Grey’s Anatomy alum Sarah Drew is a yuletide sleuth in Hallmark Channel’s Mistletoe Murders
Returning to series work is murder for Sarah Drew, but only in a thematic sense.
The former Grey’s Anatomy and Everwood star has been a frequent presence in Hallmark Channel movies such as Branching Out and Guiding Emily, and she continues her work for Hallmark by starring in Mistletoe Murders.
Based on the podcast of the same name, the series features Drew in the role of another Emily — Emily Lane, the owner of a Christmas-themed store in Fletcher’s Grove.
That small town’s name isn’t entirely random, offering a sly nod to Murder, She Wrote (mystery novelist Jessica Fletcher, played by Angela Lansbury in the long-running hit series, probed homicides in her own seemingly tranquil locale).
In Mistletoe Murders, Emily also plays amateur sleuth when there are a number of suspicious deaths in her small town. Peter Mooney (Rookie Blue) also stars, playing a police detective with both personal and professional interests in Emily.
Also an executive producer of Mistletoe Murders, Drew notes that Hallmark is applying the label “Christmas noir” to her new show. “Towns are never really as small as we like to make them out to be in these shows and movies,” she reasons. “We have some really interesting stories that we tell here that allow for some believability in the things that happen. It’s not just the typical, ‘There’s a body, and another body, and another body.’ It plays out in a cool way that’s super-grounded.”
With that, Drew muses that her newest alter ego “gets herself into some pickles. Emily has a certain set of skills, and we don’t really know where they came from, which makes the character intriguing. It’s a really fun role because there are two very different sides to her. You learn early on that there’s something she’s running away from and keeping private, and that enables her to help solve these crimes.”
As central as she is to Mistletoe Murders, Drew still had time during filming to write her latest movie script, following the scripts that she wrote for Reindeer Games Homecoming (2022) and A Cowboy Christmas Romance (2023). Lifetime will air her latest, A Carpenter Christmas Romance, this holiday season, and Drew (also an executive producer of the made-for-TV film) says, “It’s like a sexy romance novel. That involves more than a meet-cute and the one kiss at the end of the movie. I think people can get behind adding a little naughty to the nice.”
While Drew is hoping for more seasons of Mistletoe Murders, with Jesse Williams’ return to Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Jackson Avery, it’s logical to wonder if she’ll also go back to the medical drama as Dr. April Kepner, with whom Avery had two children — and reunited after the couple divorced.
“The door is always open if I’m available,” maintains Drew, who’s developing other projects and is sailing aboard a Hallmark-sponsored Christmas Cruise for fans in mid-November. “I potentially have my whole next year booked already, so, maybe [regarding Grey’s]. I don’t know, but I love my family over there.”
Mistletoe Murders airs Monday, November 18, on W Network