HOTCHKA

Promotional poster for the movie "All's Fair in Love & Mahjong" featuring five smiling people arranged against a vibrant pink background. Fiona Gubelmann as Ronni and Paul Campbell as Ben, a man and a blonde woman stand in the center, flanked by three other women. On the left is Tamera Mowry-Housley as Carly, top right Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe as Shelley and below her Melissa Peterman as Melissa. Decorative mahjong tiles featuring illustrations of a green bird, a letter E, and pink flowers float in the background, accented by thin, horizontal glowing yellow lines.

Movie Review :: Hallmark’s All’s Fair in Love & Mahjong

It's 'May for Moms' on Hallmark Channel, and with the last movie set at and timed to air on the same day as the Kentucky Derby, one would expect the movie scheduled the day before Mother's Day to be a ...

May 10, 2026 / Chuck Duncan / ★★, Derek Kwan, Drama, Eden Summer Gilmore, Fiona Gubelmann, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Plus, Home Viewing, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Love & Mahjong, May for Moms, Melissa Peterman, Paul Campbell, Romance, Tamera Mowry-Housley, William C. Vaughan, Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe / No Comments

A vintage television set with a wood-grain casing and two rotary control knobs, displayed against a plain white background with its power cord hanging over the bright white screen.

TV by the Decade :: May 10•16

In one of the slimmest weeks of the year, only two new series and two TV movies made their debuts on network, cable and streaming networks. 1976 gave us the two TV movies, one a biography of a famous astronaut, ...

May 10, 2026 / Chuck Duncan / Buzzkill, Chelsea, Return to Earth, State Fair, Television, TV by the Decade, TV Commentary / No Comments

Movie Review :: Lifetime Movie Network’s The Secrets of the Matriarch

LMN has rolled out two thrillers this week, and the second one is very curious indeed as it was originally scheduled to air in February as Murder and Mayhem at Mardi Gras to tie in with the annual event in ...

May 9, 2026 / Chuck Duncan / ★★, Christy Tate, Drama, Ellen B. Williams, Eric Olson, Home Viewing, Lifetime Movie Network, LMN, Monanik 'Moe' Dugar, Mystery, Revenge is a Mother, Sarah Sampino, Skye Coyne, The Secrets of the Matriarch, Thriller, Zach Zebrowski / No Comments

A promotional image titled "THE DATING APP NIGHTMARE" featuring a collage of overlapping smartphone screens. Each screen displays a cinematic, close-up portrait of one of three women, Haley Pullos as Sarah, Nicky Whelan as Kate and Charisma Carpenter as Rena with serious expressions, set against a dark, moody background illuminated by red and blue light.

Movie Review :: Lifetime Movie Network’s The Dating App Nightmare

We've already been through the real life nightmare of The Dating App Killer: The Monica White Story on Lifetime, now sister network LMN is also joining in on the dating app danger genre with the cheesily -- and misleadingly -- ...

A close-up view of multiple overlapping red and white striped popcorn bags, each featuring a circular emblem with the text "POP CORN" above a banner that reads "Hot N' Fresh."

Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #302 :: May 7•13

There were a handful of notable films released this week across the decades, some for good reasons, others for not-so-great reasons. A 1936 horror sequel broke new ground with subtle hints to the main character's sexuality, while a comedy feature ...

A promotional graphic for "Somebody's Watching Me" featuring Kirsten Comerford as Lori, a woman with highlighted blond hair swept back held by four Bobby pins looking off to the side, set against a dark background with blurred city lights and horizontal light streaks.

Movie Review :: Lifetime Network’s Somebody’s Watching Me

Lifetime's latest 'Sunday Night Thrills' entry offers an unsettling storyline about invasion of privacy that may have you checking every nook and cranny of any rental you ever stay at ... and perhaps even in your own home. Somebody's Watching ...

May 4, 2026 / Chuck Duncan / ★★, Drama, Home Viewing, Jayne Heitmeyer, Jesse Collin, Kirsten Comerford, Lifetime, Mark Anthony Krupa, Mystery, Rachel Sellan, Somebody's Watching Me, Sunday Night Thrills, Susan Hamann, Thriller / No Comments

Promotional graphic for "Kidnapped in Her Own Home: The Martha Carelli Story" featuring a car's rearview mirror. The reflection inside the mirror shows Stana Katic as Martha Carelli, a woman with a distressed expression and Tyler Tomás Perez as Michael Anderson, a man positioned behind her.

Movie Review :: Lifetime’s Kidnapped in Her Own Home: The Martha Carelli Story

It has been a while since Lifetime dipped back into the 'Ripped from the Headlines' stories, but the network's newest abduction thriller relates the true story of Martha Carelli, a harrowing incident detailed in a chapter of Ann Rule's 2008 ...

May 3, 2026 / Chuck Duncan / ★★★, Dove Meir, Drama, Gavin Keoni Spinner, Home Viewing, Ian Choi, Kidnapped in Her Own Home: The Martha Carelli Story, Lauren O'Quinn, Lifetime, Michael Shenefelt, Ripped from the Headlines, Stana Katic, Thriller, Tyler Tomás Perez / No Comments

Promotional image for "Kentucky Roses" featuring Andrew Walker as Ash Taylor, a man in a grey suit and Odette Annable as Sadie, a woman in a pink dress standing together. Behind them is a large golden horseshoe against a background of a blue sky with soft clouds. Vibrant red roses with green leaves are positioned in the foreground, and the title "KENTUCKY ROSES" is written in white, elegant lettering across the bottom.

Movie Review :: Hallmark Channel’s Kentucky Roses

It's May, and Hallmark Channel shifts gears into Mother's Day mode with its 'May for Moms' theme, although moms play a very small role in the first film of the month, Kentucky Roses, which debuted on the same day as ...

A classical portrait of a child wearing a white lace bonnet and ruffled dress gestures toward a vintage red television set that displays a vibrant blue, white, and pink chevron pattern, all set against a bright cyan background with overlapping yellow circles.

TV by the Decade :: May 3•9

The month of May typically signifies the end of the regular TV season, and the last push for networks to roll out some ratings-grabbing programming to set advertising rates for the next season, so there is little in way of ...

May 3, 2026 / Chuck Duncan / Banjo Hackett, Brenda Starr, Food Network Star: Comeback Kitchen, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, North and South: Book II, Peanuts by Schulz, Television, TV by the Decade, TV Commentary / No Comments

The Hollywood sign illuminated at night, stylized with a vibrant neon purple and pink aesthetic, overlooking a sprawling cityscape under a glowing gradient sky.

Hotchka Movies by the Decade feature #301 :: April 30 to May 6

It's not a huge movie week, but there are certainly a few notable films that made their debuts including a noir classic, two shorts by a popular comedy trio and one from a cartoon cat and mouse duo, a movie ...

Theatre Review :: Kimberly Akimbo Tour at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre

When you say, 'I'm going to see Kimberly Akimbo', to anyone who has little familiarity with musical theatre beyond the big name shows that dominate Broadway and tour the country, you'd most likely be met with, 'What's a Kimberly Akimbo?' ...

April 29, 2026 / Chuck Duncan / Ann Morrison, Baltimore Hippodrome Theatre, Broadway Across America, Darron Hayes, Emily Koch, Gabby Beredo, Jim Hogan, Kimberly Akimbo, Kimberly Akimbo Baltimore Review, Laura Woyasz, Marcus Phillips, Max Santopietro, Musical Review, Skye Alyssa Friedman, Stage, Touring Shows Review / 2 Comments

The words "THE BOOK OF MORMON" in bold black text with a metallic sheen, superimposed over a radiating white background with gold art deco-style zigzag accents on the left and right. To the right of the text is an ornate, silver, oval-shaped doorknob with a pearl-like button in the center.

Theatre Review :: The Book of Mormon Tour at Washington DC’s National Theatre

By now The Book of Mormon musical is well known, starting first in 2011, written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone from South Park along with Robert Lopez, at the time known for co-creating Avenue Q. The Broadway nerdiness was ...