Alison Sweeney is back in an all-new Hannah Swensen Mystery and this time she’s adding professor to her resume.
In Us Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek at One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, fans get to see Hannah (Sweeney) interact with her students — and drop a subtle Easter egg about the books that started it all.
“We love taking your class Hannah, for the delicious treats and it is a relief that there’s no homework,” Willa (Matreya Scarrwener) says in the video after Hannah jokes about her students looking so serious in the library.
Willa’s brother, Perry (Sebastian Greaves), who is not in Hannah’s baking course, chimes in, “I heard all about your class,” teasing, “I had no idea my little sister would be so good in the kitchen.”
Willa doesn’t pay her sibling any attention and continues to gush about Hannah and her English professor, Bradford Ramsay (Oliver Rice), whose idea was to combine their classes and bake something from a classic novel.
“[There are] so many wonderful authors who used cooking or baking as an allegory,” Hannah explains.
The notion inspires a second student to say, “There is a great set of mysteries that are all about different desserts!” Pam (Chezca Vega) then hints at Joanne Fluke’s books, adding, “The recipes are in the novel.”
“Oh, a mystery. Sounds fun,” Willa replies, once again paying homage to the Hannah Swensen novels.
While Perry says he’d “take math equations or formulas any day” over novels and baking, Hannah points out, “Baking is all about science too, you know.” She reveals, “If you have the wrong ratio of wet to dry ingredients, you can end up with a hot mess on your hands!”
Sweeney wrote the script for One Bad Apple, which premieres on Friday, April 5. Ahead of the movie’s release, she exclusively told Us about her creative process.
“Writing a script is first of all totally different and another level of pressure and stress,” she revealed to Us, noting that while she “really enjoyed” writing this piece she had a lot of “nerves” about handing it over.
Sweeney explained: “Because I am an actor, the way I wrote it [was] with a lot of opportunity for [my costars] to bring it to life. … I just wanted to lay the groundwork and create, set the stage so to speak, so that they could have their funny moments. The intent was just to create a canvas for [them] to shine.”
In the movie, Hannah helps investigate a murder at the same college she is teaching at after being recruited by Professor Bradford. Hannah crosses paths with a new prosecuting attorney named Chad Norton (Victor Webster) along the way and must figure out if one of her students played a part in the crime.
While many of the past films have taken place solely at her bakery, Sweeney told Us a possible return to college could happen for Hannah down the line.
“I think she liked it. I think she enjoyed teaching. I felt the same way. It was really fun to have her do something else,” the actress said of the change of scenery. “I don’t think she’s going to jump right back into being a teacher after the tough circumstances, but I’m sure she’ll do it again. That was really fun.”
One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery premieres on Hallmark Mystery Friday, April 5, at 9 p.m. ET.
