Stream It or Skip It: ‘Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New’ on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Debuts Skyler Samuels as a Younger Roe

Aurora Teagarden is back on Hallmark with a new movie mystery titled Something New. The title is very appropriate considering that this installment in the beloved mystery franchise marks the start of a new era for Aurora Teagarden Mysteries. After seven years and 18 movies with Candace Cameron Bure in the lead, Skyler Samuels takes over to play a younger Aurora. Not only that, we’ve got new actors playing mainstays Arthur and Sally, too! Is this lead actor switch kind of a Connery to Lazenby fiasco, or is it as smooth a transition as from Brosnan to Craig?

AURORA TEAGARDEN MYSTERIES: SOMETHING NEW: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: The year is 2008 and Aurora Teagarden (The Gifted’s Skyler Samuels) is back in Lawrenceton after a stint in the city. Not only is she back in her hometown, she’s living with her mom Aida (franchise vet Marilu Henner) in her childhood home. Fortunately Roe has some plates spinning to keep her busy; she’s going for her master’s degree while working as a teacher’s assistant and a waitress, and her bestie Sally (The Order’s Kayla Heller) is getting married. And as Roe discovers, her other old friend Arthur (Arrow’s Evan Roderick) is now a police officer. When you are as obsessed with true crime as Roe, your old bud getting a badge is a big deal.

Aurora’s life takes an unexpected (but totally expected) turn at Sally’s pre-wedding party when a number of mysterious events occur and she starts asking questions — a.k.a. sleuthing. Why is Sally’s fiancé Matt (The Order’s Madison Smith) being stalked? Why was their party crashed by a guy threatening Matt? And why is Matt’s business partner so suspicious? Things go from “hmmm” to “OMG” the next day when that party crasher is found dead beneath Matt’s balcony and Matt is nowhere to be found. Is Aurora’s best friend about to marry a murderer? Does a lifelong obsession with true crime mean that Roe is ready to solve a real murder? And, uh, what’s up with the chemistry between Aurora and Arthur??

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: You would be rightfully shocked if I didn’t say Aurora Teagarden movies. This is still very much an Aurora Teagarden Mysteries installment, even with a 95% new cast. I will say, though, that director Jessica Harmon (A Paris Proposal) and cinematographer Will McKnight (The Blessing Bracelet) really leaned into Aurora Teagarden’s film noir roots. There are some nighttime silhouettes that are straight up noir, and there are a few Hitchcockian camera tricks, like an immersive tracking shot as Roe makes her way through Sally’s party. This is the kinda stuff you don’t see on Hallmark, and I love that the filmmakers took this fresh start to try, well, something new.

Performance Worth Watching: I’m giving it to Skyler Samuels, who truly has an impossible job to pull off in one of Hallmark’s most important franchises. What I find so commendable is how Samuels managed to take certain gestures and vocal cadences from Bure’s Aurora and incorporate them into this younger Aurora. There are certainly moments where you go, “Oh, yeah, this is Roe” — which is just really cool. But this isn’t mimicry. This Roe is different enough, so much more green, that Samuels is able to make the character feel like her own. It’s a really fun performance, and one I hope to see more of.

Memorable Dialogue: An example of 2008 Roe’s amateur sleuthing skills: when she figures out a way to sneak into Matt’s locked apartment, much to the dismay of Officer Arthur. She shouts, “No breaking, just entering!”

Our Take: Something New was a risk — a tightrope and balancing act all in one. Aurora Teagarden Mysteries is one of Hallmark’s longest-running mystery series, one with plenty of fans and a lot — I mean a lot! — of internal continuity. Any attempt to reboot, reset, restart, or rewind a franchise with as devoted of followers is going to have a hard time pulling it off. Then there’s the controversy around why Something New even exists to begin with: Candace Cameron Bure’s split with Hallmark, which on its own would be a bummer but not exactly controversial if Bure hadn’t gone on a very, uh, softly combative press tour. All of that lingered in the background of my mind in the run-up to Something New — and then it all disappeared the instant the movie started.

That’s a sign of a prequel’s success, when a viewer immediately recognizes all of these new faces as familiar characters. I’ve already praised Samuels, so I’ll add that Samuels, Roderick, and Heller all fit into their roles perfectly as if they’ve been playing these parts for years now.

What I was most pleased to see are new elements added to the Teagarden franchise, like a new visual language (re: the Hitchcockian tracking shot) and — most of all — the introduction of Roe’s mentor Professor Lindo (Midnight Mass’s Crystal Balint). We’re so used to seeing Roe put her intuition and know-how to work to solve these mysteries, but it’s compelling to see how she developed those skills. Balint is a great addition to the cast and has a great rapport with Samuels. It’ll be excited to see this dynamic further explored.

If there’s anything to really critique here, it’s the one thing that Something New has lost: that warm, homey feeling that made previous movies feel like visiting with friends and family. The cast of character in Something New is comparatively pared back, but that’s to be expected what with all the changes. Still, we do get an appearance from a familiar face during Sally’s wedding party and there’s a potential new love interest for Roe in Chef Daniel (Jordan Buhat). In Something New, Lawrenceton feels as homey to us as it does to this younger Roe. She’s freshly back in town and she’s getting comfortable again.

Our Call: STREAM IT. This is a fresh enough start for the curious to jump on board and there’s enough classic Aurora Teagarden vibes to keep the diehard fans intrigued.