Good Witch (franchise) explained

Owner:Hallmark Channel
Years:2008–present
Tv Series:Good Witch (2015–21)
Tv Specials:5 (list of specials)
Tv Films:7 (list of films)

Good Witch is a Hallmark Channel media franchise that is centered on a series of films and a television series. The franchise is centered upon Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale (Catherine Bell), the titular "good witch" who uses her abilities to bring positive change in the lives of those around her.

The franchise was launched with the 2008 film The Good Witch, which aired on the Hallmark Channel on January 19, 2008. It has since been followed with six additional movies and a television series that has run for seven seasons.

Cast

CharacterTitle
The Good WitchGardenGiftFamilyCharmDestinyWonderSeason 1HalloweenSeason 2Secrets of Grey HouseSeason 3SpellboundSeason 4A Tale of Two HeartsSeason 5Curse From A RoseSeason 6Season 7
Cassie NightingaleCatherine Bell
Jake RussellChris Potter
Martha TinsdaleCatherine Disher
George O'HanrahanPeter MacNeillPeter MacNeill
Brandon RussellMatthew KnightDan JeannotteDan JeannotteDan JeannotteDan Jeannotte
Lori RussellHannah Endicott-Douglas
Derek SandersNoah Cappe
Tom TinsdalePaul MillerPaul MillerPaul MillerPaul MillerPaul MillerPaul Miller
Dylan TinsdaleAlexander De JordyJD Smith
Michael TinsdaleNathan McLeodEdward RuttleEdward Ruttle
GwenElizabeth LennieElizabeth Lennie
Abigail PershingSarah PowerSarah Power
TaraAshley LeggatRebecca DaltonRebecca DaltonRebecca DaltonRebecca Dalton
Grace RusselluncrediteduncreditedLily-Fay MowbrayBailee MadisonBailee Madison
JarodRandal EdwardsRandal EdwardsRandal Edwards
SamJames Denton
RyanAnthony LemkeAnthony Lemke
StephanieKylee Evans
NickRhys Matthew Bond
AnthonyShane Harte
LindaGabrielle MillerGabrielle Miller
Ben Jefferson Brown
EveKate Corbett
John DoverDan Payne
CourtneyAlanna BaleAlanna Bale
LiamSeann Gallagher
NoahJames Swalm[1] James Rittinger
Nurse ArringtonJaNae Armogan
VincentGianpaolo VentuaGianpaolo Ventua
AdamScott Cavalheiro
Donavan DavenportMarc Bendavid
Dottie DavenportPaula BoudreauPaula Boudreau
Joy HarperKatherine Barrell
Claire TinsdaleNicole Wilson
Grant CollinsLindsey Owen Pierre

Films

The Good Witch films are composed of seven films spanning from 2008 through 2014, after which Hallmark opted to continue the storyline via a television series.

The Good Witch

See main article: The Good Witch. The Good Witch premiered on the Hallmark Channel on January 19, 2008, and starred Catherine Bell as Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale and Chris Potter as Chief of Police Jake Russell.

The movie centers upon Cassie, a new arrival to the town of Middleton. She immediately catches the attention of the people around her, particularly Jake, who becomes enamored with her. Cassie also attracts negative attention from Martha Tinsdale, who believes that she is practicing black magic.

The movie had great success on Hallmark Channel on the night of its premiere, making it the second-highest-rated original movie to that date. It premiered with a 3.8 HH (household) rating and was in nearly 3.2 million homes.[2] It also was #1 in its time period, propelling the channel to the #4 spot in weekly ranking.[3]

The Good Witch's Garden

See main article: The Good Witch's Garden. The Good Witch's Garden premiered on the Hallmark Channel on February 7, 2009. The film's premise centers on Cassie, who is turning her home into a bed and breakfast. Strife comes when a suspicious stranger, Nick, comes into town claiming to be the actual owner of her home, Grey House. Nick claims that it is his birthright, as he is the descendant of the home's original owner, the Grey Lady, and her lover, a captain. Over the course of the film it's proven that the captain was only a fictional creation and that Nick is a grifter who had run similar cons on other homeowners. The film ends with Jake proposing to Cassie.

The film's premiere did moderately well for Hallmark Channel. It scored a 2.7 household rating with over 2.3 million homes, over 3.1 million total viewers and 4.2 million unduplicated viewers. This performance ranked it #1 in the time period as well as the second-highest-rated Prime Time cable movie of the week and day, among all ad-supported cable networks. The film boosted Hallmark Channel to rank #3 in prime time for the day, and #5 for the week.[4]

The Good Witch's Gift

The Good Witch's Gift premiered on November 13, 2010, and is the third installment in the Hallmark Channel's series of Good Witch television films. The film had a 3.8 HH rating and nearly 3.2 million homes. The film's premise centers on the wedding of Cassie and Jake.

Cassie Nightingale has settled comfortably in Middleton with a successful boutique and is now engaged to Chief of Police Russell (Chris Potter). Having gifts for everyone else, finding one for Cassie proves to be a little more tricky for Jake. He sets his heart on letting Cassie wake up with a family on Christmas Day after getting married on Christmas Eve. With 7 days to go, everyone gets involved in the planning. Martha Tinsdale, who is looking for a job after her husband announces they're broke, discovers her talent for planning weddings. She eventually overcomes her struggles not to let her own vision undermine the bride-to-be's. Betty, the owner of a local bakery, is in charge of the menu, including the cake, and comes out more confident after Cassie gives her a necklace. As the chief of police, Jake Russell has additional concerns, as Leon Deeks, a man he put in jail for robbing a bank 10 years ago, got out of prison early. The money that was stolen had never been found. Leon appears at his former home. His daughter Jody is happy to see him, but his wife has filed for divorce and kicks him out. Jody is in a relationship with Brandon and the two of them visit Cassie's shop. Lori has been left to look after it for a bit and has been put in charge of Cassie's wedding ring, the last thing Cassie still owns from her mother. After the three of them talk for a bit, Jody suddenly has to leave. Immediately after, Lori notices the ring's gone missing. She feels horrible about losing it. Lori suspects Jody to be involved in the ring's disappearance and visits her at home. Before she can ring the doorbell, Brandon sees Lori and accuses her of harboring preconceived notions of Jody only due to the prior indiscretions of her father. He continues to get mad at anyone suspecting Jody. They later find out that Martha, who had previously been in the shop, had accidentally put it in her purse. Problems continue when the marriage certificate is first difficult to acquire, then gets switched up by accident, only to be followed by the minister's car breaking down and a dog eating the wedding cake. George considers moving to Montreal, but Cassie makes him want to stay and move into Grey House after she moves in with Jake after the wedding. He welcomes his new job as a caretaker for the property. All other problems are resolved just in time for the wedding. Leon retrieves the robbery money from underneath the tiles in Cassie's shop, where he had hidden it back when it had still been an abandoned building, and returns it to Jake. He decides to stay in Middleton to regain peoples' trust and his family decides to give him a second chance. Cassie wakes up the next morning with a family.

The Good Witch's Family

See main article: The Good Witch's Family. The Good Witch's Family premiered on the Hallmark Channel on October 29, 2011, and is the fourth film in the series. The film follows Cassie as she must deal with new threats to the wellbeing of her family, friends, and community.

Critical reception for the film was positive and actor Matthew Knight received a 2012 Young Artist Awards nomination for "Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special - Supporting Young Actor" for his role as Brandon Russell.[5]

The Good Witch's Charm

The Good Witch's Charm aired on the Hallmark Channel on October 27, 2012. Bell and Potter reprised their roles as Cassie and Jake, respectively.[6]

The film focused on Cassie's life as she acclimates to caring for her newborn while also serving as her town's mayor. She's hoping to get a break from her hectic life and take a vacation with her husband Jake and their new family, however this plan is ruined when her stepdaughter is blamed for a recent rash of robberies. A reporter has also arrived in town with the seeming goal of ruining Cassie's reputation, and Cassie's own estranged foster mother has suddenly arrived in town as well.

The Good Witch's Destiny

See main article: The Good Witch's Destiny. The Good Witch's Destiny premiered on Hallmark Channel October 26, 2013 and is the sixth film in the series.[7] Its premiere was watched by 2.82 million viewers and was the channel's most watched original movie to date for 2013 among the network's core demographic, women aged 25–54.[8] [9]

The film's plot centers on Cassie's birthday and her stepdaughter Lori's investigation into Cassie's great aunt who disappeared many years ago.

The Good Witch's Wonder

The Good Witch's Wonder is the seventh film in the Good Witch film series. It premiered on the Hallmark Channel on October 25, 2014.[10] [11] The film is the last one to star Chris Potter, as he was unable to reprise his character due to scheduling conflicts.[12]

In its original airing on the Hallmark Channel, The Good Witch's Wonder was watched by 2.49 million viewers and had a 0.3 rating among adults aged 18 to 49.[13]

Television series

See main article: Good Witch (TV series). In February 2014, the Hallmark Channel announced that Good Witch had been green-lighted for a ten-episode series, starring Catherine Bell, to premiere on February 28, 2015.[14] [15] Production for the first season began on October 29, 2014, in Toronto,[16] with Sue Tenney as showrunner. Bailee Madison and James Denton also star.[16] [17] Five further two-hour films, promoted as special episodes, have also aired from 2015 to 2019 in the weeks before Halloween.

Ratings

The table below shows the ratings for the Good Witch films. Ratings for the films and the subsequent television series have been generally favorable.[18]

Films

Ratings table
FilmPremiere dateHousehold ratingViewers (in millions)
The Good WitchJanuary 19, 20083.8 -
The Good Witch's GardenFebruary 7, 20092.7 3.1
The Good Witch's GiftNovember 13, 2010 3.8-
The Good Witch's FamilyOctober 29, 2011- -
The Good Witch's CharmOctober 27, 2012--
The Good Witch's DestinyOctober 26, 2013-2.82
The Good Witch's WonderOctober 25, 2014-2.49

Television

Ratings table
SeasonSeason premiereSeason finaleViewers
(in millions)
1February 28, 2015 April 18, 20152.21[19]
Halloween/Something WickedOctober 24, 2015 -2.68[20]
2April 17, 2016 June 19, 20162.19[21]
Secrets of Grey HouseOctober 22, 2016-2.24[22]
3April 30, 2017 July 2, 20172.147[23]
SpellboundOctober 22, 2017-2.70[24]
4April 29, 2018 July 1, 20182.137[25]
Tale of Two HeartsOctober 21, 2018 -2.36[26]
5June 9, 2019 August 18, 20192.8[27]
Curse from a RoseOctober 19, 2019-1.87[28]
6May 3, 2020 July 5, 20202.8[29]
7May 16, 2021July 25, 2021-

Home video releases

FilmDVD release dates
Region 1Region 2Region 4
The Good WitchJanuary 5, 2010[30]
The Good Witch's GardenApril 22, 2014[31]
The Good Witch's GiftJune 17, 2014[32] March 17, 2014 [33]
The Good Witch's FamilySeptember 16, 2014[34] April 16, 2014 [35]
The Good Witch's CharmOctober 7, 2014[36] September 26, 2014 [37]
The Good Witch's DestinyOctober 24, 2014 [38] June 7, 2015[39]
The Good Witch's WonderJune 7, 2015

Box sets

TitleDVD release datesFilms
Region 1Region 2Region 4
The Good Witch CollectionOctober 14, 2014[40]
  • The Good Witch's Garden
  • The Good Witch's Gift
  • The Good Witch's Family
  • The Good Witch's Charm
  • Special features: Bonus featurette: On location
Cassie CollectionMay 29, 2015 [41]
  • The Good Witch's Gift
  • The Good Witch's Family
  • The Good Witch's Charm
The Good Witch CollectionFebruary 8, 2017[42]
  • The Good Witch's Gift
  • The Good Witch's Family
  • The Good Witch's Charm
  • The Good Witch's Destiny
  • The Good Witch's Wonder
The Good Witch Double PackJuly 10, 2019[43]
  • The Good Witch's Destiny
  • The Good Witch's Wonder

External links

Notes and References

  1. According to his Instagram, his Twitter and IMDB, James Swalm and James Rittinger are the same person, with "Rittinger" being his middle name.
  2. Web site: Catherine Bell and Chris Potter to Star in Sequel to "The Good Witch," Hallmark Channel's Second-Highest-Rated Original Movie Ever. TheFutonCritic. 1 May 2016.
  3. http://www.hallmarkchannelpress.com/publish/pr/home/corporate/press_releases_1/press_release_012308.html Hallmark Channel Press Release 1/23/2008
  4. http://www.hallmarkchannelpress.com/publish/pr/home/corporate/press_releases_1/press_release_021009.html Hallmark Channel Press Release 2/10/2009
  5. Web site: 2012 Young Artist Awards wins and nominations. Young Artist Awards. July 7, 2012. April 4, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120404162133/http://www.youngartistawards.org/noms33.html. dead.
  6. Web site: Catherine Bell to Star in Hallmark's Original Movie THE GOOD WITCH'S CHARM. BroadwayWorld. TV News Desk. June 15, 2020. August 15, 2012.
  7. Web site: Murray . Christian . Local resident writes 'The Good Witch's Destiny', airs Saturday . Sunnyside Post . June 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160426144543/http://sunnysidepost.com/2013/10/25/local-resident-writes-the-good-witchs-destiny-airs-saturday/ . April 26, 2016 . October 25, 2013.
  8. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/ratings/2013/10/29/the-good-witchs-destiny-premieres-as-number-1-cable-program-of-the-day-among-women-25-54-rating-boosting-hallmark-channel-to-rank-number-1-in-prime-time-638010/20131029hallmark02 "The Good Witch's Destiny" Premieres as #1 Cable Program of the Day Among Women 25-54 Rating; Boosting Hallmark Channel to Rank #1 in Prime Time
  9. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/ratings/2013/10/29/saturdays-cable-ratings-and-broadcast-finals-world-series-makes-it-no-contest-for-fox-30515/cable_20131026 Saturday's Cable Ratings & Broadcast Finals: World Series Makes It No Contest for FOX
  10. Web site: Brokaw . Francine . The Good Witch's Wonder on Hallmark Channel . Family Choice Awards . 12 October 2014 . 15 June 2021.
  11. The Good Witch's Wonder press release . . August 29, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140903093617/http://www.hallmarkchannelpress.com/Medias/XDAM/highres/1047768.pdf . September 3, 2014 .
  12. Web site: Why did Good Witch; kill off Jake? Catherine Bell explains. zap2it.com. 4 October 2016. 7 March 2015. 5 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161005131037/http://zap2it.com/2015/03/why-did-good-witch-kill-off-jake-catherine-bell-explains/. dead.
  13. Web site: Saturday Cable Ratings: College Football Wins Night, 'Sex Sent Me to the ER', 'Doctor Who', 'Attack on Titan' & More . Bibel . Sara . October 28, 2014 . . November 3, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141118210505/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/10/28/saturday-cable-ratings-college-football-wins-night-sex-sent-me-to-the-er-doctor-who-attack-on-titan-more/320213/ . November 18, 2014 .
  14. https://www.deadline.com/2014/02/hallmark-channel-good-witch-drama-series-starring-catherine-bell/ Hallmark Channel's Good Witch Movies To Spawn Drama Series Starring Catherine Bell
  15. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2014/12/17/join-us-saturday-february-28-8-7c-for-the-two-hour-world-premiere-event-of-good-witch-a-hallmark-channel-original-primetime-series-775515/20141217hallmark02/ Join Us Saturday, February 28 8/7c for the Two-Hour World Premiere Event of Good Witch, A Hallmark Channel Original Primetime Series
  16. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/10/20/james-denton-to-star-in-hallmark-channels-the-good-witch/317298/ James Denton to Star in Hallmark Channel's 'The Good Witch'
  17. Web site: Details. 1 May 2016.
  18. News: Hale. Mike. 2017-06-15. Have Your Grandparents Told You About 'Good Witch'?. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-06-15. 0362-4331.
  19. Web site: Good Witch: Season One Ratings . 21 April 2015 . TV Series Finale . 15 June 2021.
  20. Web site: Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 100 Saturday Cable Originals & Network Update: 10.24.2015 . Metcalf . Mitch . ShowBuzzDaily . October 25, 2015 . October 27, 2015 . October 28, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151028033247/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-100-saturday-cable-originals-network-update-10-24-2015.html . dead .
  21. Web site: Good Witch: Season Two Ratings . 21 June 2016 . TV Series Finale . 15 June 2021.
  22. Web site: Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Saturday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.22.2016. Metcalf. Mitch. ShowBuzzDaily. October 25, 2016. October 25, 2016. May 2, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190502153122/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-saturday-cable-originals-network-finals-10-22-2016.html. dead.
  23. Web site: Good Witch: Season Three Ratings . 28 July 2017 . TV Series Finale . 15 June 2021.
  24. Web site: Sunday cable ratings: The Walking Dead has lowest-rated premiere since Season 2. https://web.archive.org/web/20171024194249/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/sunday-cable-ratings-oct-22-2017/. dead. October 24, 2017. Porter. Rick. October 24, 2017. TV by the Numbers. October 26, 2017.
  25. Web site: Good Witch: Season Four Ratings . 9 July 2018 . TV Series Finale . 15 June 2021.
  26. Web site: Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.21.2018. Metcalf. Mitch. October 23, 2018. Showbuzz Daily. October 23, 2018. October 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181023200109/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-sunday-cable-originals-network-finals-10-21-2018.html. dead.
  27. Web site: Hallmark Channel's "Good Witch" Crosses the Season Five Finish Line on Top as #2 Scripted Series on Cable . Futon Critic . 15 June 2021.
  28. Web site: Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.19.2019. Metcalf. Mitch. October 22, 2019. Showbuzz Daily. November 9, 2019. January 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200103195016/http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-saturday-cable-originals-network-finals-10-19-2019.html. dead.
  29. Web site: Hallmark Channel's "Good Witch" Season Six L+3 Ratings Highlights . Futon Critic . 15 June 2021.
  30. Web site: The Good Witch (Hallmark). Amazon.com. 5 January 2010 . July 31, 2021.
  31. Web site: Good Witch's Garden (Hallmark). Amazon.com. July 31, 2021.
  32. Web site: Good Witch's Gift (Hallmark). Amazon.com. 17 June 2014 . July 31, 2021.
  33. Web site: Cassie - Eine verhexte Hochzeit. Amazon.de. 17 March 2014 . July 31, 2021.
  34. Web site: Good Witch's Family (Hallmark). Amazon.com. 16 September 2014 . July 31, 2021.
  35. Web site: Cassie - Eine verhexte Familie. Amazon.de. 16 April 2014 . July 31, 2021.
  36. Web site: Good Witch's Charm (Hallmark). Amazon.com. 7 October 2014 . July 31, 2021.
  37. Web site: Cassie - Ein verhextes Video. Amazon.de. 26 September 2014 . July 31, 2021.
  38. Web site: Cassie - Ein verhexter Geburtstag. Amazon.de. 24 October 2014 . July 31, 2021.
  39. Web site: June 2017 Dealer Guide . . July 31, 2021 . 16, 17 .
  40. Web site: The Good Witch Collection (The Good Witch's Garden / Good Witch's Gift / The Good Witch's Family / The Good Witch's Charm) (Hallmark). Amazon.com. 14 October 2014 . July 31, 2021.
  41. Web site: Cassie Collection [3 DVDs]]. Amazon.de. 29 May 2015 . July 31, 2021.
  42. Web site: February 2017 Dealer Guide . . July 31, 2021 . 30 .
  43. Web site: The Good Witch Double Pack: Destiny & Wonder. Amazon.com.au. 10 July 2019 . July 31, 2021.