Marilu Henner Talks Real Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery [Exclusive] 

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries premieres the second film in the Aurora Teagarden series this Sunday–kicking off three successive weekends of movie premieres. Next weekend, we get the second Gourmet Detective installment followed on August 9th by the fourth Garage Sale Mystery movie.

Real Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery brings back the whole cast from the first film, which aired earlier this year (and repeats tonight at 9/8c in case you missed it). We had the chance to chat exclusively with Marilu Henner, who play’s Aurora’s mom, Aida, about the new film and her very busy life as a mom, wife, actress, radio host, and author.

Henner enjoys making the Aurora Teagarden films, and is especially fond of getting to shoot in British Columbia. “I am obsessed with going there and doing these movies because I love Squamish, where we shoot. It’s beautiful. I had worked with some of [these] people before, Joel Rice in particular. He asked me to be in [the first film],” she says. “He thought Candace [Cameron Bure] and I would have a good chemistry, and it turns out we have the same birthday. She’s my little birthday present. I just adore her. I think she’s so good, and such a natural actress, and I loved her on DWTS. We bond over motherhood, dancing, and the show.”

Aida has a bigger part in the second film, and Henner says that will continue in the next one. “I have a lot to do in the third one,” she promises. “We were supposed to do it [earlier], but Candace is so busy that we’re shooting in the fall.”

She loves the scenes between Aida and Aurora where we get the “mother-daughter flavor.” “I like all of my scenes with Candace especially,” she points out. “I like it when I catch her with the guy, and try to set them up. I’m kind of a busy body anyway, so that’s fun.”

The Marilu Henner Show is Henner’s daily radio show and she takes it with her on the road. “[I] do my [show] every day, three hours a day, five days a week. I bring my equipment with me to Squamish [when we shoot the films]. They give me a studio or I bring it to my hotel room,” she explains. “I do my shows no matter what is going on.”

She’s also working on her 10th book, Love, Detox, and Changing Normal: How I Helped My Husband Beat Cancer, which will be out next spring and details how her husband got well without traditional allopathic treatments like radiation and chemotherapy.

That’s not all she has on her plate. She’s developing a memory game show with the creators of Celebrity Name Game and has a show coming to the Food Network. “I am very excited about [it],” she says. “It will be kind of ‘a day in the life’ of people coming in and out of my house and my life. I love to cook and entertain.”

Henner says she’s able to juggle everything–which includes two sons home from college this summer–thanks to her phenomenal memory and her chef’s mindset. “I kind of have a front burner, middle burner, back burner mentality. Things kinds of move around. That must be the chef in me,” she laughs. “When somebody first comes to work for me, I always say, ‘Here’s a notebook. Please write everything down.’ And I’ll keep things in a notebook, too, so I can hand it over to people, and say, ‘This is what we’re doing today.'”

When Unforgettable returns this year, she’ll have a co-producer title. The renewal and move to A& E were a very nice surprise for all involved. “Everybody said goodbye, and Poppy [Montgomery] got pregnant,” she says. “It’s crazy.” Henner teases that we might be in for a little extra spice now that they’re on a cable network. She left us with a “maybe” when asked if she’d appear onscreen in an episode.

Henner is very active online and on social media. You can find her on her personal website, personal Twitter, show Twitter and Facebook, and listen to her show online at marilushow.com.

Here’s what to expect in the new film [general spoilers ahead]: A mystery hits close to home for Aurora Teagarden when a member of the Real Murders Club, which she presides over, is found dead. She realizes the crime mirrors a case discussed by the club, and fears that one her members could either be the next target, or the murderer. With the help of a visiting mystery writer–and love interest (Sanctuary‘s Robin Dunne, a great addition to the ensemble)–Aurora tries to solve the mystery before she or anyone else is a victim of real murder.

Real Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery premieres Sunday at 9/8c on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Here’s a sneak peek.