Does Every Hallmark Character Actually Have the Same Job? Us Breaks It Down

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Does Every Hallmark Character Actually Have the Same Job? Us Breaks It Down

Hallmark Channel movies often stick to a formula — and when it comes to similar character jobs, fans have noticed. “More than once, I've been a pastry chef or a chef,” Lacey Chabert exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2021. “So people always ask me like, ‘Do you like to cook?’ I actually, genuinely, love to cook [since] I'm from the south. It's a tradition that I love that is often in the movies.” Chabert — who has played a baker in The Sweetest Christmas and the All My Heart franchise, to name a few — also has a passion for planning parties. “Whenever I get to play that in the movie, like, I do in [Christmas at Castle Hart], I really enjoy it,” she added. [sendtonews type="float" key="haCjiN3KFX-2834231-14453"] Chabert’s role as a baker/chef is the most common job in Hallmark movies alongside journalists/writers/newscasters. Those professions are followed by musician/actor/artist and cop/detective. While not every Hallmark film ever made was counted in our research — and there are more examples than those listed — Us Weekly investigated which jobs are the most likely to be seen on camera below:

Credit: Crown Media (4)

Does Every Hallmark Character Actually Have the Same Job? Us Breaks It Down

Hallmark Channel movies often stick to a formula — and when it comes to similar character jobs, fans have noticed. “More than once, I've been a pastry chef or a chef,” Lacey Chabert exclusively told Us Weekly in October 2021. “So people always ask me like, ‘Do you like to cook?’ I actually, genuinely, love to cook [since] I'm from the south. It's a tradition that I love that is often in the movies.” Chabert — who has played a baker in The Sweetest Christmas and the All My Heart franchise, to name a few — also has a passion for planning parties. “Whenever I get to play that in the movie, like, I do in [Christmas at Castle Hart], I really enjoy it,” she added. [sendtonews type="float" key="haCjiN3KFX-2834231-14453"] Chabert’s role as a baker/chef is the most common job in Hallmark movies alongside journalists/writers/newscasters. Those professions are followed by musician/actor/artist and cop/detective. While not every Hallmark film ever made was counted in our research — and there are more examples than those listed — Us Weekly investigated which jobs are the most likely to be seen on camera below:

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Baker/Chef

The culinary arts are a go-to for both Hallmark heroines and leading men and the No. 1 profession on the network. Whether it’s Alison Sweeney’s Hannah Swensen — who is a baker in both the Murder, She Baked and Hannah Swensen Mysteries franchises — or Eloise Mumford’s chocolatier Lucy Sweet in Sweeter Than Chocolate, working in the food industry is a profession fans see every season.

Typical Meet-Cute: Despite having crazy hours as a baker or restauranteur, these characters connect with their clients — mainly the newbies — and find meaningful romances.

Additional Movie Examples: All of My Heart (B&B chef), Curious Caterer Mysteries (caterer), A Pinch of Portugal (chef/TV cooking host), All Summer Long (boat chef), Just Add Romance (dueling chefs), The Baker’s Son (bread maker), Hearts Down Under (chef + café cook), The Secret Ingredient (bakers competing on TV), Deliver by Christmas (cookie baker) The Sweetest Christmas (gingerbread maker), A Christmas Cookie Catastrophe (baker + CEO of cookie company), The Sweetest Heart (bakery owner/baker)

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Writer/Journalist/Newscaster

According to Hallmark films, journalists, writers and those working in the news industry are the No. 2 best jobs to have to find love, rom-com style. Sometimes the link to journalism, however, is a little more obscure, like Chabert playing the crossword editor for the San Francisco Chronicle in the Chronicle Mysteries franchise. Others — including Jill Wagner’s photojournalist in Pearl in Paradise — happen upon love by working on one story ... for months at a time ... without any negative comments from their bosses.

Typical Meet-Cute: All a journalist needs to do is go on location — usually somewhere tropical or that takes Christmas very seriously — and the subject of their piece will fall under their love spell.

Additional Movie Examples: Morning Show Mysteries (broadcaster), Caribbean Summer (journalist), Ruby Herring Mysteries (journalist), A Birthday Wish (commercial director), Love in the Maldives (writer), Snow Bride (gossip reporter), Five Star Christmas (blogger), Christmas She Wrote (columnist), My Southern Family Christmas (magazine writer), Christmas Getaway (travel writer), Pumpkin Everything (novelist)

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Musician/Photographer/Artist/Actor

The popularity of creative fields such as musicians, artists and actors brings the category to the No. 3 spot in our countdown. While artists, including a sculptor in 2023’s Made for Each Other are commonplace, singers and songwriters — such as Jodie Sweetin’s singer-turned-private-detective in The Jane Mysteries — top the list for the creative sphere on both Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

Typical Meet-Cute: Constantly being on the road isn’t too bad when it leads a musician to their true love in an off-the-grid city. Beware: the love interest will most likely self-sabotage due to their partner’s fame.

Additional Movie Examples: The Christmas Bow (violinist), ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (actors), A Brush With Love (painter), In the Key of Love (musicians/bandmates/photographer), Christmas in Tahoe (musician), A Picture of Her (photographer), A Country Wedding (actor), Picture Perfect Mysteries (photographer), Country at Heart (singer), Road House Romance (script writer + musician), The Journey Ahead (actress), Holiday for Heroes (singer)

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Detective/Cop

The fact that there is an entire channel — Hallmark Movies & Mysteries — dedicated to crime-solving movies earned the cop/detective the fourth most-seen job on screen. In all of the mystery franchises, there is a police officer or investigator as the lead alongside a non-professional sleuth. (Chabert, for example, portrays the detective in The Dancing Detective, while Will Kemp plays an actor and dancer who becomes her sidekick.)

Typical Meet-Cute: While investigating a crime, the lead detective (or resident police officer) stumbles upon a nosy town helper. Luckily for them, the amateur sleuth ends up being The One.

Additional Movie Examples: The Curious Caterer (detective), Francesca Quinn, PI (private investigator), Matchmaker Mysteries (detective), Murder, She Baked (detective), The Santa Stakeout (undercover cops), The Gourmet Detective (detective and former cops), Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries (former detective), Jane Doe Mysteries (secret agent), Mystery 101 (detective)

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Designer/Architect

The role of designer (fashion and interior) and architect (a.k.a. designing houses) rounds out the top five jobs. The Fixer Upper Mysteries, which starred Jewel, proved how carpenters and architects can not only fix one’s home, but they can make their way into your heart.

Typical Meet-Cute: While designing someone’s house, or altering their wardrobe, the heroine meets her match in her most eligible client.

Additional Movie Examples: Fit for a Prince (fashion designer), Romance in Style (plus size designer), Heart of Winter (interior designer), Flip That Romance (house flippers), Christmas Made to Order (architect), Long Lost Christmas (interior designer), Fashionably Yours (stylist), Finding Love in Mountain View (architect), Moriah’s Lighthouse (architect/woodworker), A Gingerbread Romance (architect)

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Business Owner/CEO

Coming in at No. 6 is the general job of owner/boss of a major company or restaurant. While Always Amore focuses on the restaurant business, Merry & Bright gives fans an inside look at what it’s like to run a candy cane company year-round.

Typical Meet-Cute: Store owners often find their soulmate by simply working their shop alone — and helping a new out-of-town customer. Movie CEOs and restaurant owners are a little more resistant to romance, but after accepting help from again an out-of-towner, they end up with the right partner.

Additional Movie Examples: The Story of Us (bookstore owner), The Perfect Catch (restaurant owner), Mystery Woman Mysteries (bookstore owner), Welcome to Mamas (restaurant runner), The 27-Hour Day (podcast founder), Christmas CEO (toy company CEO), Christmas Tree Lane (music store owner), Christmas in Love (CEO from out of town), Flower Shop Mysteries (flower shop owner)

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Teacher/Instructor/Coach

Teachers and coaches come in all shapes and sizes, which is especially true for Hallmark movies. The category, which includes professors, dog trainers and elementary school teachers, is seen in the seventh-most movies as of 2023.

Typical Meet-Cute: As an expert in their fields, the professors in Hallmark films cross paths with their eventual suitor while schooling them on a specific topic.

Additional Movie Examples: Emma Fielding Mysteries (professor), The Wedding Contract (elementary teacher), A Dog Lover’s Guide to Dating (dog trainer), Mystery 101 Mysteries (professor), Game, Set Love (coach), Unleashing Mr. Darcy (teacher), Love at First Dance (dance teacher), Taking a Shot at Love (dance instructor/coach), Playing Cupid (middle school teacher)

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Event/Wedding Planner

Event and wedding planners are often seen in Hallmark’s rom-com genre as a supporting character. It does, however, turn up as a lead role in many movies such as Ms. Matched, making it No. 8.

Typical Meet-Cute: Hallmark’s wedding planners tend to meet resistance from a vendor — like in 2023's The Wedding Cottage when the venue’s owner refuses to reopen the property. However, they eventually find common ground and a romantic connection.

Additional Movie Examples: The Wedding Cottage (weddings), The Wedding March (weddings), Winter in Vail (events), A Harvest Wedding (weddings), Christmas at Castle Heart (events), Coyote Creek Christmas (events), Wedding Planner Mystery (weddings)

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Ad Sales/Marketing/PR

A job in sales, marketing or publicity might not pop out based on the film’s title but it does appear often enough that it makes Hallmark’s top 9 professions. Case and point: A Paris Proposal which has both the male and female leads as marketing gurus trying to land their dream client in Europe.

Typical Meet-Cute: Ready for romance? Landing a single client — who is often opposed to happy endings — is just what every publicist needs to find everlasting love.

Additional Movie Examples: Bottled With Love (advertising), Sweet Autumn (marketing), Hearts in the Game (publicist), Love on the Sidelines (personal assistant, publicity)

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Real Estate Developer/Agent

Selling houses or developing new areas is a vague, but often used, profession on the network, landing it in the top 10. Love Struck Café, for example, focuses on a developer and aspiring architect who is sent to her hometown to try and make her big-business dreams come true.

Typical Meet-Cute: While swooping in to develop a charming town doesn’t usually end well for the agent, they often fall for their biggest opponent.

Additional Movie Examples: Forever in My Heart (hotel developer), A Summer Romance (resort developer), As Luck Would Have It (land acquirer and developer), True Love Blooms (real estate developer)

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Doctor

It takes a lot of work to become a doctor, which might be why viewers don’t see it as much as other jobs on Hallmark. The high-powered profession is best illustrated in Candace Cameron Bure’s Christmas Under Wraps in which she plays a big-city physician who takes a gig in a small Alaskan town while waiting for her dream hospital.

Typical Meet-Cute: Small-town doctors seem to be a trend for the network — and only after the physician leaves the big city, do they rediscover their love for medicine … and a hot local.

Additional Movie Examples: The Christmas Doctor (traveling doctor), Heart of the Matter (cardiologist), My Favorite Wedding (doctor), Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries (coroner/doctor)

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Lawyer

Attorneys at law are the No. 12 top profession for the network. Despite the fact that most characters know a lawyer, they are rarely the lead role.

Typical Meet-Cute: If an attorney is searching for romance, their opposing counsel is often their perfect match.

Movie Examples: Love, Fall and Order (two attorneys) Darrow & Darrow Mysteries (rival counsel), Cases of Mystery Lane (attorney), Hailey Dean Mysteries (former prosecutor)