Eva Tavares Interview (Director: The Christmas Baby, Texas Two Step)

It's Festive Friday with a heartwarming dive bar tale! ABOUT DRINK AND BE MERRY In a New York dive bar before Christmas 2019, Chet, an immature bartender, struggles to care for his lonely regulars while trying to find his own holiday spirit. AIR DATE & NETWORK FOR DRINK AND BE MERRY June 2, 2025 | Festivals CAST & CREW OF DRINK AND BE MERRY Director: Adam Volerich Writer: Leo Winters Cast: Jefferson White as Chet BRAN'S MOVIE SYNOPSIS Chet is busy working at his bar talking with a couple regulars who are complaining about kids these days. Chet is flipping the channels on the TV when an episode of a TV show that was filmed there comes on, talking about how cool it was. The regulars aren't impressed. A couple of women come walking in and are like oh it's a slow night. We'll take a mojito. He's like I don't do that. So they land on vodka sodas. Chet is pumped because he wants to turn this bar around. He wants to get some younger people in. But the regulars aren't making it easy. The ladies are named Maeve & Miranda and while Miranda is in the restroom, Chet shoots his shot, talks about Hallmark Christmas movies, and gets Maeve's number. They leave and Chet ends up having quite the night with some of the regulars. After shutting down for the night, Maeve ends up coming back. She tells him that she gave him a fake number but wants to keep talking. They go back to his place and the next morning, she starts looking around his room and is concerned. It reminds her of her high school boyfriend's room. She's like I don't care, but most women would leave when they see your room. He goes to sleep and has a weird dream, wakes up and she's gone. Turns out, she was engaged. Whoopsies. To make matters worse, the other guy tracks him down and they chat for a while. He ends up being pretty chill about it and just gets drunk. Chet goes home to spend Christmas with his mom. She gives him a book about acting and encourages him to go for it. He goes back to the bar to talk to the regulars and decides he's not going to live his life afraid anymore. The movie ends with him pouring another beer and walking away. Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Patrick is back with another Lifetime movie!  Read his review of the movie at Lifetime Uncorked.  Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ryan joins us this week to head back to the pond for another episode of The Way Home. ABOUT: THE WAY HOME (SEASON 4 EPISODE 9) New Year's Eve in 1925 brings into focus the Landry and Augustine families' destiny, and Elliot and Kat witness it; in another time, Alice does the same. AIR DATE & NETWORK FOR: THE WAY HOME (SEASON 4 EPISODE 9) June 14, 2026 | Hallmark Channel CAST & CREW OF: THE WAY HOME (SEASON 4 EPISODE 9) Chyler Leigh as Kat Landry Evan Williams as Elliot Augustine Sadie Laflamme as Alice Dhawan Andie MacDowell as Del Landry BRAN’S THE WAY HOME (SEASON 4 EPISODE 9) SYNOPSIS So Elliot and Kat jump but they don't end up in the '20s. They end up in the '80s and see the day that Colton and Del come home with baby Kat. Old Fern is like ohhhh my Kitty Kat. Meanwhile at home, Jacob finds the scary notes hidden in a drawer. So I guess those are coming back. Elliot and Kat come back and say hey we're jumping again, gotta stop Tessa from dying. Del is like or you could not jump? Guess what. They jump. They go and find Fern doing her screen test and we see the clip that they saw of Kat coming on screen and telling Fern something. Well that something is we gotta go, Tessa is going to die. That's when Grayson calls cut and says yes we know that. It's all fake. And that's when Grayson, Fern, and Tessa tell Kat and Elliot the plan - we're getting out of the hooch business by having Tessa fake her own death. Fern says 1926 is a year of new beginnings - a fresh start for all of us. We then see that Alice also jumped, hoping to help Elliot and Kat. Of course she pops out in the '80s and Griff is there and takes a picture of her. And he says I knew it, the pond is magic. Tessa then shows up and is like what's going on here. Griff takes a picture of the two of them together. Back in the '20s, Tessa and Elliot go to look at their house. She says she's going to buy it and bring it back to the family. Abby is planning on telling her dad about her and Jacob. Jacob is freaking out so he goes to talk to his ol' pal Danny. He tells Danny he wants to run Landry farms with him - equal partners. But then he sees that Danny has a typewriter and figures out that Danny is the one who was sending the notes and runs out. Back in the '20s, Cliff proposes to Fern even though he was planning on waiting until New Year's. She says yes. Back in the '80s, Tessa is babysitting Evelyn's kid but Tessa is really tired because baby. So she ends up falling asleep. When she wakes up, she can't find Evelyn's kid. So she runs out, leaving her baby behind and the baby starts crying. When she gets back, Alice is there to help the baby. Evelyn shows up and is pissed at Tessa. You lost my son and left your baby? What kind of mom is this! Danny shows up and tells Del and Jacob that he did send the notes because he was mad after overhearing Kat and Alice one day talking about how Jacob was still alive. When he showed back up, they never cleared Danny's name for being responsible for the disappearance so he was mad. They make up though. In the '20s at the party, Elliot realizes that while the fake explosion isn't supposed to happen tonight, his mom is actually doing one last real job to make enough money to get out. So he goes to stop her but Cliff shows up and arrests the big tuna, Elliot. But he tells Elliot that he knows he's Tessa's son and needs to stop her so they all go. Grayson gives Kat a gun and tells her to be careful. At Abby's wine event, Jacob shows up even though he's scared of the shaft and he asks her dad if he can marry her and he's like you've been trying to blackmail me and Abby is like you what and he's like oh yea sorry. Back in the '80s, Alice watches on as the friend group hangs out and Griff gets in a shouting match with Vic and it all comes out what happened with Tessa that day, and Colton tells Griff to scram. He's not welcome here! The episode ends with the countdown of 10 to New Year's, and Cliff showing up to arrest everyone, everyone draws their gun, Cliff shoots at Tessa but Elliot jumps in front. Kat pulls him out just before the gas reaches the gunpowder, causing a large explosion that even those at the party can feel. Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's Tuesday which means there's a new Hallmark movie to review! ABOUT TEXAS TWO-STEP Olivia returns to Texas to help her aunt with her country music bar that's fallen on hard times and reconnects with Luke, her childhood sweetheart turned cowboy, and her passion for dancing. AIR DATE & NETWORK FOR TEXAS TWO-STEP June 13, 2026 | Hallmark CAST & CREW OF TEXAS TWO-STEP Director: Eva Tavares Writer: Mel Cowan Cast: Heather Hemmens as Olivia Brendan Penny as Luke BRAN'S MOVIE SYNOPSIS Olivia works as a photographer's assistant, being very helpful. She's taking a week off but that week off takes a bit of a detour. She gets a call that her Aunt Ruby could use a visit from her. So off to Texas she goes with her best friend June. They get to the Sweetwater and Aunt Ruby shows up. Aunt Ruby immediately asks if she's seen Luke. June is like and who is this Luke? Olivia just moves on. Olivia can tell that there's something going on with Aunt Ruby. Just then, Luke walks in. He immediately comes over and starts giving Olivia a hard time about not being out on the dance floor. She's not having it. The next morning, it doesn't take Luke long to show up and start fixing fences and what not, showing off his ridiculous body. Olivia finds out that there's an offer to buy Sweetwater. Aunt Ruby ain't interested. We got a b-love story, folks! Olivia is actively trying to set June up with Mayor Mason. He tells June about how Sweetwater is really struggling. Luke shows up and just starts working on Olivia's car without asking. Olivia bumps into Bryan, who is the one making the offer to buy Sweetwater. He isn't hard to look at and he asks her out to lunch and she agrees. We finally find out that Olivia and Luke were young love. They were each other's first kiss, first dance partner, and first heartbreak. Bad news guys - Sweetwater is out of money. They come up with an idea - a danceathon. Luke decides to tell her that there are some things he needs to tell her - basically he loves her. And they're about to kiss but it's an almost kiss, folks! June bug comes out and tells them that Ruby's had a fall. After finding out that Ruby is gonna be ok, Olivia finds herself at Sweetwater, remembering her and Luke dancing together as kids. Suddenly, present day Luke shows up and shoots his shot and they kiss big ones, complete with A LIFT!!! She also says she's definitely not selling Sweetwater. The danceathon is a hit and Luke & Olivia dance dance and kiss big ones again. Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's Marvel Monday and meet Marvel's most powerful hero! ABOUT CAPTAIN MARVEL Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. AIR DATE & NETWORK FOR CAPTAIN MARVEL March 8, 2019 | Theatrical Release CAST & CREW OF CAPTAIN MARVEL Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck Writers: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Geneva Robertson-Dworet Cast: Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury BRAN'S MOVIE SYNOPSIS Carol Danvers is living her best amnesia life on the Kree homeworld of Hala under the name Vers. Got it? Good.  She’s got superpowers, cool space suits, and a mentor named Yon-Rogg who constantly tells her to stop feeling. The Kree government, which is basically run by a giant AI lady, insists that the evil shape-shifting Skrulls ruined her life and since Carol remembers absolutely nothing, so she just rolls with it. While on a mission to rescue a Kree spy, things immediately go sideways. The Skrulls capture Carol and start digging around in her memories, discovering that she used to be an Air Force pilot on Earth. Their leader Talos becomes very interested in a scientist named Dr. Wendy Lawson and a mysterious light-speed engine. Carol escapes before they get all the answers and crash-lands straight into a Blockbuster Video in 1995 Los Angeles. Her arrival gets the attention of a young Nick Fury, who still has two working eyes and spends most of this movie being confused. After a series of chases, explosions, and Skrulls impersonating anyone they want, Carol starts uncovering pieces of her past. She learns that she wasn’t born on Hala at all—she was an Air Force pilot presumed dead after a crash years earlier. As Carol & Nick follow the breadcrumbs, she reconnects with her old friend Maria and Maria’s daughter Monica, who are understandably shocked to discover their dead friend is actually a space superhero. Meanwhile, Talos finally reveals that the Skrulls aren’t conquering villains at all—they’re refugees looking for a home. Turns out the Kree may not have been entirely honest. The biggest bombshell comes when Carol remembers what really happened. Dr. Lawson was actually Mar-Vell, a Kree scientist secretly helping the Skrulls. Shes killed while taking control of an experimental energy source. Carol destroyed the engine to keep it from the Kree, absorbed its energy in the explosion, gained incredible powers, and then had her memories erased so the Kree could turn her into a weapon. The gang tracks down Mar-Vell’s hidden space laboratory, where a bunch of Skrull refugees have been hiding. Unfortunately, Starforce shows up, the Kree try to reassert control, and Carol gets dragged before the Supreme Intelligence. She destroys the device limiting her powers and finally goes full Captain Marvel. What follows is a one-sided beatdown thanks to Captain marvel.  With the Skrulls safe for the moment, Carol decides to head off into space to help them find a permanent home. Before leaving, she gives Fury a special pager for emergencies. Fury later loses his eye in an incident involving Goose - a cat who is actually an alien who is also holding the Tesseract in its tummy. Looking at Carol’s old Air Force call sign, he lands on the perfect name: The Avengers Initiative. In the mid-credits scene, the pager goes off and Carol returns to Earth Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're back with some more Gilmore Girls! Join us in this journey on social media - @gilmorethemerrierpod. ABOUT: GILMORE GIRLS (SEASON 2 EPISODE 7) Lorelai is appalled to find herself modelling matching outfits with her mother after volunteering the inn as a venue for a charity fashion show, and Rory seeks to overturn her reputation as a loner. AIR DATE & NETWORK FOR: GILMORE GIRLS (SEASON 2 EPISODE 7) November 13, 2001 | The WB CAST & CREW OF: GILMORE GIRLS (SEASON 2 EPISODE 7) Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore BRAN’S GILMORE GIRLS (SEASON 2 EPISODE 7) SYNOPSIS The car battery is dead. That leads to some classic Gilmore Girl banter. At school, Rory is called to the Guidance Counselor's office. Apparently, there's concern over her social behavior. She's unapproachable. She's a loner. So Lorelai shows up to give Headmaster Charleston a piece of her mind and he's like well....you're not a very active parent. You're a bit of a loner. You should think about being more involved. Rory takes the criticism to heart and sits down with some random girls at lunch. After lunch, Paris comes over and is like HOW'D YOU GET THE INVITE TO SIT DOWN WITH THE PUFFS? Rory has no idea what she's talking about. Apparently that friend group that she randomly sat with is the popular girls. Paris asks her to help her sit at their table. The popular table extends to the Boosters which Lorelai shows up for. They're planning the fall fundraiser. Lorelai offers to hold the event at the Inn. Rory successfully gets Paris an invite to sit at the Puffs table. At the inn, they're getting ready for the event and one of the Booster moms takes quite the liking to Luke. Apparently, the moms all do a fashion show and Lorelai & Emily are teamed up and Emily is LOVING life, dancing to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. And Lorelai eventually joins in. Afterwards, Emily points out that it's interesting to see her fitting in so well into the world that she ran away from. The Puffs show up and kidnap Rory and the other new potential Puffs. They're being PUFF'd! They break into Headmaster Charleston's office and just as Rory is saying her pledge to the Puffs, the night is ruined by Headmaster Charleston. He's lecturing them when Rory speaks up - I'm only here because you all demanded that I begin to socialize. So I sat down at a random table and was kidnapped in the middle of the night all because I was trying to appease you! Headmaster Charleston tells her that she's right and that he will make sure this doesn't count against her. Lorelai tells Luke she doesn't want him to go out with that mom from the Boosters. They argue and then he says she only asked him for directions. The episode ends with Rory back at her own table at lunch and is joined by another girl who also only wants to read. Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're thrilled to be joined by Eva Tavares to discuss her journey from acting in Hallmark movies to directing for the network, as well as her upcoming film, Texas Two Step. Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Festive Friday returns with a Tyler Perry holiday transformation! ABOUT TYLER PERRY'S FINDING JOY Stranded in Colorado after a devastating holiday revelation, a talented but overlooked NYC designer finds unexpected love, transforming her life and career path. AIR DATE & NETWORK FOR TYLER PERRY'S FINDING JOY November 5, 2025 | Prime Video CAST & CREW OF TYLER PERRY'S FINDING JOY Director: Tyler Perry Writer: Tyler Perry Cast: Shannon Thornton as Joy Tosin Morohunfola as Ridge BRAN'S MOVIE SYNOPSIS Joy is a talented fashion designer in New York City but you wouldn't know it because her mean boss, Patrick, steals all her designs. Despite warnings from her friends Ashley and Leticia, Joy is really into a dude named Colton. They don't think he's just that into her. So, when Colton invites her to Colorado to meet his family and hints that he has an important question to ask, Joy is convinced a proposal is coming. But, when she arrives in Colorado, she finds out that Colton's big question is "will you be my best woman cuz I'm getting marrrieddddd". Humiliated and heartbroken, Joy jumps out the window into a worsening snowstorm, determined to return home. She gets to the airport but a bad snowstorm has grounded all the flights. So she rents the last car available and attempts to drive it but gets lost and drives onto a frozen lake which cracks! She falls in. She's about to die. But she wakes up in a cabin and meets Ridge Phillips, a rugged outdoorsman living in a remote mountain cabin. I think it's safe to say that Joy and Ridge clash over their vastly different lifestyles. After she fixes a quilt that she accidentally ripped that was made by his late mother, they begin to open up about their personal disappointments, family struggles, and broken hearts. Joy's friends launch a desperate search for her. They call Colton and he's like I don't know where she is! So the search is on! Back at the cabin, wouldn't you know it, I think they're starting to like each other. After a night of drinking and talking, they kiss biggg ones and who knows what else. The next morning, the storm clears and she's like well I oughta be heading out which makes him real sad given their night together. They get to the main road and the sheriff's office are pulling up with their friends in the car. Colton is also there and is like my bad. Ridge starts walking back to his cabin without even saying goodbye. Back in New York, Joy comes back to work and is promptly fired because her friends emailed Patrick's boss proof of him stealing her designs. Naturally they fire her instead of him. Ridge shows up unexpectedly, determined to tell her what he should have said before she left Colorado. He tells her that he loves her! They kiss BIG ONESSSS! She tells him that she wants to go to Colorado with him. Before they leave, she gets called back into the office. They offer her Patrick's job. She gets her own line. She says this isn't what I want for my life anymore. But after talking it over with Ridge, he helps her realize that she's just scared. So she goes and takes the job and then next thing you know, her and Ridge get married in Colorado! Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jacks is here to give us the rundown on all the gossip, news, and upcoming projects happening in the world of Hallmark. Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ryan joins us this week to head back to the pond for another episode of The Way Home. ABOUT: THE WAY HOME (SEASON 4 EPISODE 8) As Kat works to piece together what lies ahead, Elliot tries to learn more about Tessa as he does his best to reconnect with his mum. AIR DATE & NETWORK FOR: THE WAY HOME (SEASON 4 EPISODE 8) June 7, 2026 | Hallmark Channel CAST & CREW OF: THE WAY HOME (SEASON 4 EPISODE 8) Chyler Leigh as Kat Landry Evan Williams as Elliot Augustine Sadie Laflamme as Alice Dhawan Andie MacDowell as Del Landry BRAN’S THE WAY HOME (SEASON 4 EPISODE 8) SYNOPSIS The episode starts right back in 1925, Elliot clearly staying back on purpose. He goes to tell his mom that he's staying and she's unimpressed. She's leaving there soon and she's not letting him change her plan. Cliff comes by and Fern tells him that Elliot's name is Tom Buchanan. Cliff tells Fern it was nice seeing her on his porch again. Elliot decides he's going to join the family business. Back in the present day, Kat is having a really hard time with the fact that Elliot clearly saw this picture of himself in the paper and didn't tell her. Del is like well before you jump to conclusions, wait until you can talk to him. Back in the '20s, Elliot plays the piano so that Cliff and Fern can dance. He sings Time After Time. Tessa shows up and it's time to answer some questions. She jumped with Griff and showed up in 1882. She got sick. So Griff came back to get some medicine but never returned. Elliot brings up the letter she sent to Vic but she doesn't know what letter he's talking about. He's like why would someone think you're dead? Back in the present, Jacob and Abby kiss big ones. Things are getting serious between them. At a party, the reel starts playing but Kat and Alice notice that someone cut Kat out of the reel. They theorize that Evelyn must've cut the reel which would mean she knows that Alice is a time traveler. So she jumps in to talk to her. She sees that Del is pregnant! Speaking of jumping, Kat ended up jumping and goes to talk to Elliot and he's thrilled to see her. He apologizes to her for not telling her about the newspaper. He says it's his fate though, not hers. Kat gives Tessa a piece of her mind for leaving Elliot behind. She'd never leave Alice behind. And it's clear Tessa knows Alice right away. Abby comes over for dinner and it gets real awkward when she talks about how farm life isn't for her and that her life is still in Toronto. Alice is hanging out with Evelyn. Evelyn begins to question her. Why hasn't she gotten older? What's her story?! Bad news - turns out Cliff isn't leaving town for a big award. He's actually trying to capture the big fish! Fern and Kat go to warn Elliot and Tessa but it's too late. The feds are here! Cliff has them good as caught but when Fern shows up, he lets them go cuz he loves herrrrrr. The next day, Kat and Elliot listen in as Fern basically tells Cliff that she loves him and they....hug big ones? Kat and Elliot go to leave, expecting Tessa to come with. She's like nah. Elliot says I'll come back New Year's Eve. Come find me. Sam tells Del that he knows about the pond. The episode ends with Kat and Elliot back home. They figure out a code that Fern uses in the newspaper to help with the bootlegging. The code says that 5 people went into the tunnel, but only 4 people came out. Did Elliot invite his mom to her death?! Watch the show on Youtube - www.deckthehallmark.com/youtubeInterested in advertising on the show? Email [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.