Sarah Drew is ready to put her detective hat on.
The Grey’s Anatomy alum, 43, has been tapped to lead her own series for Hallmark titled Mistletoe Murders, based on the Audible global hit podcast of the same name. Drew will portray Emily Lane, a small-town Christmas-themed store owner who is described as smart, tough and observant, but also kind, empathetic and charming with a great — albeit dry — sense of humor.
The show will follow Emily as she finds herself compelled to investigate local murders with the help of a handsome local police detective and his teenage daughter. However, while Emily comes off as a perfectly lovely, good-natured mystery lover, she is hiding a secret past that, if exposed, threatens to destroy the new life she has built in Fletcher’s Grove.
Production on Mistletoe Murders is set to begin next month in Toronto, with Ken Cuprous serving as creator, showrunner and executive producer. Drew is also listed as an executive producer. Grant Harvey, known for his work on Hallmark Channel’s hit series The Way Home, is also joining the series.
Drew got her first big break in the early aughts with Everwood before shooting to the spotlight as Dr. April Kepner on Grey’s Anatomy for nine seasons. She’s since landed leading roles in shows like Cruel Summer and Amber Brown. Drew has also starred in her fair share of holiday films for Hallmark’s Christmas movie rival Lifetime, writing and executive producing the networks’ film Reindeer Games Homecoming in 2022.
Despite her extensive filmography, Drew has often been candid about her disappointment in being written off Grey’s Anatomy after becoming a fan-favorite character over the years. In November 2023, she opened up about how the experience was both a high and low point of being on the show.
“Nobody understood it,” she said of her season 14 exit during an episode of Jana Kramer’s “Whine Down” podcast. “It was so confusing, which is why I say that it was so painful but piercingly joyful because I had another couple [of] weeks still on the show after knowing that I was going, and the outpouring of the love from the fans.”
Drew added that despite the heartbreak, she’s learned to look at leaving the show as a blessing in disguise.
“I loved it there. It was a beautiful time and experience, so I wouldn’t have gone,” she continued. “But if I hadn’t gone, I wouldn’t be writing, I wouldn’t be producing, I wouldn’t be activating my brain and my heart on all these other layers and levels that has, like, fed my soul and brought me so much joy.”
Hallmark has yet to announce a release date for Mistletoe Murders.
