LACEY CHABERT AND BRENNAN ELLIOTT STAR IN "THE CROSSWORD MYSTERY" AN ALL-NEW HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES ORIGINAL

New Mystery Movie is Co-Created by Will Shortz, The World's Only Academically Accredited Puzzle Master

PASADENA, CA - January 13, 2018 - Hallmark Movies & Mysteries has greenlit development for new mystery movie, "The Crossword Mystery" starring Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott. The movie is co-created by Will Shortz, crossword editor of The New York Times, puzzle master for NPR's "Weekend Edition Sunday," editor of Games magazine and founder and director of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. The announcement was made today as part of Crown Media Family Networks' TV Critics Association Winter Press Tour.

"Our viewers have fallen in love with Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott, and we are thrilled to pair them together in an exciting new mystery, 'The Crossword Mystery," said Michelle Vicary, EVP Programming & Publicity, Crown Media Family Networks. "We are honored to welcome puzzle extraordinaire Will Shortz to the Hallmark family and bring the intricacies of his genius to television."

A brilliant crossword puzzle editor (Chabert) finds her life turned upside-down when she is pulled into a police investigation after several of the clues in her recent puzzles are linked to unsolved crimes. Proving her innocence means leaving the comfort of her sheltered world and working with a tough police detective (Elliott), puzzling through clues together in order to crack the case, as the two are fish out of water in each other's worlds.