Bringing Mistletoe Murders to the small screen is a full-circle moment for the team at Headspinner Productions.

The six-episode Christmas-themed mystery series makes it Canadian debut on the W Network on Monday (Nov. 18), following its U.S. premiere on streaming service Hallmark+ on Oct. 31. And while it started out as a scripted podcast for Audible back in 2022, it was initially pitched as a TV concept by showrunner Ken Cuperus.

Headspinner president Michelle Melanson tells Playback Daily that the duo took Cuperus’ half-page concept and brought it to Audible. It was ordered straight-to-series within a week.

“[Cuperus] hadn’t written specifically for scripted audio drama like that before, so it was a great experience for him,” says Melanson. “But at the same time, we had always hoped that it could also be television, and we were very fortunate in that we were able to retain our film and TV rights as well, which is also a positive for independents like us.”

Both podcast and series focus on a Christmas-themed shop owner with a big secret who investigates murders in a quaint tourist town. While the podcast stars Canadian actor Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) and Raymond Ablack (Degrassi: The Next Generation), the series stars U.S. actor Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy) and Canadian actor Peter Mooney (Rookie Blue). The podcast itself remains ongoing, with season three debuting on Audible on Nov. 7.

Conversations around a TV series with distributor Lionsgate Canada (formerly Entertainment One) and Hallmark began in June 2023, and when Hallmark announced its streaming service, everything fell into place.

“[Hallmark was] getting into doing series work, and so we were finding that we didn’t even really have to change much of what we did,” says Melanson. “The format and everything from the podcast is actually very similar.”

The biggest changes were the original cast, due to scheduling issues. The format of two episodes per mystery is kept as it is in the podcast.

The series was picked up earlier this year and shot in Toronto in the summer. Melanson said Hallmark’s commitment to its brand, but also the opportunity to try to push the envelope is what made the network an ideal partner. Lionsgate Canada came onboard thanks to an existing relationship with president, television Jocelyn Hamilton, and its distribution commitment allowed Headspinner to close the financing faster than they would have otherwise been able.

“The title alone pulls you in, and as part of our ‘podcast to broadcast’ strategy, it was an easy decision to explore it as a TV series with the creators … Hallmark has such a strong brand and was expanding into fresh content for their new streamer Hallmark+, so they were our preferred partner for the series. They immediately saw the potential and came on board with enthusiasm,” says Hamilton.

The series was financed through the licence fees from Hallmark and the W Network, the advance from Lionsgate Canada and tax credits.

The series also stars newcomer Sierra Marilyn Riley, Lara Amersey (Operation Nutcracker) as well as Jean Yoon (Kim’s Convenience) and Kylee Evans (Good Witch), who pull double duty in the podcast. Guest stars include Canadian actors Tom Cavanagh (The Flash), Jake Epstein (Suits) and Steven Lund (Schitt’s Creek).

Executive producers on Mistletoe Murders are Cuperus, Drew, Melanson and Hamilton. Grant Harvey (The Way Home) is co-executive producer and Robbie David (Dark Matter) is a producer.

While the pipeline from podcast to series is an unconventional one, particularly for a scripted podcast, Melanson says she believes it is replicable. Similarly in 2023, Headspinner received funding from the Canada Arts Council for the children’s YouTube series Tempo, built around host Marlowe Stone’s pop music.

While Audible, like several other streamers, doesn’t share its data, Headspinner relied on user reviews and ratings for the podcast to aid in pitching the series to television.

“We’re still using what I think is a pretty old-fashioned method, which is [a] bible and a script. You’re not really getting to see anything tangible, and then you’re putting all this money and asking for money from broadcasters and funders to take a chance on you,” says Melanson. “This is a much more cost-effective way to prove your concept.”

Moving forward, Headspinner is planning a Mistletoe Murders expansion. Melanson said one of the season three episodes can serve as a “backdoor pilot.” There’s also nothing stopping the studio from reverse-engineering the strategy behind the show.

“[We are] looking at our catalogue of other TV series that we’ve created that have come so close to getting financed but didn’t get there, and maybe [taking another look] at them and launching them back out in this audio format,” says Melanson.

Image courtesy of Hallmark Media