Does your Valentine’s Day involve watching South Carolina’s favorite Hallmark movie?
Two wrongs don’t make a right, but two true-love skeptics will certainly form a love connection in a Hallmark Channel movie.
That’s the basic plot of “My Favorite Wedding.” And according to Google searches, that is South Carolina’s favorite Hallmark Channel movie about love and romance.
Is it part of your Valentine’s Day plans, along with chocolates, roses, cards and more?
It could be for many South Carolinians based off research.
Internet service provider Centurylink conducted the survey, based off of IMDB’s list of the most popular Hallmark movies made in 2017. From there, the top 10 movie titles were plugged into Google Search Trends to determine which state was searching for which movie most frequently.
For the Palmetto State, the results said “My Favorite Wedding,” was the romantic favorite.
It stars Maggie Lawson of “Psych” fame. She plays a true-love skeptic who finds herself intrigued by a fellow skeptic in the wedding party – one whose career as a divorce lawyer might make him an even unlikelier catch.
“Their movies are as comforting as programming can be,” movie producer Brad Krevoy said to BusinessInsider, explaining that viewers can always rely on a happy ending and a feel-good vibe throughout each Hallmark movie.
South Carolina wasn’t the only state to fall in love with “My Favorite Wedding.” Illinois, Maryland, Virginia and Washington also rated the against-the-odds love story as their favorites.
The most popular movie overall was “Murder, She Baked: Just Desserts” which was the favorite in 14 states. Nine states favored “The Christmas Cottage.”
Other popular Hallmark rom-coms included: “The Art of Us,” “Falling for Vermont,” “The Birthday Wish,” “A Royal Winter,” “Royal New Year’s Eve,” and “Love on Ice.”
North Carolina’s favorite was “Love on Ice,” which explores the romance between a former ice skating champion and the new coach who believes she can succeed. That seems perfect for couples when they aren’t watching figure skating in the current Winter Olympics. “Love on Ice” is slated for rebroadcast on February 18th, closer to Valentine’s Day than the other movies on this list
The Hallmark Channel – home to hundreds of feel-good romance and holiday movies – is one of the only cable channels that saw an uptick in views over the past few years. With 85 million reported viewers in November and December of 2016, Hallmark often tied for viewership with ESPN and Fox News.
Each state’s favorite 2017 Hallmark original
1: “Murder, She Baked: Just Desserts”
Fourteen states searched Murder, She Baked: Just Desserts more frequently than any other Hallmark movie on our list, making it the most popular Hallmark movie nationwide.
If you haven’t seen the film, you can guess based on the title that this movie isn’t your typical cozy romance. Instead, it’s the latest in a series of five film adaptations of Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen murder mystery series. The films and books follow professional baker Hannah Swensen as she works to solve murder mysteries, butting heads (and kindling romantic tension) with Detective Mike Kingston.
The Murder, She Baked series’ popularity indicates that Americans prefer their romances with a healthy dose of suspense that can bring the heroine and hero together for good.
Murder, She Baked ranked first in the following states and districts:
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- The District of Columbia
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Montana
- New Mexico
- Oregon
- South Dakota
2: “The Christmas Cottage”
The Christmas Cottage tells the story of Lacey Quinn, a woman who, in spite of being engaged and acting as the maid of honor for her best friend, doesn’t believe in true love. Her feelings might change when she and her former beau are stranded at the Christmas Cottage, the cozy cabin Lacey is decorating for the bride to be and where couples who stay overnight are destined for lasting true love.
Along with illustrating Hallmark watchers’ love of Christmas movies, The Christmas Cottage’s popularity indicates that Americans are looking for reasons to overcome cynicism and believe in idealism this year.
The Christmas Cottage took the cake in the following states:
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Utah
- West Virginia
3: “The Birthday Wish”
In The Birthday Wish, the main character, Gwen, desperately wants her boyfriend to propose to her. A supernatural twist lets her pay a visit to the future, where she learns that a different romantic outcome could be better for her in the long run.
The movie features recurring Hallmark heartthrob Luke MacFarlane along with a healthy dose of cuddly on-screen puppies, so it’s little wonder this film was the top search in states as far apart as California and Massachusetts:
- California
- Florida
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- New York
- Texas
If you want to check out The Birthday Wish for yourself, it next airs on Hallmark on Friday, March 9th.
4: “A Royal Winter” and “My Favorite Wedding”
A Royal Winter and My Favorite Wedding tied for fourth place, with each film coming in first in five states. A Royal Winter follows an American tourist in Europe who falls in love with a man who, unbeknownst to her, is a prince about to be crowned king.
In contrast, My Favorite Wedding revolves around a true-love skeptic (played by Maggie Lawson of Psych fame) who finds herself intrigued by a fellow skeptic in the wedding party—one whose career as a divorce lawyer might make him an even unlikelier catch.
States that favored A Royal Winter’s fairytale romance include:
- Alabama
- Hawaii
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Missouri
And areas that identified with the more cynical Lawson in My Favorite Wedding include:
- Illinois
- Maryland
- South Carolina
- Virginia
- Washington
Find out what the buzz is about by watching it live: A Royal Winter is airing on Hallmark on February 23 while My Favorite Wedding will make an appearance on March 3.
5: “Love on Ice” and “The Art of Us”
Love on Ice explores the romance between a former ice skating champion and the new coach who believes she can succeed—perfect viewing for the Winter Olympics season.
Meanwhile, The Art of Us appeals to romantics, artists, and dog lovers alike as it tells the story of Harper Higgins, an art college fellow seeking tenure who might have found her best source of inspiration in her handsome dog walker.
Three states favored Love on Ice more than the others:
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
And these three preferred The Art of Us:
- Georgia
- Oklahoma
- Wisconsin
Love on Ice is slated for rebroadcast on February 18th, closer to Valentine’s Day than the other movies on this list, so give it a whirl if you want a romantic lift after the holiday ends.
6: “Falling for Vermont” and “Royal New Years Eve”
It’s no surprise that Falling for Vermont is the most popular movie in Vermont and the nearby state of Rhode Island. In this romance, a famous author’s car crashes outside a small town in Vermont, where a single dad invites her to stay in his guesthouse until she regains her memory.
The nation’s other sixth-favorite Hallmark movie offers the same ambiance of A Royal Winter. In Royal New Year’s Eve, a fashion designer named Caitlyn works alongside heir-to-the-throne Prince Jeffrey to plan a New Year’s ball where Jeffrey is supposed to propose to another woman, sealing an important political alliance. But as Caitlyn and Jeffrey start to fall in love, they have to decide whether romance is more important than tradition and the state of the nation. This class-upset film was the favorite of Arkansas and Michigan.
SOURCE: centurylinkquote.com
This story was originally published February 12, 2018 at 10:52 PM with the headline "Does your Valentine’s Day involve watching South Carolina’s favorite Hallmark movie?."