Ashley Williams Launches ‘Small Town Setup’ on Hallmark+

At the TCA Summer 2024, Hallmark+ was announced. Along with the news of the newly branded streamer, came the announcement of new reality shows “with heart.” One of those series is Small Town Set Up, hosted by Ashley Williams.

This new series has the sound of a classic Hallmark movie, but it is reality television! Here is more information.

The new streaming channel Hallmark+ is arriving with a slew of new reality series. One standout is Small Town Setup, hosted by Ashley Williams. Though it won’t premiere until 2025, the announcement provided tantalizing details. According to The Futon Critic, it’s described as a “heartwarming, unscripted, romantic comedy docu-style dating series.”

The synopsis reveals that in each episode, different hometown parents face a big dilemma—their successful adult child lives in a big city and remains single. The parents rally their neighbors to help find three potential matches for their child. The entire community joins forces in hopes that the ‘city single’ will fall in love, move back home, and live happily ever after.

When Ashley Williams announced this new Hallmark+ project, she took to Instagram to express how this has been a dream for a long time, although it remained largely a “secret.” Close friends knew of her aspiration to be like Kelly Ripa, and Williams once got the chance to meet her idol.

“I wanted to be a host,” Williams shared. “My ‘Inner Kelly Ripa’ wasn’t something I always talked about. Close friends knew and would laugh at me and once actually forced me to go to her birthday party and tell her she was my hero. She laughed and hugged me as Kelly Ripa does.”

Many fans know Ashley Williams from Hallmark romcoms or How I Met Your Mother, but she is also a talented director. She created Hallmark’s Make Her Mark program, which allows a female director to learn by shadowing another female director. The first recipient of this initiative is Signed, Sealed, Delivered star Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe.

Interestingly, while Ashley has directed films for other networks like Lifetime, she has yet to direct one for Hallmark. Maybe after her hosting duties on Small Town Setup, she’ll get that opportunity.

Source: TV Shows Ace, The Futon Critic