It is a truth universally acknowledged…that 19th century author Jane Austen wrote some of the all-time great romances. So using her work as a jumping-off point for four Hallmark Channel love stories makes perfect sense.
Here are the swoonworthy titles airing every Saturday in “Loveuary” (aka February).
Paging Mr. Darcy (February 3, 8/7c)
“I will not be dancing, dressing up or pretending to be a teenaged heroine husband-hunting in a dead century,” declares scholar Eloise (Mallory Jansen), scoffing that the conference she’s attending is less of an academic event and more “like Comic-Con for Jane Austen fans.” But once she’s assigned a “guest of honor liaison” outfitted as Pride and Prejudice’s Mr. Darcy (Will Kemp, above, with Jansen), Eloise starts to realize her own, er, prejudices may be why she’s still alone.
Love & Jane (February 10, 8/7c)
Hallmark faves Alison Sweeney and Benjamin Ayres headline a charmer about star-crossed loves. Sweeney stars as Lilly, a Boston ad exec who runs a monthly Austen book club. Surprise! Her favorite bookstore has just been bought up by the rakish tech mogul Trevor (Ayres). Can she discourage him from modernizing the place before it loses its musty charms? Lilly is up for the challenge—especially after Jane Austen herself (Kendra Anderson) begins popping up with advice on the art of (pun intended) persuasion.
An American in Austen (February 17, 8/7c)
Another tale with a fantastical twist! Harriet (Dynasty’s fittingly named Eliza Bennett), convinced no man can rival the romantic perfection of the fictional Mr. Darcy, is suddenly transported back into the Regency-era world of P&P. There, she gets a chance to find out if the guy (Nicholas Bishop) is all he’s cracked up to be.
Sense and Sensibility (February 24, 8/7c)
No in-jokes, no twists—just a straightforward and unexpectedly lavish retelling of Austen’s first novel, which many know from the 1995 film starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. In the period piece, Dashwood sisters Elinor (Deborah Ayorinde) and Marianne (Bethany Antonia) struggle to keep their family together and find love after tragedy upends their fortunes.
Paging Mr. Darcy, Movie Premiere Saturday, February 3, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel