On Friday, June 9 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, Hallmark fans will be introduced to a new iteration of the Aurora Teagarden character when Hallmark Movies & Mysteries premieres “Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New,” a prequel to the series of movies that starred Candace Cameron Bure playing the title character. The new movie stars Skyler Samuels as a young Aurora.
In the movie, a post-college-aged Aurora is back home in Lawrenceton to be near her mother, Aida (Marilu Henner). Working as a teacher’s assistant in a crime fiction class, Aurora is struggling to settle on a thesis for her post-graduate degree. To support her schooling and life, Aurora waitresses at the local diner at night, which is where she shares her love of researching true crime with her friend Sally and police officer Arthur (Evan Roderick). When Sally’s fiancé doesn’t show up at their wedding rehearsal, Maid of Honor Aurora gets Arthur to help her search for him, but when they discover a body, everyone assumes it is Sally’s tardy groom. After it turns out to be someone else, Sally’s fiancé becomes the main suspect.
“Our viewers have been waiting for more adventures with Aurora and her friends – what better way to do that than to take them back to when the young, amateur sleuth was just coming into her own?” said Emily Merlin, development manager of programming at Hallmark, in a statement last month. “The ‘Aurora Teagarden’ franchise is a fan favorite and we’re excited to share this new chapter with viewers.”
Before being cast as a young Aurora, Samuels had starring roles in such TV shows as “The Nine Lives of Chloe King,” “The Gates,” “Scream Queens,” and “The Gifted.” She more recently appeared in episodes of “The Rookie” and starred as Gabby Petito in the Lifetime original movie “The Gabby Petito Story.”
The final Aurora Teagarden movie starring Bure, titled “Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by Murder,” was released in February 2022. Two months later, the actress signed an exclusive deal with Great American Family to make new original movies for the growing cable network. Bure made 29 films across the Hallmark branded cable networks, 18 of which saw her playing Aurora.