AMATEUR BAKERS TEAM UP WITH BELOVED HALLMARK TALENT IN 'CHRISTMAS COOKIE COUNTDOWN' (wt) FEATURING THE CAST OF 'WHEN CALLS THE HEART'

Five-Part Weekly Series, Premieres on Hallmark Drama This Holiday Season

BEVERLY HILLS, CA, July 26, 2019 - America's most talented home bakers have a special opportunity to put their skills to the test alongside talent from one of cable's highest-rated shows in "Christmas Cookie Countdown" (wt) featuring the Cast of "When Calls the Heart," a new series hosted by Jack Wagner (Bill Avery from "When Calls the Heart") debuting on Hallmark Drama this holiday season. In addition to Wagner, "When Calls the Heart" stars Erin Krakow, Pascale Hutton, Kavan Smith, Chris McNally, Paul Greene and Andrea Brooks are confirmed to participate. The announcement was made today as part of Crown Media Family Networks' bi-annual Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour.

Premiering this holiday season, the five-part series kicks off with six teams of two consisting of one home baker and a different star from Hallmark Channel's hit primetime series, "When Calls the Heart." In each episode, a panel of two professional bakers will judge as the contestants go spatula-to-spatula in a variety of Christmas cookie and holiday dessert competitions. One team will be eliminated each week and, in the end, only one pair of cookie connoisseurs will prevail, winning the $25,000 grand prize.

"This show is a different kind of seasonal programming for us and when we first announced it at our Upfront event in March, we were still developing the concept," said Crown Media Executive Vice President, Programming & Network Publicity, Michelle Vicary. "Since that time, we have created an incredibly fun and engaging format that is designed to become a new Hallmark holiday tradition for our audience, while also inspiring baking-inclined viewers to create cookie masterpieces of their own."

"Christmas Cookie Countdown" (wt) featuring the Cast of "When Calls the Heart" marks the first-ever original content developed for Hallmark Drama since the network launched in 2017.