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Danica McKellar surprised fans when she left Hallmark and switched over to competitor Great American Media — but for her, it wasn’t about leaving one network for another. It was more personal.
“It’s so interesting because when I joined Great American … I would call it coincidental timing, but it was obviously divine timing,” McKellar, 51, exclusively told Us on August 14, while promoting her latest Great American Media project, The Greatest Christmas Gift.
The actress, who moved networks in 2021, explained the real reason behind her Hallmark departure was an opportunity presented by former CEO Bill Abbott, who started Great American.
“Bill Abbott, he had been at Hallmark, and he asked me to come over,” McKellar recalled. “And I mean, I credit him with my career.”
She noted, “My whole second life of a career after The Wonder Years and The West Wing, and, like, coming into this whole Christmas movie and rom-com era of my life. That’s Bill Abbott.” (McKellar played Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years from 1988 to 1993 and Elsie Snuffin on The West Wing from 2002 to 2003.)
“People were like, ‘Oh, why did you leave Hallmark?’ I didn’t leave Hallmark,” McKellar insisted. “I stayed with the person. You know what I mean?”
The Young Justice alum told Us that her move from Hallmark to Great American also coincided with finding her faith about four years ago.
“So the timing of that with also me coming to faith was a complete — it was completely not planned, and one didn’t influence the other,” McKellar said. “It’s just that it happened to work out that way. So that was a Godwink.”
She noted, “I came to my faith much later in life, about four years ago, and so it’s been an amazing journey for me. I read the Bible every day. I’m on my fourth trip through the Bible right now, and I’m so grateful.”
Abbott was the CEO of Hallmark Media before acquiring Great American County in June 2021, rebranding it to Great American Media — with Great American Family and Great American Pure Flix as well as GFAM+ under its umbrella — the following year.
McKellar announced in October 2021 that she signed an exclusive four-picture deal with the network after previously being a staple on Hallmark from 2015 to 2021.
Candace Cameron Bure followed in McKellar’s footsteps in April 2022 after being dubbed Hallmark’s “Queen of Christmas” for years.
McKellar, for her part, exclusively told Us in July 2022 that her move was partly because she now had “the opportunity to do a multi-picture deal, which I hadn’t done at Hallmark, and also not just multi-picture, but also really being a producer, really helping to develop these stories from the beginning.”
The actress has since found her footing at Great American, filming her 13th and 14th holiday movie this year with The Christmas Yes List and The Greatest Christmas Gift, respectively.
“The Christmas Yes List is super fun. It’s a comedy. It’s a true rom-com,” McKellar told Us earlier this month, noting that after her character fails to get a promotion, her boss challenges her to undergo “rejection therapy” and she is tasked with getting “10 strangers to tell me ‘no’ before Christmas.”
The Greatest Christmas Gift, meanwhile, is more of a “sentimental and really sweet and heartwarming” story, according to the actress, who revealed it’s “inspired” by The Gift of the Magi.
“This is the first time that I’ve done a Christmas movie where I was already with my costar [Matthew Marsden], like, we were already together,” McKellar teased. “We’re fiancés in this. Of course, we get married at the end, and it’s [a] really beautiful ceremony. It’s a different kind of movie for me.”
The Greatest Christmas Gift premieres worldwide on Great American Pure Flix Sunday, November 29, followed by Great American Family that same day at 8 p.m. ET. It will also be available to stream on GFAM+. The Christmas Yes List’s premiere date has not been announced.
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