FOR AN EVEN MORE UP-TO-DATE INTERVIEW WITH BRENNAN, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

Anyone who knows me is aware of the fact that I like to be prepared when at all possible. I plan ahead for everything and anything that may or may not go wrong. In recent years, I have learned to be much more flexible (I’m a substitute teacher, after all–talk about adaptability), But when it comes to interviews, there is nothing worse than not being prepared for one.

Well, that is, until this week. Many might know that Brennan Elliott–one of my all-time favorite actors–was the subject of my very first interview ever. I attempted to set up an interview with Brennan, since I knew that his new film was coming out, and I wanted to help promote it. Imagine my surprise when I picked up the phone and I heard the voice of Brennan on the line! I was woefully unprepared for this interview, but in the long-run, I daresay this “off the cuff” interview may have been one of my best. 
RH: Well, Brennan, you were my first interview, and now you’re my first repeat interview. How do you like that?

BE: Perfect! Hopefully it’s as good as the first one. It can only go downhill from here, right?

(We both laughed at that point, as all I could do was think about what on earth I was going to ask him.)

Well, you’ve had an incredibly busy schedule this year. So you have the fourth installment of Flower Shop Mystery coming up on Sunday–

It’s the third, actually.

Sorry, that’s right. So you’ve made four of them?

No, we’ve only made three.  We’re not sure what we’re doing with the fourth and fifth yet.

(And this was crazy–I actually did know what was coming up, but I had been preparing to interview an actress from Aurora Teagarden, so I got completely confused. After all, this was completely spur-of-the-moment.)

There’s nineteen of them, but we’re only on the third.

You filmed the second and third one almost around the same time?

Yeah, pretty much, which was daunting. I mean, I was really partial to the first one ’cause I felt like everybody was starting fresh. We had a couple of weeks before we filmed it. And the second and third just happened pretty much one right after the other, and we just banged ’em. Banging bang. There was a change in writers. You know, I think the third one has a little bit more–my feeling is I think we’re still trying to find our voice–if that means anything. And I think that on the third one, we are closer to finding that voice. I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know. I thought the first one had a little bit of a potentially obvious mystery and didn’t quite have the humor that we wanted with the banter back and forth between Abby and Marco. The second one was a little bit closer. With the third one-it’s interesting. I’ve done some ADR, and I’ve seen some scenes. It just kind of seems like it might be a little bit closer to what our production team and our staff want and what Brooke’s actually looking for. I don’t know. Let’s look at this way. Take Cedar Cove. It took us six episodes to find our groove. We’re now slowly finding our groove with Flower Shop Mystery, but we’ll see what happens and what everyone else thinks.

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KWIK KWOTE

Cindy Busby, Co-Star Cedar Cove

“Brennan is an incredible character actor dedicated to his job, but also manages to make me laugh non-stop!”

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One of the complaints I heard about with the first one–both on my blog and from my mother–was that Brooke was too tall for you.

Yeah.

But the feedback I heard from the second one (my mother included) was that the cast seemed a little more together, and the height issue was no longer a problem. Having all four of you work together to solve the mystery seemed to work well.

Yeah, exactly.

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KWIK KWOTE

Kate Collins, Author of Flower Shop Mystery series

“During the filming of the first Flower Shop Mystery, ‘Mums The Word,’ I had the opportunity to visit the set. Little did I know that I was staying at the same hotel as the cast and crew. As we checked into the hote,l a handsome, young man came strolling in. I glanced briefly and then looked again. Leather jacket,slim jeans, dark hair, and boots. I immediately thought, Now HE would make a great Marco!
He shook my hand and introduced himself as Brennan Elliott. I asked who he played and he said, ‘Marco.’ I felt a bit like Abby Knight, meeting my Marco for the first time, ‘You certainly are Marco,’ I said. And he does fit the role perfectly. I couldn’t be happier with Brennan. He’s a talented actor and gentleman — the perfect hero for my intrepid sleuth, Abby Knight.”

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So without revealing too much, what do you think we can expect from this third one?

I think it’s going to be a really fun ride. Once again, the four of us will all be working together. And obviously, predominantly, Abby and Marco will be at the forefront as a team–like a Hart to Hart team– solving a crime. But it’s going to be surrounded by the element of family, romance, marriage, and  finding love, and finding love for the right reasons. There are some textual, thematic elements that we all go through and experience in life in different facets. And there’s a nice, strong element of mystery. The characters are all involved. There’s a lot of humor. There’s a major dance sequence. You’ll see me doing some dancing, which will be fun. And I think of the way it was on the page. I thought it was a really fun script. So I’m actually eager to see it on Sunday. And obviously, I’ll live tweet with everybody and see how it turns out. It’s going to be a fun couple of hours, for sure. And right off the bat, almost from frame one of the movie, you’ll see the most of Marco and Abby working together out of the three movies.

So, you mentioned the dance sequence. Was that something new for you?

That was very new for me. Brooke {Shields} has done a lot of Broadway–dancing, singing. And with me, I can sing obviously. And singing is not my forte, but dancing is something new for me. When they called me to dance, and it was a certain, specific genre of dance, I was a good actor and did some research and hired a teacher, and she taught me some moves, and I wanted to bring that to set.  You know, Brooke’s an experienced dancer, and she could give me some moves and kind of fine tune what I had. I just kind of wanted to make sure I had the rhythm and some of the steps down so that if she wanted to tweak something and take the lead, I could be of service to the dance and make it look like I knew what I was doing. And I just had a phone call with the producer on Home & Family who had seen the movie, and he said, “It looks like you two have been dancing together for years. You two did really, really well. It’s so great.” So that made me feel great

That seems like something that you do. No matter what, you seem to always be able to fit into whatever character they put you into.

Well, I appreciate that, Ruth. I was actually just talking to a lady who’s a huge fan of Hallmark. She’s been a fan of Hallmark for twenty-five years. She said, “You’re a leading man, but you change–you just change with every role.” For me, it’s just the illusion of the character. It’s not you–it’s the character. It’s an exciting experience. With every movie, it’s something different. And I take pride in that because Marco is not me. Warren is not me. These characters are all elements that I have to bring up and bring out of me. Even A Christmas Melody. That took a lot of different types–and you don’t get a lot of time. But there was more research. I had to learn how to play the guitar. There were different elements to that character because he was more of a small-town guy. There’s no level of vanity. It was all about teaching children. So there’s a lot of little things.

When I get a script, I always want to find something interesting, something real and human. And I’ve been lucky enough to play a lot of diverse roles from Host Graham to Warren to Brian in All of My Heart to this project here where Marco is masculine and manly, runs a bar, he’s a military guy. You know, it was interesting. I was in the mall. This priest came over to me and said, “Hey, are you an actor? You know, you’re on one of my wife’s shows. This Bachelor show. And you also are on the shows that I like.” It was totally different. It is usually a woman who watches Hallmark, but he’s a big fan of Hallmark. “You play that Marcus or Marc–what’s your name? Marco–yes.” He goes, “Those are two completely polar opposites.” (laughs) A very analytical study. It’s an honor that people can actually appreciate that. I always believe that if you’re going to be offered to do any project, the fans are the most important, and you want to keep giving everything you have for them. So I try to give it all I have in the time frame and the circumstances we have.

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KWIK KWOTE

Robin Plate, Fan

“Generous. Kind. Humorous. Appreciative. These are the adjectives that immediately come to mind when I think of Brennan. As a fan of soap operas who attended and volunteered at fan events, I have had the opportunity to meet over 100 actors over the past 25 years. I can attest, few actors embody the genuine gratitude and exhibit sincere joy in interacting with fans as Brennan does. Even though I have never physically met him, I feel that I, as well as many other fans, have had the opportunity to ‘meet’ him through his Twitter activity in a more personal manner than any quick, one-minute autograph/photo fan event could provide us. He answers our questions, retweets our messages promoting his projects and our desires for new projects (I am never going to give up on more All of My Heart stories), and always thanks us for our creativity and passion. He also takes the time to wish us best wishes for our birthdays! Believe me, this is rare. In the age of social media, actors are often encouraged to interact with their fans around the date their projects are airing, but Brennan never makes me feel like he is ‘doing his job;’ he does it, it appears, because he enjoys his fans. I have been a fan of his talents since his work on the Lifetime series, Strong Medicine, but his willingness to connect with me on Twitter has allowed me to develop an appreciation of who he is as a person. I am thankful that Brennan has welcomed me, and others, into his Twitter-sphere. I have always enjoyed all of his performances, but now, I not only cheer his talents, but also, and more importantly, applaud the man.”

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Honestly, I think you do very well, and you often amaze me on social media. I have been discovering over the past couple months how crazy it is to keep up with social media. Mine has increased so much.

I can imagine. You know, we have a job to do. You try your best, and I’m still learning the whole social media world. You know, you want to stay connected to your fans and the people you’ve been hired to work for whether it’s Hallmark or Lifetime or CBS or Fox or whoever. You want to be able to connect to those fans and try to give them a live feed experience as well as an entertainment experience on TV or on film. It’s important. It’s part of the job. You can become so into social media that it almost becomes your life, and you don’t want to do that. You want to make it an experience where it’s like, “Ruth’s on.” “Brennan’s on.” You know, “Lacey’s on.” Whatever. “Wow, this is really fun.” As opposed to someone who’s on it every second of every day which sometimes can be tough. For me, I’m talking from an actor’s perspective. In your world, you guys have got to be on it all the time. The kind of business you’re in.

I don’t know if I ever told you, but I studied the way you handled social media when I was just starting out. You actually gave me a lot of pointers.

Oh, thank you, Ruth.

Well, it’s true. I just noticed what you did with retweeting things, and it’s something that takes two seconds to do but means so much to others.

I try to respond as much as I can, but sometimes when you’re on set, you just can’t. You try to stay involved. I mean I know Barbara Niven, who’s a friend of mine, a wonderful lady, but she knows social media and the Twitter world better than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. She’s brilliant at it. You know, I try to watch what she does on social media and get a pointer here or there. But that’s a person who knows how to work that world. It’s interesting and fascinating to watch her on Twitter. Incredible. But you know, that’s her world.

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KWIK KWOTE

Jesse Hutch, Co-Star Cedar Cove

“During my time working with Brennan on Cedar Cove, he was like a big brother to me. We would laugh and goof around all while being professional, and yet, if I ever needed advice or wanted to ask a question about the biz, or what it’s like to be older than me(insert chuckle here), he would always have grounded and solid advice. Brennan is a great actor and an all around solid human being. If he ever needed it, I got his back.”

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You mentioned All of My Heart, and of course there is this big push to make a television show based on the film. 

Yeah, that would be great, wouldn’t it?

And I would assume we haven’t heard anything from Hallmark about this?

No, I have been out of the country–in Canada–filming for some time, so I haven’t even had a chance to really connect to Bill {Abbott} or Michelle {Vicary} over at Hallmark. I’m looking forward to doing so. I miss them dearly. I haven’t heard anything or any rumblings. Obviously, if you meet them in person, they might share something. But no, I haven’t heard anything. And that doesn’t mean anything. You know, Hallmark is inundated with so many movies. So many things happening. I’m even starting to develop a project with them right now. And trust me, when they have something like an All of My Heart–when they love something, and they see that the fans love it, they’ll find a way to make something work. ‘Cause to them, the fans are the most important. I don’t think that them not responding or people not hearing something means anything. I think it’ll happen in its own time. And Lacey {Chabert} and I both have expressed our interest.

The fans for that show–they are rabid. (laughs) They love All of My Heart. It’s one of my more proud movies for sure. You know, it won for best movie this year over on It’s a Wonderful Movie site.  That’s really a testament to this film. You know, you’re given a script. You might have three or four days. You get to set, you’re with strangers, and you try to create the best product you can. And much like you told me, I try to give it everything I have, and the same with Lacey.  And there’s obviously Peter DeLuise and Michael Ogiens, who was executive producer and Karen Berger, who wrote it. Everybody was just top notch at that level, and they didn’t want to make a sort of a cardboard cutout TV movie about love. They wanted it to be real and honest and simple and funny and all those things. I was home for a weekend, and I actually put it in, and the kids were just laying on the couch and me and my wife just watched it. When you haven’t seen something in a while, you can really appreciate it because you’re kind of disassociated from it. You’re away from it. It’s just a really sweet movie. It was so well done with everybody. The crew was great. The DP was great. And the fans have been just wonderful. So thank you (to all the fans of the film) very much.

Of course, you also play Host Graham on UnREAL. It’s been so nice to see your character more this season.

Yeah, well, it’s not his show. He’s a spoke in the wheel, so it’s pretty tough. But I have a lot more stuff periodically throughout the episodes, which is exciting. I just did the ADR for it, and there’s a lot more interesting stuff for me as the episodes go along. And it’s a lot of fun. And it’s a completely different type of tone and genre and show and anything I’ve been a part of in a while. And as the host, to be honest, Ruth, I almost feel like I’m the intermission. You have all this serious intensity and this manipulation and all this stuff–it’s great. And then the audience, maybe needs a break–like a minute thirty seconds or two minutes, whatever it is–and you bring out the gimp, and it’s the host. (laughs) A good chance to laugh and have some fun, and then it goes back. And I’m honored to do that. There’s a lot there. And there’s a lot that happens this year that lets you get a chance to see him for what he is.

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KWIK KWOTES

Stacey Matthews, fan: “Brennan has the ability to make the smarmy character still likable. His acting is like an onion that has many layers that can be sweet or a bit tart depending on the character and the moment.”

Gail Kehm, fan: “I even liked him in Cedar Cove. He is a versatile actor, and he plays the roles exceptionally well. He’s down-to-earth, humble, gracious…hilarious..such a great personality and kick in the pants sense of humor! Oh my goodness…All Of My Heart…I laughed throughout the movie….LOVE him and Lacey together…great chemistry! And….great family man as well! He’s one of my favorite actors! I’ve loved his acting and him as a person since I first saw him in The Nanny Express.”

Vicky LeClaire, fan: “He has liked and replied to some of my tweets. Really surprised me, but I guess it shouldn’t have. He comes across as such a nice, kind gentleman!”

Tonya Guess, fan: “He has also liked and retweeted my tweets. Too cool. He seems like a nice person.”

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In episode one, I thought it was a great moment for Graham when he opened the car door, Darius is not there, and he has a bit he does with the phone.

There are a lot of great moments for Graham this season. The last episode that aired, unfortunately, there were a lot of scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor. It was too long. But there have been some very nice moments, and it’s just going to continue. And as there’s less girls, there’s a little more interaction with me and the girls. It was a fun season. It was a lot of work ’cause I flew out there the day after wrapping movie three Flower Shop. So I literally was jet-lagged before I did that scene with the phone and the limo.  It was a tough year, but it was fun. And it’s a show that people really love.

I thought you were busy before, but I have no idea how you’ve kept up with your schedule this year.

I’ve just got lots of things going on, and then developing my own show. And you’ve got the Hallmark family that I love to work with whenever they call. Great relationship with them. I’ll work with them till I can’t speak any more or no one wants to hear me speak. It just keeps getting busier and busier, and now it’s just finding time to do it all. There’s been a couple of nice opportunities to do a film for Hallmark at Christmas, but I was busy with UnREAL.  But there’s still a few little Christmas ideas out there so hopefully we can get a Christmas movie in if it’s possible. That’s up to God and the universe and see what the Hallmark people want. Whenever they call, I always go to work because they’re such great people.

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KWIK KWOTE

Dava Desjarlais, Fan

“I got to know Brennan through Cedar Cove and starting the ‘Warren Wednesdays’ for him. He looked at the phrase and started using it himself, coining the term ‘Warrenites.’ I was one of his biggest supporters and still am. He is humble and down-to-earth, always appreciating his fans. His acting talent continues to impress me and to grow by leaps and bounds.”

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Last time we talked, I know you mentioned developing your own show. 

My producing partner and I have a show that we’re working on developing. We just haven’t gotten to the development stage yet. We’re still going through the legalities. Just kind of nailing down the contracts and all that kind of stuff. I have something that I would love to explore at Hallmark. And I brought it to them first ’cause I have such respect for them and I wanted them, and I think it’s got a lot of family values and a lot of comedy. I can’t disclose too much about it. It’s something I’m very passionate about doing, and I would be executive producing and being in it as well.  So I just think it’s time to diversify my artistic portfolio a bit, and not only be able to act but to produce. Get in touch with all the financial elements and understand the creativity that goes on. Set design and casting and writing and all that stuff I’m already doing that anyway but not on my own product. I’ve been watching Brooke and seeing how she’s been working and getting notes from her and obviously Brad Krevoy and people that I’m working with who are producing at a high level and kind of learning from them. And when we get into the development stage, and we start to decide whether we’re going to do a series of movies or a TV series, which we haven’t decided at this point, Hallmark and I will get together and try to decide on putting the cast together and writing and showrunning and all the rest. It’s very exciting, but it’s in the baby steps at this point. We’re getting very, very close.And I also have a TV movie idea I’m doing. And so there’s a few things out there outside of what’s on the air. I’ve got about seven or eight things now. That’s why I’m busy. (laughs)

When I contacted your manager about the interview, he told me that you were taking a week off, and I thought to myself, “There’s no way Brennan is taking a week off.”

I had a friend of mine that pulled me aside at the gym and he said, “You need to take a month off.” I feel a sense of duty. Like with Flower Shop, I’m very, very passionate about finding this voice with Flower Shop. and doing all the nineteen movies because I think each book is so well-written and so fun, and the fans just love it. And I think that once we find the right tone, the way we’re going to go about it, I think it’s going to be able to fly.  Much like with All of My Heart. If Hallmark wanted to  do something more with that. Or my show that we’re developing. Christmas movies or UnREAL or anything else out there. I want to develop and create but also develop as an actor. That’s my passion. That’s what I do. I have an obligation or a duty or an inner need to work and take care of the fans. And I’ve always felt that way. That’s just the way I am. My wife wants me to take time off. She’s like, “You need to take more time off.” But I’ve had a few days. It’s been nice.

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KWIK KWOTES

Mary Hertzog, fan: “During ‘Countdown to Valentine’s Day,’ his and Lacey’s film All Of My Heart was repeated. Several of us decided to tweet about it. It was like a Monday night. So about a half hour into the movie, Brennan actually started tweeting with us! Who does that? A repeat! He is such a nice, gracious man on Twitter. I will support him in anything!”

Lori Meeker, fan/extra:  “I was so excited to be an extra or background actor in his movie, A Christmas Melody. We were instructed not to speak to the primary actors unless they spoke to us. And who did he speak to? My husband, who got the biggest kick out of that!”

Kathleen Stevenson, fan: “Brennan is such a gracious man! He is always so kind when he has tweeted to me during All of my Heart and Flower Shop Mystery movies. He is such a kind man.”

Christy Crump, fan: “He is the best. I love getting a reply from him. You can tell he really takes the time to read tweets and thoughtfully respond.”

Veronica Lopez, fan:  “So I first saw All Of My Heart ’cause I’m a fan of Lacey’s. But man, Brennan came out of nowhere for me! I totally fell in love with the guy! I tweeted them both after I saw the movie, and he replied! The first time I ever tweeted him, and he replied! I was in heaven! He is such a nice guy and so humble! I am quickly becoming a huge fan of his!”

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You seem to be one that thrives on work to a degree.

Yeah.

Yeah, I know that feeling. 

Yeah, you’re never resting too much yourself there, Ruth.

(And we both laughed at that point. Yes, guilty as charged.)

Oh, isn’t that true? I have people always telling me not to overdo it. (pause) So you have Flower Shop Mystery, UnREAL, and everything else is in the works.

I’m going to do Home & Family Thursday, so we’ll have a little bit of Friday morning fun. It will be airing Friday morning–check your local listings. So I’m going to go back to the Home & Family crew and say “hi” to them, which should be a lot of fun. I always love seeing those guys. And you never know. There’s some scripts floating around. Christmas ideas. There’s a couple of other projects that my manager wants me to keep on the “DL” that are other network stuff. There’s lots flying around. I’m just trying to rest and relax now while I have the time. I know where my passions are, and when they call, I go do it.

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KWIK KWOTE

Anna Bowen, Fan 

“Brennan is such a wonderful actor–so versatile–and the sweetest person to his fans. He is always interacting on Twitter, and I had the pleasure of meeting him last year when he was on Home & Family, and he remembered me from Twitter as soon as I told him my name. He was so sweet and kind–the nicest guy.”

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I’ll be live tweeting on Sunday for Flower Shop Mystery. And of course obviously Monday for UnREAL as well. I might even do some live tweeting on Friday and see if there’s anybody out there that’s watching Home & Family. We’re going to have a nice kind of wedding-themed show. You’ll have to watch Flower Shop on Sunday–watch with your mom–and you two can completely demolish my dancing skills.

(And we both laughed quite a bit on that one.)

Well, I’ll be kind.

You always are, Ruth, you always are.

I try to be. I can’t watch UnREAL live because I’m the only one in the house that watches it. 

Yeah, it’s a different type of show, that’s for sure. There are certain people that just can’t watch it. It can be a lot to take. You need the right audience. So yeah, I get it.

Well, I think we’ve covered everything. I can’t think of anything I missed.

No problem. Well, you know, I love talking to you, Ruth. Your interviews are always so much fun. I have a blast.

Well, thank you. I enjoyed it, too. I didn’t have anything ready when you called.

That’s the way I like it–in the moment. We just fly.  Have you ever heard the phrase you can plan too much that you plan yourself into a problem? An old coach used to tell me that. You can plan too much for yourself and plan yourself right into a problem. I was like, “What does that even mean?” But I get it now. Sometimes being spontaneous combined with your instincts and your impulses is exciting. You can get interesting ideas. Or this is the worst interview of your life and we’ll never talk again.

(And we both laughed yet again.)

No, this was easy. I felt like I knew you, and kind of knew what you were up to, so it wasn’t a high pressure situation.

No, you’ve done it before. And we’ll do it again.

Seriously, need I say any more? Brennan is one I truly count as a dear person and even a (dare I say?) friend. While he has that absolutely endearing charm that could probably set anyone at ease, he is as gracious and as kind as they come. He may speak about reaching out to fans as a “job,” but I don’t buy that for one iota! The man actually cares about his fans, and those fans with whom he truly connects, seem to hold a very special place in his heart. This is the man who will stop what he is doing and send out a prayer to someone who is hurting, and once he discovers that it’s one of his most loyal supporters’ birthdays, he is quick to personally wish them a happy birthday (yes, that did happen to me this year). He has been known to just sit and chat on Twitter about innocuous things (such as mullets?) and once in awhile, there have been some really crazy “fan fiction” (or do we call it “actor fiction,” since he sometimes starts it?) that has come across his feed, and it seems that whatever happens, he just rolls with it. No doubt there have been times his tweets have caught me so by surprise with their humor that attempting to explain why on earth I’m laughing to others has been a difficult one to describe. But there are also times his tweets have left me so speechless (what that guy can say to thank his fans in less than 140 characters is absolutely inexplicable at times). As the fans have stated, it is atypical to find someone like him in this mad world and even more incomprehensible to find such a specimen as himself in the world of entertainment. He never forgets where he has come from, and something tells me, he never will, as he is always attempting to better himself and not remain complacent with the status quo. I personally think he is a creative genius with the milk of human kindness coursing through his veins, and there is honestly nothing I could think of that would cause me not to continue to be his fan. Be sure that you tune in Sunday, June 26th to the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries network for Flower Shop Mystery: Dearly Depotted. But even before that, Friday morning, June 24, he will be on Home & Family on the Hallmark Channel, so be sure to check local listings for the exact time. And Monday, June 27th, he is back at it again on UnREAL, as Host Graham on Lifetime. That’s three times we can see him within a four-day span! Also, be sure to follow him on twitter for all things Brennan, as he is an expert marketer–I don’t care how much he denies that, I KNOW he is. And in closing, let me say that I am forever indebted to this man for his ceaseless support of me, too. He was one of my early supporters, as far as actors go, and so he definitely holds a special place in my heart, as well.

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