Hallmark just celebrated its 25th birthday by lining up plenty of stars to appear in upcoming Hallmark movies. However, the celebration wasn’t as full as it could have been, as there are a handful of network alums that have left for GAF, including Danica McKellar and Candace Cameron Bure. In the past, McKellar has spoken about moving to the rival network, and she’s now revealing her true reason for making the switch.
After starring in almost 20 movies at Hallmark, McKellar announced she’d be leaving the Christmas network in 2021. While Great American Family is her new home, the former child star still defends her Hallmark movies. It’s clear that that time of her life still means a lot to her, which makes her reason for leaving all the more understandable. McKellar spoke to Us Weekly about her rationale, and it had to do with someone she had worked closely with:
Bill Abbott, he had been at Hallmark, and he asked me to come over. And I mean, I credit him with my career. My whole second life of a career after The Wonder Years and The West Wing, and, like, coming into this whole Christmas movie and rom-com era of my life. That’s Bill Abbott.
Bill Abbott was once the CEO of Hallmark before he started GAF. McKellar credited him with reviving her career, so it’s not so much a surprise that she decided to follow him. This is also a testament to Abbott's character, as McKellar was willing to switch over to a whole new network while still doing something similar. As she said, she didn’t necessarily “leave” Hallmark. She just wanted to go with the person she'd built rapport with.
Since 2022, McKellar has starred in 13 GAF movies. Her upcoming film, The Greatest Christmas Gift, is set to premiere later this year. When she first joined the network, McKellar signed a multi-picture deal, and that still seems to be working out. She doesn’t seem to have any plans to make another switch any time soon (as far as we know), and I'm excited to see what else she ends up doing at the network.
That aside, McKellar is still close to some of her former Hallmark stars who stayed on the network. In 2022, Three Wise Men and a Baby stars Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes, and Andrew W. Walker did an encore performance of a routine their characters did in the film at ChristmasCon, and McKellar shared a laugh-filled response. She’s also been reuniting with former Hallmark stars in some GAF movies, which have been fun. Not only that, but McKellar still interacts with her former colleagues’ posts. As a fan, I really do love those delightful back-and-forths.
It’s definitely understandable why McKellar would want to step away from Hallmark, especially given the former CEO's role in that choice. For a former child actor like her, I'd imagine it couldn’t have been easy for McKellar to make the transition in her adulthood, and Hallmark, a well as Abbott, certainly helped with that. So, all in all, what we have here is a story that does involve corporate moves but also personal loyalty amongst colleagues.
