Get ready for a sugar rush, a little romance and a whodunit when a Pie to Die For: A Hannah Swensen Mystery premieres on the Hallmark Channel on Sunday, June 22nd (8pm ET/7pm CT) starring Alison Sweeney as Hannah and Victor Webster as Chad.

As soap fans know, both Alison and Victor have a Days of our Lives soap pedigree since Alison has been playing Sami Brady on and off since 1993, and Webster played a young Nicholas Alamain from 1999-2000.

Ahead of the premiere, Michael Fairman TV caught up with Victor Webster to talk about what to expect in his fourth ‘Hannah Swensen’ movie, which includes a Tango, a date, and a murder mystery centering around Hannah’s mother, Delores, played by another soap vet, Barbara Niven (ex-Liz Coleman Reynolds, One Life to Live, 2002-2003).

Photo: Hallmark Media

FROM PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, TO DANCER, TO SUITOR

Throughout his film and television career, Webster admits his role in the ‘Hannah Swensen’ mysteries is a departure for him, “I’ve never played a prosecuting attorney. I’ve never played somebody that is very, very by the book. It’s very opposite of me. I kind of like to live a little more loosey- goosey,” admits Victor. “It’s been fun to say ‘no’ to Hannah. She tries to basically bribe Chad with treats all the time, and usually people do whatever she wants because they get an apple turnover or a nice peanut butter chocolate chip cookie or whatever it is. My character is just saying ‘no’. There’s this wonderful energy between us because she’s not used to people saying ‘no’ to her goodies.”

Photo: Hallmark Media

Leading up the premiere, a publicity photo of Hannah and Chad in a Tango dip surfaced. Webster explains, “Well, we did a little tango action, so we kind of had to go undercover to get some information about something. Hannah wanted to go to a Tango class to watch and see if she can get any information. Chad’s like, ‘Who watches a Tango class?’ So, I’ve got a very fancy red satin shirt in my closet that hasn’t been used since, you know, 1997. So, Chad pulls it out and says, “Let’s go to the Tango class together!” Victor added, “It’s a whole choreographed routine that ends with an amazing little dip, and it was directed by Crystal Lowe. She shot so many different angles, so it should, look really, really good. Then, we had this fantastic dance instructor Milena, who really taught us this cool, little Tango fun sexy thing that we got to do.”

Photo: Hallmark Channel

As to the mystery in Pie to Die For, Webster explains how amazing his co-stars were with Alison’s script, “There’s definitely a leading lady competition going on when Delores becomes a suspect in the murder. Alison wrote a great part for her, and then Barbara just takes it and runs with it. That’s what I love about this. I call it like a franchise of movies that has a lot of comedy in it. We get to improv a lot and we don’t have to run everything by Alison. She’s such a professional. She’s right there with me. She’s got an amazing sense of humor. So, if I screw up a line, and even if I don’t know that I screwed it up and it’s unintentional, Alison will respond to the line that I said, and not just the line that she wrote for herself.”

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Pie to Die For teases that Chad and Hannah grow closer, but do they? Webster weighed-in, “There might be truth to that rumor. In the last movie, Hannah sees Chad performing in the courthouse, dressed up in a suit and sees his commanding presence, and doing this opening monologue to the jurors. I think she really likes that, and then in this one, we actually go out on our first date.”

REPLACING CAMERON MATHISON IN THE FRANCHISE

Victor Webster is now seemingly entrenched in the ‘Hannah Swensen’ and Hallmark franchise; having taken over the leading man spot from General Hospital’s Cameron Mathison (Drew) two years ago. When he was approached to star opposite Sweeney, he recalled how he checked-in with Mathison before signing on the dotted line. “I just got the offer and they’re like, ‘Hey, do you want to come do this?’ And I was like, ‘Wait! I thought Cameron was doing that?’ They then told me Cameron is leaving to go do other things. I was like, ‘Hold, please.'”

Photo: Hallmark Media

Next, Webster shared ,”So, I sent Cameron a text that read, ‘Hey, brother. I know business is business, but out of respect, I just want you to know they called me and asked me if I’d be interested in stepping in to these new ‘Hannah Swensen’ movies. I know you’re leaving. I don’t want to feel like I’m stepping on your toes, or there’s any bad blood, or anything like that.’ Cameron was the ultimate gentleman. He was like, ‘Hey, you are going to have such a blast. There’s such a great group of people. I’m going to do my own thing somewhere else.’ He goes, ‘I wish you nothing but success.” He gave me his blessing one hundred percent and he was just fantastic about it. Then, knowing that I was going to work with Ali again, that was super exciting. And then, reading the scripts and seeing this type of character and the fun that could be had, and the comedy that was in it, it just felt like a no-brainer, and I said, ‘yes.'”

Photo: JPI

DAYS OF OUR LIVES AND NICHOLAS ALAMAIN

Daytime fans first met Victor when he played Nicholas Alamain on Days of our Lives in the late 90s. During our chat, he recalled his time on the iconic soap opera and working with the likes of: Lauren Koslow, John Aniston, Krista Allen, Joe Mascolo, and Louise Sorel and shares his remembrances on the late Drake Hogestyn.

Photo: JPI

“Louise Sorel (Vivian) is the best. Lauren Koslow (Kate) was my love interest and Krista Allen (ex-Billie), but then Louise and Krista both left the show and so I was just swinging in the wind. They didn’t know what to do,” Webster revealed. “So, I still had my storyline with Lauren Koslow, but I was no longer on contract. I went to recurring and I started working on a show called The Lot. It’s about a 1940s film studio and behind the scenes of it.  I would come in on Saturdays and shoot my scenes at DAYS. The last Saturday that I worked with Lauren, we did 75 pages of dialogue which was five shows in five hours.”

Photo: JPI

But just as everyone eventually comes back for a short arc or run to DAYS, Victor wouldn’t rule it out if the opportunity were to arise for Nicholas Alamain to return to Salem, “I would come back and do a handful of episodes. I think that would be fun. I think it would be great if Days of our Lives was aware of mine and Alison’s on-screen relationship on Hallmark and then they did a crossover where we got to work together. I would go back and play Nicholas and she would be Sami. I think would be a lot of fun.”

Photo: JPI

Victor also offered his condolences for the late great Drake Hogestyn (ex-John Black) who passed away from pancreatic cancer back in September of 2024, while his DAYS character was killed-off earlier this month followed by the emotional memorial episodes in John’s honor. “He was such a cool dude. The greatest. Drake left quite a mark on a lot of people,” shared Webster. “There was no ego about the guy. He was just one of guys and somebody you could definitely look up to. You go to for advice and talk to him. His passing is really sad.”

So, will you be watching Victor Webster and Alison Sweeney in ‘Pie to Die For: A Hannah Swensen Mystery’ Sunday on Hallmark Channel? Would you like to see DAYS bring back the character of Nicholas Alamain? Let us know in the comment section, but first check out the Michael Fairman Channel’s interview with Victor below, followed by a preview for ‘Pie to Die For.’