Way back in 2021, I wrote a Word on the Street story about Michelle Vicary’s departure from Hallmark. At the time, she was the company’s executive for programming and production. Now, four years later, Michelle has returned with a new title. In a recent article from Variety, Emily Longeretta reports how Michelle will now become Hallmark’s “head of programming”, allowing her to “oversee all production and original programming across Hallmark’s content platforms”. Her new role comes at a time when Hallmark has been attempting to bring their assets under one umbrella as “One Hallmark”. Their goal is to “deliver incredible content, incredible products and incredible experiences that leverage the full breadth of the brand” by “tying all of those things together in really unique ways”. When reflecting on Michelle’s importance in the company, Darren Abbott, Hallmark’s Chief Brand Officer, stated, “She was really the missing piece of the puzzle, I think, around the way I’m thinking about the brand.”

In the 2020s, so far, Hallmark’s viewership has been gradually declining. As of the publication of this Word on the Street story, 2025 hasn’t seen any movie premiere achieve two million viewers or more. In fact, the latest film release, Providence Falls: Chance of a Lifetime only attracted 695,000 viewers. This is now the second movie in a row to garner less than a million viewers, as the previous premiere, A Machu Picchu Proposal, received 964,000 viewers. Based on everything I just said; I’m not surprised Michelle Vicary came back to Hallmark. She worked at Hallmark when the network was in its prime, so I’d like to think she knows how to bring the company back to success. Though only time will tell how Michelle’s leadership will impact Hallmark as well as its consumers.

What are your thoughts on this piece of movie news? Are you happy to see Michelle Vicary return to Hallmark? Tell me in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen

References in this article:

Article from Variety: https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/michelle-vicary-hallmark-head-of-programming-1236478202/

Viewership numbers for Providence Falls: Chance of a Lifetime: https://programminginsider.com/saturday-ratings-fox-still-tops-the-night-despite-rainout-of-mlb-speedway-classic/

Viewership numbers for A Machu Picchu Proposal: https://programminginsider.com/saturday-ratings-fox-tops-all-key-prime-time-figures-with-mlb-action/