TV Review: Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Martha Williamson's ode to the Postal Service is so old-fashioned and hokey, it just might work Hallmark Channel is trying to replicate the soft-focus feel of its movies in series form, so why not go to the source? Exec producer Martha Williamson anchored CBS Saturday night for years with Touched by an Angel, and her

Martha Williamson's ode to the Postal Service is so old-fashioned and hokey, it just might work

Hallmark Channel is trying to replicate the soft-focus feel of its movies in series form, so why not go to the source? Exec producer Martha Williamson anchored CBS’ Saturday night for years with “Touched by an Angel,” and her new movie, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” was ordered as a series even before its premiere. Purposefully old-fashioned, shamelessly sentimental and proudly faith-based, the show plucks heartstrings with such unreserved conviction it will likely connect with a target audience prone to dismissing most of pop culture as one big cesspool. While too sappy for the cool kids, for Hallmark, it feels like the right package.

For starters, the premise and groan-inducing title have an almost unintentionally comical conceit: The U.S. Postal Service — a much-derided organization, running a massive deficit and struggling to survive the age of email — cast as intrepid heroes, repairing lives and piecing together happy endings. In an odd way, it might be the strangest conservative/liberal hybrid ever — giving a vote of confidence to government, while simultaneously displaying old-fashioned values and embracing God.

Related Stories

The YouTube logo wrapped inbetween the Netflix logo VIP+

How YouTube and Netflix Copied Each Other’s Homework

L-R: Kelsey Grammer as Frasier, Edward Hibbert as Gil, Dan Butler as Bulldog, and Peri Gilpin as Roz in Frasier, episode 8, season 2 streaming on Paramount+, 2024. Photo credit: Chris Haston/Paramount+

The ‘Frasier’ Reboot Returns: Here's How to Watch the New Season Online

“Touched by a Postal Carrier” has a vaguely creepy ring to it, but the vibe here is closer to those Dear Santa Claus letters, with the postal carriers cast in the role of righting wrongs and making wishes come true.

Popular on Variety

The show is set in the Dead Letter Office, where investigator Oliver (“Ugly Betty’s” Eric Mabius) almost feels like a 1950s anachronism when he bumps into his new colleague Shane (Kristin Booth), who is of course more plugged into the electronic age. But with his two quirky co-workers (Crystal Lowe, Geoff Gustafson), they are soon thrown into a mystery about a cancer-stricken girl (Laci J. Mailey) and the cheerful guy (Benjamin Hollingsworth) with whom she spent a magical day before trying to send him an explanatory letter that never got there.

Like all Hallmark movies, the premise is constructed in such a way that you can see every beat telegraphed (or in this case, pre-addressed) well in advance, which serves to both make viewers feel smart and wrap them in a warm blanket of familiarity. As a bonus, Williamson doesn’t spare the saccharine, with schmaltzy backstories for the two leads, although as a series, the show will have an almost-anthology-like feel, helping a different member of the postally challenged each week.

“This is a high calling, indeed,” Oliver says near the beginning, later noting that the postal service “cannot play God.”

Maybe not, but they can certainly play at catering to an audience hungry for such squeaky-clean fare — and in crass commercial terms, Hallmark (which recently introduced “Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove”) needs to attract a lot less of them than CBS ever did to look like heroes.

Hokey isn’t particularly fashionable, but commercially speaking there is a place for it. For that reason, while the future of the Postal Service doesn’t appear particularly bright, the outlook for Williamson’s ode to it just might be.

Read More About:

Jump to Comments

TV Review: ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’

(Movie; Hallmark Channel, Sat. Oct. 12, 9 p.m.)

  • Production: Filmed in Vancouver by Special Delivery TeleProductions in association with MoonWater Productions and Muse Entertainment.
  • Crew: Executive producers, Martha Williamson, Joel S. Rice, Michael Prupas, Scott Smith; producer, Harvey Kahn; director, Smith; writer, Williamson; camera, Adam Sliwinski; production designer, Renee Read; editor, Lisa Binkley; music, Hal Beckett; casting, Jackie Lind, Shana Landsburg. 120 MIN.
  • Cast: Eric Mabius, Kristin Booth, Daphne Zuniga, Crystal Lowe, Geoff Gustafson, Laci J. Mailey, Benjamin Hollingsworth

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXJ%2Fjq2taKqVq7amw9Joq69loprDqrHWZqqin56asW6%2FxJqjnpxdmbKttdWeqZ6cXWZ%2FcXyWaWppcGFk

 Share!