Hallmark Moves THE MUSIC TEACHER & SMART COOKIES Original Movie Premieres to 8/11 & 8/18

Hallmark Channel has moved the world premiere of THE MUSIC TEACHER to 9pm ET/PT, 8C on Saturday, August 11.

Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R) Award nominee Annie Potts ("GCB," "Designing Women") and Emmy(R) Award winner Richard Thomas ("The Waltons") star in Hallmark Channel's first movie musical, "The Music Teacher," a Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere, Saturday, August 11 (9pm ET/PT, 8C) featuring original songs and lyrics composed by Alan Ett. Potts plays a high school music teacher on the brink of losing her beloved afterschool program who learns the lasting bonds she's made with her students has not only touched their lives, but forever changed hers. The film also stars Kerry James ("Heartland"), Emilie Ullerup ("Arctic Air"), Moneca Delain ("The Break-Up Artist"), Shawn Roberts ("Resident Evil: Retribution"), Peter-John Prinsloo ("Edgemont") and Rukiya Bernard ("Christmas in Canaan").

In Kansas City, Alyson Daley (Potts) is a high school music teacher whose afterschool program has taught dozens of students not only how to sing, but to gain confidence and build bright futures. Alyson has dedicated herself to changing her students lives for the better, a mission she began sixteen years ago when a tragic accident caused the deaths of her husband and son. Mourning the loss alone, Alyson used the program to distract herself, but is now devastated again when district budget cuts threaten to cancel the program for good. Hearing the news, her first class of students decides to reunite to put on a show-stopping musical to raise money and keep the program alive. Now adults, the cast and former friends look back on the lessons they learned as troubled high school students from Ms. Daley. As they rehearse, they begin to form new bonds - and repair old ones - just in time for opening night, and give their beloved teacher renewed strength to heal her heart.

Annie Potts recently returned to series television in the ABC drama "GCB," based on the bestselling book Good Christian Bitches. Potts has created many famous female roles in her career, perhaps none better known than 'Mary Jo Shively' from "Designing Women." Potts was nominated for an Emmy(R) Award for her work in "Love & War" and she received two Screen Actors Guild nominations for her work on "Any Day Now." Potts is also known for film roles "Pretty in Pink," "King of the Gypsies," "Ghostbusters I & II" and many others. Annie Potts has a long list of Broadway credits, most recently taking over for Tony nominee Hope Davis in God of Carnage.

"The Music Teacher" is a Front Street Pictures Production in association with Alan Ett Creative Group. Ronald Parker, Jonathan Axelrod and Alan Ett are executive producerS. Harvey Kahn is the producer. Ron Oliver directed from a script by Ronald Parker. Alan Ett composed original lyrics and songs for the film.

Hallmark has also moved the world Premiere of SMART COOKIES to 9pm ET/PT, 8C on Saturday, August 18.

In celebration of the 100 year anniversary of the Girl Scouts of the USA, four-time Emmy(R) nominee and two-time Golden Globe(R) nominated actress Patricia Richardson ("Home Improvement") stars with Jessalyn Gilsig ("Glee") and Bailee Madison ("Just Go With It") in the Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere, "Smart Cookies," Saturday, August 18 (9 p.m. ET/PT, 8C). In the film, Gilsig portrays a perfectionist real estate agent who gets a new perspective when she's asked to lead a struggling Girl Scout troop through their competitive annual cookie drive. Ty Olsson ("The Twilight Saga") and Samantha Ferris ("Supernatural") co-star.

Julie Sterling (Gilsig) is a high-maintenance realtor who is just two sales away from being named "Real Estate Agent of the Year." A firm businesswoman, her schedule doesn't leave much time for anything else, including relationships. So when her boss Lola (Richardson) launches a closeted promotion for the company masquerading as company-wide commitment to community pro-social work, and assigns Julie to lead a struggling local Girl Scout troop, Julie is full of protests. Then, she meets the group of hopeless girls, a troop named the Fireflies, including eager new member Daisy (Madison). As she gets to the know the girls and sees their desperate need for friendship and self-esteem, Julie begins to do whatever it takes to transform them from zeroes to heroes in the annual cookie sale competition against their cruel rivals, the Monarchs, led by superior scout volunteer Hazel (Ferris).

With her high-powered sales skills, Julie puts the coveted "Real Estate Agent of the Year" possibility on hold and coaches the girls toward the highest profit on the cookie drive - until she finds out one of her girls is hiding a painful family secret and needs the help of her fellow scouts. To earn her own badge of compassion - and discover a meaningful romance with Daisy's dad (Olsson) - Julie must learn the bottom line isn't as important as the lasting bonds she's building with the scouts she's come to love.

"Smart Cookies," is a Front Street Pictures/Sister Street Production. Linda Kent, Robert Iscove, Jack Grossbart, Allen Lewis, Jimmy Hawkins and Juliet Smith are executive producerS. Harvey Kahn is the producer. Robert Iscove directed from a script by Kelli Pryor, Neal Dobrofsky and Tippi Dorofsky.

Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls, with 3.2 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouts is the leading authority on girls' healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. The organization serves girls from every corner of the United States and its territories. Girl Scouts of the USA also serves American girls and their classmates attending American or international schools overseas in 90 countries. For more information on how to join, volunteer or reconnect with, or donate to Girl Scouts, call 800-GSUSA-4-U (212-852-8000) or visit www.girlscouts.org.

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming available in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to a national audience of 87 million subscribers. The top-tier program service is distributed through approximately 5,500 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel is the nation's leading destination for quality family programming with an ambitious slate of original TV movies and specials, as well as some of television's most beloved sitcoms and series, including The Golden Girls, Frasier, Little House on the Prairie, and The Waltons. Since 2010, Hallmark Channel has also been home to original daytime lifestyle programming and is debuting two new daily series, Home & Family and Marie!, on October 1, 2012. Hallmark Channel's sibling network is Hallmark Movie Channel, also available in HD and SD, which focuses on family-friendly movies with a mix of classic theatrical films, presentations from the acclaimed HallMark Hall of Fame library, original Hallmark Channel movies and special events.

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