Chadwick Boyd and Emily Hutchinson Cast as Judges on New Baking Competition Series CHRISTMAS COOKIE MATCHUP

Crown Media Family Networks announced today that Chadwick Boyd and Emily Hutchinson, two of American media's top food and baking personalities, have been tapped as judges for Hallmark Drama's first all-new series, "Christmas Cookie Matchup". The program also features cast members from Hallmark Channel's top-rated primetime series, "When Calls the Heart", including Jack Wagner as host, along with Erin Krakow, Pascale Hutton, Kavan Smith, Chris McNally, Kevin McGarry, Paul Greene, and Andrea Brooks, who will serve as apprentices to the contestants - America's most talented amateur bakers.

Premiering on Hallmark Drama this holiday season, the five-part weekly series kicks off with a pool of two-person teams, with each consisting of one home baker alongside a different star from "When Calls the Heart." In each episode, Boyd and Hutchinson will judge as the contestants go spatula-to-spatula in a variety of Christmas cookie and holiday dessert competitions. One team will be eliminated each week, and in the end only one pair of cookie connoisseurs will prevail, with the top home baker winning the $25,000 grand prize.

Chadwick Boyd is a food media entrepreneur. He started his first business at the age of seven, selling hand crafted brownies and fresh lemonade. Today, Boyd's company, Chadwick Boyd Lifestyle, is a multi-media enterprise that collaborates with magazines, television networks, publishing houses and consumer brands. Initially taught as a baker, Boyd now focuses on food trends, modern home cooking, and entertaining. He is a regular fixture on daytime TV, a James Beard Foundation judge, and travels nationally with Chef Carla Hall for their "Biscuit Time" class. Emily Hutchinson, creator of the blog The Hutch Oven, is a self-taught baker, recipe developer, decorating teacher, and cookbook author. Hutchinson, who teaches her popular baking techniques on national television, has spent years mastering the art of buttercream-frosted sugar cookies and has an all new book; Creative Cookie Decorating: Buttercream Frosting Designs and Tips for Every Occasion coming soon. "Christmas Cookie Matchup" marks the first-ever original content developed for Hallmark Drama since the network launched in 2017.