Hallmark TV movie filmed in Alabama has new name, air date, Ruben Studdard cameo
Remember “Naima in Nashville,” the Hallmark movie that filmed in Birmingham a couple of months ago? The TV movie has a new name — “A Nashville Legacy” — and a broadcast date: Sunday, Feb. 26, at 6 p.m. CT.
An update on the project was posted on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries website, along with information on the storyline and cast. Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is a spinoff of the Hallmark Channel, formerly known as the Hallmark Movie Channel.
“Naima moves to Nashville to uncover secrets about an undiscovered music group,” the Hallmark synopsis says. “Starring Andrea Lewis, Pooch Hall, Stan Shaw, and Roz Ryan. With a cameo by Curt Chambers and Ruben Studdard.”
Studdard is a Birmingham resident, R&B singer, Grammy nominee and former “American Idol” winner. There’s no word yet on what his cameo will involve, but Studdard has acted before, most notably in a 2008-2009 national tour of “Ain’t Misbehavin.’”
“A Nashville Legacy” is linked to the Hallmark Channel’s “Loveuary” lineup, which features romance movies to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The agenda also includes “Sweeter Than Chocolate” (Feb. 4), “A Paris Proposal” (Feb. 11), “Welcome to Valentine” (Feb. 18) and “Made for Each Other” (Feb. 25).
Few details on “A Nashville Legacy” were available during the filming here in early December 2022, when the production team was spotted in Avondale and Southside. Facebook posts from Goleman Casting sought actors to portray musicians in a recording studio, country line dancers, patrons at a country music bar and musicians in the hallway at the Berryhill Records label.
Background roles as students, teachers, museum staffers, a church deacon and a reverend were mentioned, as well, along with diners at a restaurant called Olivia’s Food Fixins.
Actor Shaw — a film and TV veteran whose credits include “Fried Green Tomatoes,” “The Great Santini” and “Roots: The Next Generations” — plays a “Nashville Legacy” character reminiscent of Motown’s Berry Gordy. Shaw offered more information on the movie’s storyline via Instagram.
“Naima (Lewis) has recently moved to Nashville, where she is getting her doctorate while interning as a curator at a well-known Nashville museum,” Shaw’s post says. “The tales her late grandmother shared about the old days in Music City during the 1950s provided a fascination that led music enthusiast Naima back to her grandmother’s old haunts. As she begins her work at the museum, Naima meets Damian (Hall), a volunteer … or so she thinks. Damian is actually heir to the Berryhall Records Empire, run by his father, Franklin Berryhall (Shaw), but he is struggling to step out from under his father’s shadow of success. The two begin to get close, bonding over their love for music and their desire to leave their respective marks on the world.”
An IMDB listing for “A Nashville Legacy” says the film’s director is Roger M. Bobb, former executive vice president of Tyler Perry Studios. Screenwriters are Randall Jahnson and Nina Weinman. The cast also includes Alabama actors Kevin Wayne, Lester Milligan and Derrick Goodman Jr.
According to a Rotten Tomatoes listing, the runtime of “A Nashville Legacy” is 90 minutes. There’s no streaming info yet, and repeat airings on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries haven’t been announced.
Shaw has a message for TV fans about the movie, though, via his Instagram post. “Make sure you write down the premiere date and place it HIGH PRIORITY on your list!” the actor said. “We may get arrested for murder … b/c we killed it!”