The Good Witch

The Good Witch
Directed by Craig Pryce
Produced by Orly Adelson
Ian McDougal
Frank Siracusa
Written by Rod Spence
Starring Catherine Bell
Chris Potter
Editing by George Roulston
Language English
Original channel Hallmark Channel
Release date
  • January 19, 2008
Running time 89 minutes
Followed by

The Good Witch is a television film that aired on the Hallmark Channel on January 19, 2008. It starred Catherine Bell as Cassandra Nightingale and Chris Potter as Chief of Police Jake Russell. The film has spawned six sequels and a television series.

Plot

A mysterious, darkly beautiful woman named Cassandra Nightingale moves into an old, abandoned house which is reputed to be haunted by its original owner, "The Grey Lady". The small community is divided in their opinion of her: Some want her to stay (especially widowed police chief Jake Russell and his two children), while others want her to leave. Through the course of the story, seemingly magical things happen, and the community attributes these occurrences to her. Everyone begins to wonder if she is really a witch.

Cast

Promotion

On January 15, 2008, Hallmark Channel and Limbo, the mobile entertainment community, teamed up to create and launch the cable network's first-ever mobile interactive initiative. The campaign "enhanced viewers' experience of the premiere of the network's original movie ... through 'Limbo Unique' – a game played via cell phone or online". The grand prize was $2,000 and a portrait of the "Grey Lady" that was featured in the movie.[1]

Production

Although set in "Middleton, USA" it was filmed in Hamilton and Niagara on the Lake, Ontario. In the sequel The Good Witch's Charm, the map on the wall in the police station shows Middleton north and west of Chicago, in the vicinity of DuPage County. The names of the suburbs and interstates that are west of Chicago can be clearly seen.

Reception

The movie had great success on Hallmark Channel on the night of its premiere, making it the second-highest-rated original movie to that date. It premiered with a 3.8 HH (household) rating and was in nearly 3.2 million homes.[2] It also was #1 in its time period, propelling the channel to the #4 spot in weekly ranking.[3]

Home media

The Good Witch (Region 1) DVD was released on January 5, 2010.

Sequels

On February 7, 2009, the Hallmark Channel aired a sequel, The Good Witch's Garden.[4][5] The second sequel, The Good Witch's Gift,[6] aired on November 13, 2010, on Hallmark. The fourth installment, The Good Witch's Family, aired on October 29, 2011. The fifth installment The Good Witch's Charm premiered on October 27, 2012. The Good Witch's Destiny sixth installment premiered on October 26, 2013. A seventh installment, The Good Witch's Wonder, aired October 25, 2014.[7]

Television series

In February 2014, the Hallmark Channel announced that Good Witch had been green-lighted for a ten-episode series, starring Catherine Bell, to premiere on February 28, 2015.[8][9] Production for the first season began on October 29, 2014, in Toronto,[10] with Sue Tenney as showrunner. Bailee Madison and James Denton will also star.[10][11]

Characters

Character Title
The Good Witch Garden Gift Family Charm Destiny Wonder Good Witch (TV series)
Cassie Nightingale Catherine Bell
Jake Russell Chris Potter
Martha Tinsdale Catherine Disher
George Peter MacNeill Peter MacNeill
Brandon Russell Matthew Knight Dan Jeannotte
Lori Russell Hannah Endicott-Douglas
Derek Noah Cappe
Tom Tinsdale Paul Miller Paul Miller
Gwen Elizabeth Lennie Elizabeth Lennie
Abigail Merriwick Sarah Power Sarah Power
Tara Ashley Leggat
Grace Russell uncredited uncredited Lily-Fay Mowbray Bailee Madison
Sam James Denton
Ryan Anthony Lemke
Stephanie Kylee Evans
Nick Rhys Matthew Bond
Anthony Shane Harte
Linda Gabrielle Miller
Amber Niamh Wilson
Jerry Ron Lea

References

External links