isn’t the only Hallmark alum making a surprise return. On July 2, 2026, Hallmark published details on its August lineup of original movies and revealed Torrey DeVitto and Aimee Teegarden are also returning after several years away.
Jesse Metcalfe Left Hallmark in 2021 But Returns in ‘Absolutely Devoted to You’
HallmarkOn August 8, Metcalfe’s return to Hallmark Channel will come with the premiere of “Absolutely Devoted to You.” According to Hallmark’s synopsis, Sustad will play an “ambitious TV producer” who comes up with a brilliant plan to “reunite a 90’s boy band for an annual summer beach bash, but her idea is derailed when she falls for the band’s reluctant lead singer.”
Metcalfe hasn’t appeared in a Hallmark production since 2021, when he shocked “Chesapeake Shores” fans by announcing he was stepping away from his role as singer-songwriter Trace Riley, a part he’d played since the series premiere in 2016.
At the time, he told Entertainment Tonight, “Life’s all about growth. I tend to put myself in challenging situations because I feel like that’s the fastest way to grow. No one saw this decision coming for me to leave ‘Chesapeake,’ but sometimes the hardest decisions are the best ones to make and the ones that you grow the most from. I think this is one of those decisions.”
After starring in the “Dallas” reboot, Metcalfe made his first Hallmark movie in 2015, “A Country Wedding” opposite Autumn Reeser, who also co-starred with him in 2019’s “Christmas Under the Stars.” Metcalfe starred in five “Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries” and thought that franchise would return, he told ET, but it got cancelled after his departure from “Chesapeake Shores.”
Over the last five years, Metcalfe has focused most of his energy on feature films like 2021’s “Fortress” and 2023’s “On a Wing and a Prayer.” But he did make a rom-com called “Harmony From the Heart” that aired in 2022 on Great American Family.
Torrey DeVitto & Aimee Teegarden Are Also Returning in New Rom-Coms
HallmarkMeanwhile, DeVitto and Teegarden, who were mainstays on the network for years, will both return in new August movies. DeVitto last appeared on Hallmark in early 2023’s “Love’s Greek To Me” before going through some big life changes, including getting married and having her first child.
On August 1, DeVitto will appear opposite another Hallmark fan favorite, Will Kemp, in “A Toast to Italy.” In the movie, DeVitto plays Jenny, who “travels to Italy for a special bottle of wine for her sister’s wedding. She meets Arrigo (Kemp), also looking for the famous ‘Love Wine’ and together their search leads to a love of their own.”
Teegarden has only been in one Hallmark movie since 2022 — “An Easter Bloom” in the spring of 2024. On August 22, the “Friday Night Lights” alum will co-star with Chris McNally of “When Calls The Heart” in “Love Finds You.”
According to Hallmark’s synopsis, “A mislabeled package convinces jewelry designer Alex (Teegarden) she’s found her ideal man, sending her and delivery driver Jack (McNally) on a citywide search that helps them discover what they truly want.”
Other August 2026 Hallmark Movies Are Star-Studded, Too
HallmarkIn addition to those movies, two other August rom-coms feature longtime fan-favorites, too. On August 15, Rhiannon Fish and Daniel Lissing will co-star in “Aussie at Heart.” Hallmark previously announced the duo was filming the movie in Queensland, but it was called “Love On Deck” at that point.
According to the synopsis, “Samara (Fish), a former lawyer now event planner, reunites with Nate (Lissing), her ex‑coworker and rival, to plan a couple’s anniversary in Queensland and begin to confront their past and fall for each other.”
On August 29, Ashley Williams and Niall Matter co-star in “Much About Love,” a movie we previously revealed was filmed in the spring. In the modern re-telling of “Much Ado About Nothing,” Williams plays a TV director returning to her theater roots and runs into an old flame at a Shakespeare festival, “rekindling a merry war of wits.”
