Hallmark+ Makes It Official; Stream This Weekend’s Emmy Awards, ‘The Old Man,’ More
Hallmark+ Makes It Official; Stream This Weekend’s Emmy Awards, ‘The Old Man,’ More
As we head into television’s biggest weekend of the year, we are wrapping up your Friday by looking at the streaming stories and titles that you need to know. From a complete overhaul of one of The Streamable’s favorite under-the-radar streaming services to everything you need to know about the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards and the season premiere of an A-list thriller, we’ve got the biggest stories, titles, and events happening across the streaming landscape this week.
This Week in Streaming:
Hallmark+ Officially Launches Under Rebrand
The season of change is officially here for the service formerly known as Hallmark Movies Now! Following its July announcement, this past Tuesday, the on-demand subscription service officially relaunched under the rebranded and refreshed Hallmark+ banner, debuting the semi-new, semi-glossed home for Hallmark Channel movies and shows.
With its overhaul, which includes a streamlined interface and easy-to-access collections, Hallmark+ is available at either a monthly or annual subscription tier, with special membership perks at each level, behind-the-scenes content, and more.
It’s not just polish, though. While Hallmark Movies Now had mostly been a library collection of older Hallmark movies, the “+” literally means more under the rebrand and refresh: Earlier this week, Hallmark+ EVP of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly spoke to The Streamable about the plans for the platform.
“The plus is the new kinds of content that we’re going to be bringing to the viewer, especially our unscripted content,” she said. “I feel like we’ve taken sort of the elements of the Hallmark brand and experience that everyone loves, and we’ve mixed them up in new ways … there are just all of these different elements that we think take our very beloved linear experience and ‘pluses it out’ even more.”
Viewers of Hallmark’s linear channels — Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Mystery, and Hallmark Family — need not worry, though, according to Daly, the cable channels and the revamped on-demand platform will operate in harmony, making linear titles available while also beefing up and boosting the streamer’s original programming, such as launch title s”Celebrations with Lacey Chabert” and “The Chicken Sisters, along with more original scripted and unscripted titles, including like “Holidazed,” “Finding Mr. Christmas,” and more.
Catch up on this week’s stories on Hallmark+:
- Everything You Need to Know About Hallmark+
- With Hallmark+, Feel-Good Brand Attempts What No Other Media Company Has Tried
Hallmark+
Hallmark+ is a cable-free subscription service that offers thousands of hours of Hallmark’s signature feel-good programming in the form of movies and ongoing series. Nearly all media found on the service is exclusive to the Hallmark brand, created either specifically for Hallmark+, or pulled from another source such as Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Mystery, or Hallmark Family. The service can be added as a channel to Prime Video.
What to Stream This Weekend: The 76th Emmy Awards
When: Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Stream: Hulu the following day
TV’s biggest night is ready for air! This weekend, stars from “Shōgun,” “Slow Horses,” and everything in between will put on their Sunday best and head to the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles for the 76th Emmy Awards.
But first, start the celebration a few days early with “The 76th Emmys: A Night of Firsts,” hosted by ABC News anchor Robin Roberts. The companion special will take a look at all of this year’s nominees, giving viewers insight into this year’s milestones, historic nominations, and more, plus interviews with Lily Gladstone (“Under the Bridge”), Lionel Boyce (“The Bear”), Hiroyuki Sanada (“Shōgun”), and the legendary Carol Burnett. ABC News correspondent Chris Connolly will also chat with “Only Murders in the Building” nominees Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, and Meryl Streep; nominated married couple Kaitlin Olson (“Hacks”) and Rob McElhenney (“Welcome to Wrexham)”; and Emmys hosts Dan and Eugene Levy. Tune in on ABC tonight (Friday, Sept. 13) at 8 p.m. ET.
On Sunday, Roberts is back with ABC News’ Will Reeve for the official Emmys pre-show, “On the Red Carpet: Live at the Emmys” on Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. ET. Then, a quick bathroom break and snack refill, and it’s time for the festivities: the father-son Levy duo and Emmy-winning “Schitt’s Creek” stars will host the 76th annual ceremony, beginning 8 p.m. E. In a TV season dominated by FX’s historical prestige drama “Shōgun” (this year’s top nominee with 25, including Best Drama Series) and the high-octane pseudo-comedy “The Bear,” Hulu’s never-better “Only Murders in the Building,” and HBO and Max’s return-to-great “True Detective,” there’s no better way to close out the weekend than celebrating what has truly been some of the best TV and the people who make it, in front of and behind the cameras.
The ceremony telecast, as well as both “The 76th Emmys: A Night of Firsts” and “On the Red Carpet: Live at the Emmys,” will be available to stream on Hulu the following day on Monday, Sept. 16.
What to Catch Up on This Weekend: Season 2 of FX’s ‘The Old Man’
When: Thursdays (TV), Fridays (streaming)
TV: FX
Stream: Watch new episodes as they air when you get 50% off your first month of Sling TV
You can also stream episodes the day after they air on FX with a 30-day free trial to Hulu. Currently, you can watch all of “The Old Man” Season 1 and the first two episodes of Season 2 on Hulu.
When two of Hollywood’s finest slug it out on the small screen in a spy thriller, the emphasis is on the “thrill!” FX’s hit espionage drama “The Old Man,” starring Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow, is back for its second season. This season, former CIA agent Dan Chase (Bridges) and former FBI Assistant Director Harold Harper (Lithgow), have a shared mission: to get Chase’s daughter and Harper’s protege back. At the end of the first season, Emily Harper (Alia Shawkat), was kidnapped by the people that Dan has been hiding from for decades.
If two international treasures aren’t enough to reel you in, all the pieces of the puzzle — including an excellent ensemble cast (Amy Brenneman, E. J. Bonilla, Bill Heck, Leem Lubany, Gbenga Akinnagbe, and more) — fit perfectly, leading to a 97% Rotten Tomatoes critics score and a pair of Emmy nominations for the series’ first season (including a Lead Actor nom for Bridges).
While the chase is fun, you only need to catch up on two episodes from the new season right now. New episodes will air every Thursday on FX through Oct. 24. If you miss the primetime broadcast, though, don’t worry: episodes are available on Hulu on following Fridays to watch at your convenience.
Watch the trailer for Season 2 of “The Old Man” below:
Hulu
Hulu is a video streaming service that gives access to thousands of full seasons of exclusive series, hit movies, kids shows, and Hulu Originals like “Only Murders in the Building,” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”