When The Wedding Veil Trilogy aired its first movie in 2022, fans immediately latched onto the lovely story of three friends sharing the same historical veil. They also latched onto the concept of a trilogy of rom-coms on the cabler. After two successful Veil trilogies, Hallmark’s upcoming movies schedule will have another trilogy on its slate, but this time the channel is going in a different direction.
Hallmark’s lineup is much more diverse than it has been in past years, and I’m not just talking diversity in terms of including LGBTQ+ storylines or narratives from different cultures and religions. In fact, the network has even started producing content from more of a male perspective as well, with one of the most popular examples being 2022’s Three Wise Men and a Baby. In the rom-com realm, instead of a third Wedding Veil trilogy, the network is flipping the script and prepping for The Groomsmen.
In an announcement the network noted this trilogy will follow three of Hallmark’s notable male leads: Tyler Hynes, Jonathan Bennett and B.J. Britt. In the new trilogy, the three actors will play friends who are there to support one another’s impending nuptials. Bennett will play a baseball coach named Danny; Hynes will play a social media agent named Jackson; Britt will play a pediatrician named Pete. The three movies will go by the subtitles The Groomsmen First Look, The Groomsmen Second Chances and The Groomsmen Last Dance, because of course.
Like The Wedding Veil trilogy, The Groomsmen will take fans overseas to exotic locations including Greece, Italy and Bulgaria. So, expect stunning views.
Alison Sweeney has formerly talked about how she "would love to do" a third installment in the enchanting Veil trilogy, and if fans get pumped about The Groomsmen, I’m already thinking about crossover cameo possibilities and more. To me, though, while I’d obviously be pumped for more from Sweeney, Lacey Chabert and Autumn Reeser, I like that we’re getting what is essentially a similar concept with male leads. It’s not that I don’t love the leading ladies of Hallmark, but it’s nice sometimes to get a storyline from a male perspective as well.
It seems like such a simple idea, but really I’ve been watching Hallmark for a decade and most of its movies have historically followed a female lead. That's been switching up, and Jonathan Bennett was actually a part of another Hallmark "first" when he led the network's first LGBTQ+ romance with a meet-cute between two men. It's a good time to see change, and I'm happy to see Hallmark switching things up.
There’s another twist in that The Groomsman will comprise three movies that will be a part of the Hallmark+ service this fall. This week, the network made an announcement it would be rebranding its streaming service and that the new product will cost longtime Hallmark fans $7.99 a month. The programming will be ad-free when it hits the TV schedule.
Separately, a limited series Holidazed will also be hitting the subscription streaming service – a brand new direction for the cabler as well.
