Sleuthers were truly upset after Hallmark canceled their favorite movie franchise, Mystery 101. That cliffhanger at the end of the seventh movie left them speechless for the two years since it was canceled. All along, they hoped that Kristoffer Polaha (Detective Travis Burke) and Jill Wagner (Professor Amy Winslow) would return. Finally, they did get some sort of closure as Hallmark CEO Wonya Lucas addresses the issue.
Why was Mystery 101 canceled by Hallmark Movies & Mysteries?
The Sun asked Hallmark CEO Wonya Lucas why the network canceled one of their most popular mystery series and regrettably, her response was brief…
Well, we hadn’t done it in a long, long time, right? And we just brought the mysteries back. So, we’re just looking at mysteries a little differently now.
Lucas added, “We’re taking some-we’ve created some new mysteries, in addition to some that we’ve had in the past. So, it’s just an evolution of our mysteries. We’re just doing a lot of new things.”
Sleuthers upset on Facebook
Clearly, mystery fans won’t be satisfied with that response, after almost two months ago, the announcement was made on social media. When a fan on Facebook asked a while back when Mystery 101 would return, this was the response.
We loved making Mystery 101 and we’re so glad you enjoyed sleuthing along with us. We want to let you know that our talented sleuths have solved the last mystery and are off the case.
Hallmark then promised fans plenty of new mysteries, but saying they are “off the case” isn’t the best response to the cliffhanger.
Mystery 101 writer John Christian Plummer addresses the issue
While the movie series ended with a cliffhanger, it turns out Mystery 101 writer John Christian Plummer didn’t write the script for the eighth movie. However, he did share his synopsis on the Hallmark Mysteries and More podcast.
Speaking of the final scene of Deadly History, Plummer explained that this was nothing but a dream. Those final two scenes saw Amy and Travis declaring their love for each other. However, the next scene was months later, where Travis and another officer drive up to a crime scene. It turns out the victim was Amy’s fiancé, and this ended the movie on that darn cliffhanger.
Plummer went on to share that an eighth movie would have repeated that cliffhanger scene. However, Amy would then wake up and be startled to find herself in bed. Meanwhile, Travis comes home and he wonders why she didn’t meet up with him for a meal at their favorite restaurant.
Meanwhile, throughout the story, Amy is having dreams and feels extremely tired. It turns out her former boyfriend had been drugging her, but it takes Amy and Travis a long time to figure that out. In the end, the two married.
While not exactly what Sleuthers were hoping for, this does give some closure. Readers, what is your reaction to Hallmark’s “explanation” for canceling Mystery 101? Let us know by dropping a comment below.