HALLMARK'S NEW, ORIGINAL SERIES "THE CHICKEN SISTERS" GIVES FLIGHT TO COMPANY'S NEWLY ANNOUNCED STREAMING SERVICE HALLMARK+ WITH MID-SEPTEMBER PREMIERE

EMMY AWARD WINNER MARGO MARTINDALE CAST AS THE NARRATOR

James Kot, Rukiya Bernard, Ektor Rivera and Jake Foy Round Out the Cast

PASADENA, CA - July 11, 2024 - Hallmark Media's eagerly awaited original series The Chicken Sisters will premiere mid-September, exclusively on Hallmark+, the company's reimagined ad-free subscription service and membership program that relaunches in tandem with the series' debut. Adapted from the New York Times bestseller and Reese's Book Club selection of the same name by author KJ Dell'Antonia, the eight-episode series is created and executive produced by showrunner Annie Mebane (Shrinking, Atypical). The announcement was made today during Hallmark Media's session at the Summer 2024 Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, CA.

Emmy Award-winning actress Margo Martindale (American Crime Story, Cocaine Bear, Justified) brings her voice talent to The Chicken Sisters as the nearly omniscient Narrator. At the start of each episode the Narrator sets up the story as she serves up history and offers country fried context for the characters in the way only the best town gossip can.

The network also announced that James Kot (Christmas on Cherry Lane, Virgin River), Rukiya Bernard (Yellowjackets, One Winter Wedding), Ektor Rivera (Groundswell, Sugar Plum Twist) and Jake Foy (Allegiance, Ride) join the previously announced leads Schuyler Fisk (Sam & Kate, Orange County), Genevieve Angelson (The Handmaid's Tale, Good Girls Revolt), Lea Thompson (Switched at Birth, Back to the Future) and Wendie Malick (Young Sheldon, Shrinking, Just Shoot Me!).

The Chicken Sisters is a family drama dipped in southern charm and served up with a saucy side of romance. The setting is the fictional town of Merinac, where a generations-old rift between dueling fried chicken restaurants - Mimi's and Frannie's - has left the founders' families fractured and the locals taking sides. When popular cooking competition show Kitchen Clash comes to town, this could be the recipe for ending this feud once and for all. But things are fixing to heat up both inside and outside of the kitchen as the reality show spotlight causes sparks to fly as secrets are spilled and feathers get ruffled.

The Chicken Sisters is from Fox Entertainment's MarVista Entertainment in association with Lighthouse Pictures and Busy B Entertainment. Annie Mebane, Bradley Gardner, Larry Grimaldi, Ani Kevork, Hannah Pillemer, Fernando Szew, Shawn Williamson and Jamie Goehring are executive producers.

International distribution will be handled by Fox Entertainment Global.

# # #