Victor Webster Talks Matchmaker Mysteries and Workin’ Moms [Exclusive] 

[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]

Around here, we’re pretty fond of Victor Webster–and that means all of us–our staff and y’all reading, so it was a no-brainer that attaching him to Matchmaker Mysteries, a potential new Hallmark Movies & Mysteries franchise, was going to perk our ears up. I had the chance to chat with him last week about the new film, subtitled A Killer Engagement, and his fun turn on the most recent season of Netflix’s Workin’ Moms.

In A Killer Engagement, Danica McKellar stars as Angie Dove, a successful matchmaker who’s a household name for her reality TV series where she matches unlikely couples. When the bride-to-be of her latest success story is murdered and her fiance stands accused, she’s drawn into the case. Webster is Kyle Cooper, a detective who doesn’t really want her help, but he’s kinder about it than usual because she’s the daughter of a former detective, Nick Colomba, played by Bruce Boxleitner.

We haven’t seen Webster in a Hallmark mystery before, so this was a change in territory, and he welcomed the opportunity to do something different, as well as work with McKellar and Boxleitner. “I used to watch her on The Wonder Years. She seemed awesome and super sweet and Hallmark loves her so [I thought] she must be great to work with. I read the script and said yes,” he shares.

“[Bruce] is old school Hollywood. He’s a super great guy and had some great stories of people he’s worked with and sets he’s been on and travel he’s done. I love getting along with people who’ve lived interesting, colorful lives and are open to talking about them.”

The history between Nick and Kyle puts a unique spin on the usual dynamic for these mysteries. “That throws a different color into the whole mix rather than a typical cop and bumbling sidekick,” explains Webster.

“That’s what you feel like she is in the beginning and she is, but she turns out to be very helpful and useful and smart, which Kyle sees with the audience. She grows on him and he realizes she’s an asset and maybe just a little rough around the edges.”

“Knowing her father and having that pressure of really making sure she’s safe and not wanting to put my foot down and be nice to her, and there’s a little spark that’s never acted on…He’s being pulled in a lot of different directions. Her safety, her being in the way, him finding himself being smitten with her to a certain extent. There’s a lot of layers and it’s a lot of fun to play.”

Hallmark is branching out in its Canadian locations, and this film shot up in Ottawa. Webster spends a lot of his down time exploring and was happy to get the opportunity see the city for the first time, especially for a summer vs. a winter shoot. “I love traveling the world. I’d never been to Ottawa, so I was excited,” he shares.

“It’s a sleepy city. Very slow-paced and mellow and it was exactly what I needed. The weather was incredible. There was a dog park with a river, really good restaurants. Everything you need at a much slower pace.”

For now, this is the only Matchmaker Mysteries planned, but since real-life millionaire matchmaker Patti Stanger is behind the series, it could well be the next franchise. We can hope. “Nothing would make me happier [than to do another one] but that’s up to Hallmark,” he points out, “It’s definitely a possibility. Fingers crossed.”

So far, Webster hasn’t done a Hallmark sequel, and since his Summer Villa and Love Blossoms repeat so well, I asked if we might ever see follow-ups to either. He’s not seen any movement on sequels, but he says he and girlfriend Shantel VanSanten, who met on the latter film, would happily do another Hallmark movie, with a few ground rules.

“Our agreement is it would have to be a romantic comedy, emphasis on the comedy, and not too dramatic or too serious,” he says. “It would have to be in some beautiful foreign location. “We would go…anywhere [but right now] she’s also busy with her two shows [The Boys and the upcoming For All Mankind].”

Last month, Season 3 of Canadian import Workin’ Moms dropped on Netflix, and in it, Webster is Mike Bolinski, the seductive business colleague to Kate, one of the titular moms played by series creator Catherine Reitman. He had a blast and says we’ll see him again in Season 4.

“He takes a severe right hand turn and you see how all that plays out. It’s so unique because Catherine is the producer/writer/star/actress and her husband, Philip [Sternberg, who plays Kate’s husband, Nathan], is also all of the above and they basically run the show. I don’t know how they do it with two kids, but they do,” he explains.

“It’s incredibly funny. They’re really good at allowing us to play and improv and they will change things based on what’s funny in the room. They’ll get a bunch of options [on film] and edit it together. It’s a very collaborative environment. It’s fun when you get done with a take and everybody starts laughing because you did something so out-of-the-box, scripted or unscripted or a combination of both. The encouragement was great.”

“Within a week of the show being on Netflix, I had friends…guys telling me it’s their [or their family’s or girlfriend’s] favorite show…people I never would have expected. And the messages and reactions I’m getting [on social media] are overwhelmingly positive. It’ll be really, really great for the show that it’s on Netflix and great for Philip and Catherine. They deserve all the success.” Look for Season 4 this winter in Canada on CBC and next year on Netflix everywhere else.

Next up, Webster is just enjoying life. “I don’t live to work. I work to live,” he says. “I’m not losing any sleep over not working back to back to back.”

That said, you can still catch his Christmas movies Magic Stocking and Home for Christmas Day when they start rerunning on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries at the end of the month through the holidays.

Matchmaker Mysteries: A Killer Engagement premieres Sunday at 9 pm/8c on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. Click here for sneak peeks.

Photos Courtesy of Crown Media and CBC.