What Happens to Mike in ‘One Bad Apple’? Alison Sweeney Breaks Down Hannah Swensen’s Romantic Future
Mike’s (Cameron Mathison) absence in One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery is no mystery. The reason behind Mike’s departure will be addressed in the new Hallmark Mystery movie, airing April 5. Alison Sweeney reveals how Hannah is adapting to this next chapter without Mike.
“The movie opens where Mike has left town and Hannah is single,” Sweeney tells TV Insider. “She’s coming to terms with that. I hopefully tried to portray that a little bit of time had passed, and she’s trying to be mature about it, but it still stings. I wanted Hannah to have worked through a little bit of it, but she still is so complicated. It’s a long process, and she’s still going through it.
Mathison previously starred as Mike Kingston in several Hannah Swensen films, his first being in 2015. Mike and Hannah became love interests as they solved mysteries. After 2023’s A Zest for Death, Mike left for FBI training at Quantico.
Despite Mike’s exit, Sweeney isn’t closing the door on a possible return. “Believe me, I am always open to working with people I love like Cameron,” she admits.
Sweeney believes a “whole new world” has opened up for Hannah in One Bad Apple, based on Joanne Fluke’s Apple Turnover Murder, because of this major life change. “I like the idea that her future in terms of romance is open,” the actress says. “She’s meeting this new guy, and maybe there’s something there. What does that mean to Hannah?”
This “new guy” is Victor Webster, who plays Chad. Sweeney teases that Webster “brings a whole new light to Hannah’s world and offers a lot of new and fun stories to play.” Chad is a character from one of Fluke’s novels, but Sweeney took the opportunity to expand the character.
“Bringing Victor in and kind of building this role for him was the opportunity to mix things up and really bring Chad in as a completely different dynamic than what Hannah’s used to, what the audience is used to, and create a new chemistry between Hannah and Chad that hasn’t been there before,” Sweeney explains. “Also, just playing off Victor. He’s good in any role, but I think he has a really fun time in this playing a tough guy who keeps his feelings on the inside. That was sort of the idea in creating this character. He’s not humoring Hannah the way everyone else in town does.”
In addition to stepping into Hannah’s shoes for the ninth time, Sweeney also wrote the script for the film. After such a satisfying experience, the Days of Our Lives alum is up for writing more in the future.
“I was approached already about my interest in doing it again, and I’m thrilled to say, ‘Yes, oh my God.’ That’s the nicest compliment,” she says. “If someone asked me back then that’s how you know that you’ve hopefully done a good job, and I was really thrilled with that reaction. I would love to do it again.”
One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, Movie Premiere, April 5, 9/8c, Hallmark Mystery
