GABRIELLE ANWAR AND CRAIG SHEFFER TO STAR IN 'MURDER AMONG FRIENDS' (TENTATIVE TITLE), A HALLMARK CHANNEL ORIGINAL MOVIE WHICH HAS BEGUN PRODUCTION IN VANCOUVER

Will Premiere on Hallmark Channel in 2010

Gabrielle Anwar("Burn Notice") and Craig Sheffer ("One Tree Hill") have been cast to star in "Murder Among Friends" (tentative title), a Hallmark Channel Original Movie about a group of college friends who reunite for a bridal shower that turns into a crime scene investigation when one of the friends is found dead and is presumed to have been murdered. One of the friends is devastated and becomes fixated on solving the crime.

"Murder Among Friends" has begun production in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, and will premiere on Hallmark Channel in 2010.

Joss Jenner (Anwar), an art authenticator, joins her college girlfriends, including her beautiful former roommate, Cait Randell (Thea Gill, "Queer As Folk"), with whom she has an unresolved dispute. Despite some tension, all of them are looking forward to a fun reunion of the old gang and a bridal shower for one of the girls. When they all arrive at the cozy White Swan Bed and Breakfast, the women start getting caught up on each other's lives and taking part in the festivities, including playing silly bridal shower games. However, after dinner on the second night, when Joss volunteers to help clean up, she sees something on the ground and realizes it's Cait's dead body.

Sheriff Zach Watts (Sheffer) and the local authorities immediately begin an investigation, and Joss, who has many questions including the truth from Cait about what really happened in their past can't relax until she finds out who committed the crime.

"Murder Among Friends" is being produced by Front Street Productions. Joe Lawlor ("The Secret Lives of Second Wives") and Laurie Goldstein ("August Gone," "Sharing the Secret") are the executive producers; Harvey Kahn ("Debbie Macomber's Mrs. Miracle") is the producer. Walter Klenhard ("Murder 101: Locked Room Mystery") is the writer and director.

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming to a national audience of 88 million subscribers. The top-tier program service is distributed through more than 5,450 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel consistently ranks among the highest-rated cable networks and is the nation's leading network in providing quality family programming. Hallmark Channel's sibling network is Hallmark Movie Channel which focuses on the greatest family movies of all time.

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