“Good Witch” star Catherine Bell is heading back to Hallmark Channel as a guest star in “Mistletoe Murders” Season 3. She appears in the first two episodes when the series returns Thursday, November 5 at 8 p.m. ET, and her character may not be as sweet as the one fans know her for.
Bell plays the wife of the Christmas chairman in the season’s opening mystery. Showrunner Ken Cuperus told TV Insider that viewers will “begin to suspect she may be a black widow killer.” That is a big change from Cassie Nightingale, the kind and intuitive shop owner Bell played across the “Good Witch” movies and series, which wrapped in 2021. Good Housekeeping first reported that Bell’s role covers the first two episodes.
This is Bell’s first Hallmark project since the 2024 holiday movie “Happy Holidays from Cherry Lane,” which followed 2023’s “Christmas on Cherry Lane.”
Sarah Drew returns as Emily Lane, the Christmas shop owner with a secret past, and Peter Mooney is back as Detective Sam Wilner. This season, Emily and Sam take on three new Christmas mysteries while Emily’s past catches up with her. Aaron Ashmore returns as Emily’s former partner, and the season includes new flashbacks to Emily’s time with Chimera. Holly Robinson Peete is also guest starring this season.
We already knew Mistletoe Murders Season 3 premieres November 5, with new episodes streaming the next day on Hallmark+. The series has come a long way since Sarah Drew and Peter Mooney announced the Season 3 renewal back in February, and it is the only original series in this year’s lineup.
Casting Bell as a murder suspect is a smart move. Hallmark fans have trusted her for years, and “Mistletoe Murders” works best when it plays with what you think you know about someone. Just keep in mind that she is only in the opening case, so enjoy her while she is there and do not expect a season-long storyline. If she turns out to be innocent, that is its own kind of twist.
“Mistletoe Murders” Season 3 premieres Thursday, November 5 at 8 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel. See every date in our full Countdown to Christmas 2026 schedule, and find more Hallmark news at the Fantasy Land News Hallmark Channel hub
