Andrew Walker Hallmark Movies That Didn't Land With Fans

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"They know I'll answer their phone calls pretty quickly," actor Andrew Walker once admitted to TV Goodness, no doubt explaining why he's become the Hallmark Channel's most prolific male lead over the past decade. Indeed, the Canadian actor has appeared in approximately 40 originals since making his debut on the network with 2012's "A Bride for Christmas."

Of course, not every TV movie can be a winner. Indeed, the actor — who'd previously appeared in the likes of the supernatural teen sitcom "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch," independent racing movie "Fast Track: No Limits," and the Lifetime police drama "Against the Wall" before settling down almost exclusively with TV's most wholesome network — has made his fair share of stinkers throughout the years. But which of his Hallmark productions are his all-time worst? In descending order, here's a look at his lowest-rated efforts, according to reviewers.

One of many Hallmark Christmas films that Andrew Walker has graced over the years, "Jingle Bell Run" sees him play an ex-hockey professional who's put together with a schoolteacher (Ashley Williams) for a festive reality TV show titled The Great Holiday Dash. And wouldn't you know it, by the time the competition ends, the warring strangers have fallen head over heels for each other.

It's fair to say that the 2024 original didn't get everyone in the Christmas spirit, though. "Andrew and Ashley are Hallmark regulars and beyond this have something else in common: they've both been in waay too many bad movies lately to simply be a coincidence," noted one IMDb user. Although they acknowledged that the two leads aren't responsible for the script, they still held them responsible for "how truly mind-numbing vanilla many of their recent efforts have been."

Over on Letterboxd, one viewer was more concerned with how such a basic competition was apparently ratings gold: "It's a national show and they're doing like middle school crafts and playing cornhole and such, the kind of events that would be cobbled together for a family work event, and this is apparently a smash hit."

In 2020's "Christmas Tree Lane," Andrew Walker stars opposite Alicia Witt, who served as co-writer and co-producer of the film in addition to playing the female lead. Unfortunately, not everyone appreciated her multitasking.

"Hallmark needs to stop letting its performers get involved in the creative side of the brand," commented one unimpressed IMDb user before adding, "The story is dumb and is just an excuse for Alicia Witt to sing a song at the end." Another remarked, "The plot was very predictable. As much money as Hallmark makes from its movies, why not hire better writers?"

Walker, whose character Nate is employed by the big bad business that is threatening Witt's humble businesswoman Meg, comes off relatively unscathed, with many commenters acknowledging that he was the most charming aspect of the film. "I put this on for Andrew Walker, and he did not disappoint," gushed one longtime fangirl on Letterboxd before describing him as their "Hallmark Tom Cruise." However, the actor 's role wasn't enough to redeem the film and the general consensus is that he and Witt lacked chemistry.

The team behind "Love on Ice" were accused of copying — and erasing all queerness — from LGBTQ anime "Yuri on Ice" by many disgruntled fans. While Hallmark refuted those claims, the storyline was certainly similar, with both focusing on an ice-skating veteran considered past their best who, thanks to guidance from a new coach, rediscovers their mojo. And the Japanese favorite was only released a year prior. 

Of course, calls of plagiarism weren't the only problems that "Love on Ice" faced. "It's pretty obvious that the actor playing the ice-skating coach can't skate," noted one Letterboxd user, referring to Andrew Walker. And the editors were apparently just as unconvincing when they tried to disguise this fact. "The last scene where the characters are skating, but it's really just stunt doubles kinda annoyed me," remarked another.

The network regular, who starred opposite Julie Berman as Spencer Patterson, also got it in the neck for his day job too. "The movie is supposed to be a romantic comedy but ironically someone cast Andrew Walker for the lead and he CAN'T do romance," claimed an IMDb commenter.

"Sweet Autumn" was the third time that Andrew Walker had starred opposite Nikki DeLoach following 2016's "A Dream of Christmas" and 2017's "The Perfect Catch." "I felt like I had known him my entire life," the latter told People about their fruitful working relationship. "There's just such an ease with Andrew. I do think that there is something that happens, and it doesn't happen for everyone."

It's fair to say, though, that not all Hallmark viewers concurred. "I honestly don't understand why they keep pairing her [DeLoach] with Andrew Walker," one IMDb user remarked. "They have ZERO chemistry." Additionally, others pointed out the blatant similarities between the film's storyline in which DeLoach's leading lady and a mystery man inherits a candy shop from her late aunt and 2018's "Truly, Madly, Sweetly," in which DeLoach's leading lady and a mystery man inherits a bakery from her late aunt.

According to one Letterboxd user, Walker — who plays said mystery man Dex — should have taken a longer look at the script before accepting the role: "I've put up with a lot of cringy dialogue for you [Walker], but this is a new low. I also can't take you seriously as a maple farmer when you look like an ad for designer cologne."

"I think "Merry & Bright" is one of those films that is fun to watch more than once," an optimistic Andrew Walker claimed to Media from the Heart about his 2017 festive Hallmark original in which he stars opposite former childhood TV star Jodie Sweetin. "If you've seen it one time, I think it actually gets better on the second viewing." Judging by the online comments, it seems unlikely that many will hit repeat.

"Usually Andrew can bring a sparkle to any of his Hallmark movies but he had nothing to work with here," one fan argued on IMDb about the film, in which Sweetin's candy cane company owner mistakenly clashes heads — but eventually falls in love — with Walker's business consultant. "I'm afraid the plot fell down around him," commented another.

"Merry & Bright" was also criticized for its stock footage-style visuals, hideous fashions, and the very basic business advice Walker's character Gabe serves up. "Omg FLAVORED CANDY CANES?!?" one Letterboxd user mused sarcastically about the product that ends up saving the day. "What an absolutely revolutionary idea!"

"I think the [two] leads may actually dislike each other in real life," one viewer of 2016 Hallmark original "Appetite for Love" wrote in an IMDb review. Perhaps Andrew Walker, who faced several financial struggles before his Hallmark fame, and Taylor Cole are better actors than they're given credit for? Or maybe they really didn't get along behind the scenes. Either way, their characters' early frostiness didn't exactly warm them to audiences.

Here, Cole plays a big city businesswoman tasked with rebranding a legendary diner in the small town where she grew up. And wouldn't you know it? Its owner is none other than her old teenage boyfriend. It may sound like a ridiculously familiar storyline, but Walker claimed to Starry Mag that this rom-com was different. "One ... thing to watch out for is the film's subtle environmental message," he said. "It's an important one, but it is never pushed in such a way that it ruins the overall story."

However, "subtle" wasn't the word on most viewers' lips. "This story serves a huge dose of telling the viewer what's right for them," noted one Letterboxd user. "In this case it was about organic food. ... We all know organic food is better, you can simmer down the chest pounding."

Andrew Walker and Lacey Chabert couldn't stop gushing about each other while being interviewed for TV Insider about 2025's "She's Making a List," their second Hallmark collaboration following "My Secret Valentine" seven years earlier. "She's just so easygoing and also very dedicated to her work," the former said. Returning the favor, Chabert remarked, "He's so funny and professional."

While the film's stars appeared to have a jolly good time making the seasonal affair, in which Chabert plays one of Santa's helpers — a Naughty-or-Nice list inspector, to be exact — who falls in love with a widowed dad (Walker), its viewers didn't. "Am I the only one who found it a bit creepy that they're filming children and following them around?" one wondered on IMDb about the fantastical storyline. Apparently not, judging by the Letterboxd review which reads: "Not sure how I feel about the moral standpoint, but I am sure this was a waste of the dream Hallmark duo."

Indeed, much of the disappointment centered around the fact that the two leads, who between them had appeared in more than 70 Hallmark Channel originals, had chosen such a bizarre story to finally reunite. And one viewer argued that their closing smooch was the worst they'd ever seen in the world of picture-perfect TV movies. Interestingly, Chabert isn't the Hallmark co-star that Walker cited as the one he found the most awkward to kiss.  

Speaking to Digital Journal about his time playing property developer Aaron in 2022's "A Maple Valley Christmas," Andrew Walker expressed pride in being able to guide his co-star, Hallmark newbie Peyton List, into the channel's wholesome world. "We are probably going to see her again down the road in these movies," he predicted.

Proving that soothsaying isn't one of Walker's main talents, List — not to be confused with the same-named Disney Channel graduate — hasn't returned to the network since. Who knows? Perhaps she was burned by the largely negative response to her debut playing Erica, a fourth-generation rancher who, following Aaron's (Walker) arrival, is forced to readdress her life goals.

"Is there ever a lead character that is too far beyond redemption for you?," one Reddit user pondered. "I felt the female lead [of 'A Maple Valley Christmas'] was insufferable. So insufferable in fact that I didn't care if she got the guy or found her Christmas spirit again." The reactions were similarly scathing over on Letterboxd, with one viewer commenting, "I have NEVER rooted harder against a main character in a Hallmark film than I did Erica. She fully, totally sucks."

"Love in Design" is one of the Hallmark films Andrew Walker holds dearest to his heart for the fact that, alongside his scriptwriter friend, he helped conceive it. "I knew the story so well that it was nice to see it come to life," he proudly told Media from the Heart. So, what exciting original concept did he come up with?

Well, the 2018 original stars Danica McKellar as a big city girl — in this case, the host of a Los Angeles-based home renovation show — who reluctantly returns to her small hometown for work where she reconnects with her ex Jeff (Walker), a more traditional architect.  

Unfortunately, audiences didn't buy the romance upon which the entire film hangs. "Watching them interact is like watching paint dry, even in moments of heated banter or gazes of adoration," remarked one IMDb user. "For a story so heavy on the personal drama, the relationship felt very undercooked and the drama was thin and what there is lifeless," commented another. Others took umbrage more with the leads' taste in decor. "By the big reveal, I hated every change," noted one Letterboxd reviewer about their dramatic transformation of a historic manor. "That mural was hideous. The dramatic chandelier was totally wrong. The furniture on the pergola deck was also awful as was the parents' backyard."

Andrew Walker joined one of the Hallmark Channel's most popular film franchises in 2018 when he co-starred with Merritt Patterson the fourth installment of the "Wedding March" series. The pair played Rob and Abby, a loved-up couple whose impending wedding is disrupted by both the latter's insecurities and the former's controlling sister. And many viewers felt equally stressed at watching everything unfold.

"The friction between everyone is making me very uncomfortable," remarked one IMDb user. "Is this what real relationships are like?" Another argued that Abby's bridezilla tendencies were borderline sociopathic: "I understand wanting your spouse's family to like you, but she was a complete fraud. Changing almost everything about your wedding to COPY theirs, literal days before the date to impress your in-laws is pathetic."

Nevertheless, according to IMDb users, "Something Old, Something New" is still superior to the second, third, and sixth chapters. And at least Walker enjoyed making it, as he told Harlton Empire. "As an ensemble we had so much fun," he said while explaining why his favorite scenes were the ones involving the whole cast. "There were only a handful of them, so when you watch the film and you see all of us together, just know there was probably a lot of laughter before and after those takes."

Several years before gently guiding Peyton List into the Hallmark world, Andrew Walker took on the same duty in 2017s "Love Struck Café," playing opposite Sarah Jane Morris in her first movie with the network. And she appeared to appreciate his company. "Working with Andrew was a blast," she told Starry Mag when asked about the experience. Unfortunately, the majority of viewers appeared to believe they'd served up a dud.

"This isn't a love story, it's the story of a woman who wants a man who doesn't respect her," one IMDb user remarked about the film's romantic balance. "She may love him, but his actions just don't show him loving her at all. As a guy I find this dude reprehensible and wouldn't want him dating my sister or daughter."

The reprehensible dude in question is Joe (Walker), an old flame who makes the life of architect/café worker Megan (Morris) even more complex when he returns to their small hometown. "Like let's not get back with the guy whose previous breakup was out of the blue and traumatizing, especially now that it seems like he's looking for a new mommy???" remarked another reviewer on Letterboxd similarly unimpressed with the film's gender politics.

"I feel like [they're] going with a little bit younger demographic more so than I've done before," Andrew Walker told TV Goodness about 2016's "Date with Love." Indeed, its story is certainly a little different to the norm. Instead of big city workaholics seeing the light on returning to their small home town, the Hallmark original is centered around a teenage boy's promposal which attracts the attention of his celebrity pin-up, only for her to fall in love with his high school teacher.

Walker plays the latter, of course, in a film chocked full of references to John Hughes' 80s classics. There was even a rare use of a non-royalty-free tune in the shape of Alphaville's "Forever Young!" Unfortunately, the Hallmark faithful didn't appear to take kindly to this change in narrative, particularly for its morally questionable nature.

"I love Andrew Walker but this movie is low-key problematic," one Letterboxd user pointed out. "A late 20-something year old coming to prom with a HS senior? And going on 'dates' with him to boost her PR?? 2016 was wild." Of course, "Date with Love" is far from the only Hallmark movie to use a red-flag trope.

One of the Hallmark stars who live mostly normal lives off camera, Andrew Walker would later appear in five installments of the "Curious Caterer" series, none of which appear in this list. However, his first cozy crime drama with the Hallmark Channel wasn't so well appreciated. Indeed, 2014's "Wedding Planner Mystery" is regarded by IMDb users as his network nadir.

"I did enjoy Andrew playing a d*****b** for once but he was maybe a little too d*****y because the main character falling for him so quickly wasn't believable at all," one Letterboxd reviewer commented about Walker's character Aaron Gold, a news reporter who constantly pursues Carnegie Kincaid's (Erica Durance), a wedding planner-turned-amateur sleuth, in search of the truth — and potential romance. Still, at least the Canadian actor, who in real life is married to Cassandra Troy, can take some heart from the fact that as a somewhat supporting character, he didn't need to shoulder all the blame.

The other actors, the production values, and the script were also blasted online, with one IMDb user comparing its ending to "Scooby Doo": "The dialogue was terrible, and I thought one of the characters was actually going to say, 'And I would have gotten away with it, if it wasn't for you meddling kids.'"