Brennan Elliott Previews Flower Shop Mystery: Snipped in the Bud [Exclusive] 

[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]

Brooke Shields and Brennan Elliott return to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Sunday night with their second Flower Shop Mystery, Snipped in the Bud, which finds lawyer-turned-florist Abby stumbling into the murder of a former opposing counsel while she’s on her daughter’s college campus to deliver an oddly macabre flower order. I checked in with Elliott yesterday to chat about the new film, and being back at work on UnREAL.

Snipped in the Bud is the installment Elliott was heading to work on when we chatted back in January, and he says with this film, the second in a planned five in 2016, they really found their feet as an ensemble. That also carried over to the third film, Dearly Depotted, which was shot immediately after this one and is set to air June 26th.

“I felt that with this specific movie, the case was a little simpler [so] the audience has a better understanding of what was going on. It’s a little more about the relationships and the characters and their journey,” he explains. “I think there’s something there that the audience is clamoring for. The case is still there and is complex and mysterious and will keep the audience gripped for a couple of hours. Marco and Abby and her dad (Jeffery, played by Beau Bridges) and Nikki (Kate Drummond) [come together] as a family of sorts to solve this case. It’ll really be an interesting dynamic.”

“Anytime you do a pilot or a first film, you learn what not to do, what the network wants…there are a lot of elements that go [into it]. I think [on the first one], we were dealing with the case and making a mystery, and that was important. I think with this one [and Dearly Depotted], we nailed it. We kept the mystery of the case and augmented it with humor and lightness and the relationships and made it a lot more of an enjoyable experience. You can have mystery and a sense of humor and fun and romance. It started like a Murder She Wrote and [now] it feels like it’s become more of a Hart to Hart. Marco and Abby are very different people and we’re getting a little bit of a different dynamic in their relationship while they’re solving the case.”

With three films completed, Elliott says they expect to go back and shoot two more this fall. Right now, he’s back at work on UnREAL‘s second season, and although they’re aware of the spotlight after such a juggernaut first season (and a Peabody finalist nod), they’re just focused on delivering a great show. “We’re in the middle of the season. We’re trying new [things] and the writers are writing some really interesting storylines. I’m having a lot of fun,” he says. “Our producers, writers, and the cast are a family and we go to work and create something that hopefully the critics will enjoy and the audience will respond to.”

Two of Elliott’s former Hallmark projects, Cedar Cove, and All of My Heart (which repeats on Hallmark Channel Sunday at 1 pm/12c), still have a lot of fan love online, and Elliott says he’s open to returning to both roles in some capacity if Hallmark made the call to do so. “All of My Heart is very close to my heart, no pun intended. That’s a very, very beautiful movie that I’m very proud of,” he shares. “Everybody involved [made it] a beautiful few weeks of filming. On Twitter, it’s become a life of its own and people are really responsive. People really, really love that story. There’s a myriad of stories and places to go with that concept. If they want to do a series or a film or a series of films, I’m in.”

Flower Shop Mystery, Snipped in the Bud airs at 9/8c Sunday on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries after an encore of the first film in the series, Mum’s the Word, at 7/6c. Elliott plans to live Tweet the East Coast and West Coast feeds. Here’s a sneak peek.