Stream It or Skip It: ‘The Cases of Mystery Lane’ on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Where Aimee Garcia and Paul Campbell Solve a Murder Mystery in a Movie That Should Be Spun Into a Series

Hallmark Movies and Mysteries launches what has to be a new franchise with The Cases of Mystery Lane. The film casts Aimee Garcia (Lucifer) and Paul Campbell (Three Wise Men and a Baby) as a couple in a rut who get roped into solving a murder. Is this unexpected career change exactly what these two need to get their marriage on track? Or will these two end up divorced or dead?

THE CASES OF MYSTERY LANE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Aimee Garcia plays Birdie Case, a lawyer in the regrettable position of having a cutthroat boss who is also her mother. She’s married to Alden Case (Paul Campbell), a slightly eccentric goofball who doesn’t have a career so much as a string of fads and schemes. Currently he’s going to community college to study private investigation — although Birdie thinks he’s going for an accounting degree. These two aren’t on the same page — and then Birdie’s boss Tim (Ryan Mah) turns up swinging from a noose in his office! Yeah, this is Hallmark!

Convinced that this isn’t a suicide, Alden and Birdie start to put the puzzle pieces together. The case gives Alden a direction, it gives Birdie something to do that her mom can’t micromanage, and it gives this couple some common ground upon which to rebuild their crumbling marriage. Oh — and they also get to solve a murder. That’s important too!

What Movies or Shows Will It Remind You Of?: The balance of humor and mystery is very Only Murders in the Building. Alden clearly bases some of his private eye moves on Columbo. And the whole thing feels like a throwback to the days of Murder, She Wrote in primetime — which is about as high a compliment as you can pay a show like this.

Performance Worth Watching: Matt Hamilton is really owning a very, very specific kind of role in Hallmark movies: a bit player who steals every scene they’re in with a weird character trait. In Three Wise Men and a Baby, he played a former high school bully whose schtick has become pathetic with age. In The Cases of Mystery Lane, he plays a police officer who speaks in air quotes, much to the confusion of Alden.

Memorable Dialogue: “Look at me. Look around you. I’m a 38-year-old private investigator in training. I don’t do anything the easy way.” Please applaud Alden’s self-awareness.

Our Take: A comedic murder mystery starring Paul Campbell and Aimee Garcia — how could this go wrong? It couldn’t — and, thankfully, it doesn’t. The Cases of Mystery Lane delivers all of the wit and charm that you’d expect from a movie starring two performers who shine in everything they do. It doesn’t hurt that we’re in the middle of a murder mystery-ssance and an audience hungry for this kind of content, the kind of case-of-the-week drama that doesn’t veer towards the bleak salaciousness found in true crime.

Campbell and Garcia are perfect leads for this kind of show, too, because they’re the kind of people you wouldn’t expect to see in a show like this. Garcia’s a bit more uptight, a bit more by-the-books, and there are no chapters on wandering into an FBI investigation unannounced in her lawyer’s handbook. Campbell’s Alden is a low-key mess, a guy who got scammed by the crypto craze, makes money selling toy robots on eBay, and takes night classes for private investigation. While the mysteries need to be at least slightly interesting, you really tune into these stories for the lead character(s). We’ve just met Birdie and Alden and they already seem so lived-in as characters and as a couple. We’re invested in seeing them succeed not just in solving this murder, but we also want them to succeed in their marriage. They’re an odd couple by design and it’s just fun seeing Garcia and Campbell work together.

The only downside to The Cases of Mystery Lane is that it’s — so far — just a movie. If there isn’t a follow-up TV series already in the works, or at least another 90-minute case for the Cases to solve in roughly 3-4 months, then this movie is going to feel like an unfulfilled promise. There’s plenty to follow-up on; this is essentially a movie-length pilot, which is how Hart to Hart and Columbo and lots more mystery shows started. Hallmark wants more Only Murders-esque content? There’s no mystery here: The Cases of Mystery Lane is exactly what they’re looking for.

Our Call: STREAM IT and let Hallmark know that they need to get Aimee Garcia and Paul Campbell locked into a contract ASAP.