NEW YORK, Feb. 6 (UPI) — Days of Our Lives and The Biggest Loser alum Alison Sweeney says it is not as difficult as one might think to resist the yummy treats that appear in her bakery-set Hannah Swensen Mystery series.
“It is so fun and delicious and the stuff looks so beautiful. I will say, that as a cost-saving and mental-health benefit, they’re only really good that first day, and then we keep the same baked goods,” Sweeney, 48, told UPI in a recent phone interview. “By day three, you’re not as tempted.”
Premiering Thursday on Hallmark, Reality Bites: A Hannah Swensen Mystery is the adaptation of Joanne Fluke’s novel, Cooked to Death.
Sweeney wrote the script for 2024’s One Bad Apple and this latest chapter in the series of TV movies, which dates back to 2015.
“All of them start with the origin of one of Joanne’s wonderful, fun mysteries,” Sweeney said.
“She’s been writing the character of Hannah since the 1980s, so I have to update them and make them different and sort of modernize the stories,” she added. “It’s a lot of fun to take them and make them my own. I start with an idea from her books or a character from a book that motivates me and then we just go from there.”
Reality Bites follows Sweeney’s Hannah, owner of the Cookie Jar bakery in Lake Eden, Minn., who excitedly agrees to host a popular reality baking TV show, only to find a producer dead on her shop floor one morning.
“There was a lengthy discussion about that,” Sweeney said of having the adorably decorated store transformed into a crime scene.
“But we figured it was sort of on the other side [of the counter]. It’s not in the kitchen,” she added. “There wasn’t a massive cleanup that happened.”
Initially upset by the development, Hannah feels better when someone points out that having a murder in one’s shop could be good for business since it might attract cupcake-loving, true-rime aficionados.
“I think that’s a fun wink to the audience,” Sweeney said.
Once the shock wears off, Hannah enlists her best friend/dentist Norman (Gabriel Hogan) to help her figure out who killed the out-of-towner.
“Norman’s great. He’s clever. He’s smart. He thinks things through. He’s totally loyal to Hannah, so that’s a downside for Norman — that he’s willing to get himself into these dangerous, reckless situations because he is just happy to go along with whatever preposterous plan Hannah cooks up,” Sweeney said.
“So, I kind of love that he’s just there for her and willing to support her and I think that makes him a great, authentic partner in crime.”
The new movie also sees Hannah taking a break from her amateur sleuthing to spend time with Chad (Victor Webster), the town’s handsome prosecutor.
“Things are progressing between Hannah and Chad,” Sweeney confirmed.
“They are sort of feeling each other out, figuring out where they stand,” she added. “He’s still very by-the-book and a rule-follower and Hannah is not as into that kind of structure, but, this time, you notice that he listens to her stories a little bit more. He’s a little more intrigued, giving her his time and respecting her opinion, so, I think she’s really earned that from him.”
The two even discuss going on a date some time soon in the film.
“I think they’re in a good place,” Sweeney teased.
The actress said she loves making these movies because it means playing a character she adores while also presenting some escapism to audiences exhausted by the challenges of reality.
“Life is hard and there’s plenty of other types of programming and stuff available,” she added. “I think it’s great to offer this as something just light and fun.”
Hannah and Chad are teaming up again to uncover a crime on a reality tv show! Can they solve this case?
Reality Bites: A #HannahSwensen Mystery premieres Thursday, February 6 at 8/7c and streams the next day on @HallmarkPlus. @Ali_Sweeney @webstervictor #Sleuthers pic.twitter.com/b8nA6dnsWt— Hallmark Mystery (@hallmarkmystery) February 2, 2025
