Category: Site Updates
Little Bit of Life Podcast Appearance
Interview with Heavy.com
More than two years after longtime Hallmark Channel star Jen Lilley left the network for an exclusive movie deal with Great American Family (GAF), the network launched by former Hallmark Media CEO Bill Abbott in 2021, Lilley has opened up about what’s next. The actress says she has lots of exciting plans ahead, which could include a return to Hallmark now that she’s no longer required to work exclusively with one network.
“I’d be happy to work with Hallmark again at any point,” Lilley told Heavy on September 16, 2024, noting that she’s still “very close with actors at both networks.”
Since Lilley did not renew her contract after its January 1 expiration, the former “Days of Our Lives” actress has spent this year carefully choosing where she wants to spend her energy and time moving forward.
She’s jumped into new opportunities, from producing and acting in upcoming projects to agreeing to headline her first cruise with fans in January 2025. But she’s also letting go of other commitments, she said, including the Christmas is Not Cancelled charity events she started in 2020.
“2024 has been a year of non-exclusivity and new adventures,” Lilley told Heavy. “You know, it’s been a real turning point for me in my life.”
New Project: A Little Women’s Christmas
Great American Family is taking on the March family story.
“A Little Women’s Christmas,” the network’s first ensemble Christmas movie, is a contemporary retelling of Louisa May Alcott’s classic 1868 novel, starring Jillian Murray as Jo March, Trevor Donovan as Friedrich “Fritz” Baehr, Laura Osnes as Beth March, Jen Lilley as Meg March, Jesse Hutch as John Brooke and Julia Reilly as Amy March. Gladys Knight also stars and will perform her new original Christmas song, “Joy.”
The movie will air during the fourth annual “Great American Christmas.” Previously announced other titles for their 2024 holiday slate include “Aurora Christmas,” “A Christmas Less Traveled,” “Love at the Kettle,” “My Grown-Up Christmas Wish,” “A Royal Christmas Ball” and “A Vintage Christmas.”
“‘A Little Women’s Christmas’ is a new Christmas classic in the making, with an incredible ensemble cast and an adaptation of an original story that is one of the best I have read,” says Great American Media president and CEO Bill Abbott. “Louisa May Alcott was intentional about focusing on the culture of young women, their hopes, ambitions, and dreams, and it remains one of the most widely read and beloved stories ever written.”