It’s always a treat when another Murder, She Baked mystery pops up on the list of upcoming Hallmark movies, and the latest book-to-screen adaptation, Reality Bites: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, offers a little something extra. Alison Sweeney, who stars as the titular baker-turned-detective, wrote the movie that premieres on the 2025 TV schedule on February 6. I had the chance to talk to Sweeney about her latest project, and I asked her about the great Monty Python joke she slipped into the script. Turns out her co-star ad-libbed a bit to turn what was on the page into something even better.
I won’t spoil what happens in Hannah Swensen’s latest mystery — in which a baking show takes over The Cookie Jar, ultimately becoming the next crime scene for Alison Sweeney’s character to investigate — however, suffice it to say Norman (Gabriel Hogan) suffers an injury as the mystery unfolds. While receiving treatment, Hannah’s pal downplays his sacrifice by uttering one of the best quotes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, “It’s just a flesh wound.” Sweeney spoke to CinemaBlend ahead of Reality Bites’ premiere on Hallmark Mystery, and she told me what inspired her to reference the classic comedy, explaining:
That’s actually one I wrote in the script, and I did write it for Gabe, because he and I make that joke all the time in real life. He and I quote movies to each other a lot, and now we’ve known each other for 10 years. But that’s like a classic, right? It’s in the zeitgeist. I also thought that if there’s younger people who don’t get it, then that’s on them. Like, ‘Go watch the movie. You’re welcome.’
Indeed, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the source of endless quotable material, but you don’t even have to be familiar with the Black Knight scene to have heard the “just a flesh wound” quote. I agree with Alison Sweeney that anyone who hears this and is inspired to watch the 1975 British comedy (available to stream with a Prime Video subscription) owes her a big thank you.
The Hallmark actress told me that as a writer and producer on the Hannah Swensen films, she allows her co-stars to improvise or offer ideas on her scripts, and it turns out Gabriel Hogan did just that to make the scene even better. She continued:
Actually he did turn it, because the way I had it was just at the very beginning, and he ad-libbed adding it again later, like, ‘Oh I just can’t help it,’ and I just thought it was brilliant and perfect and better than what I had come up with, because that’s sort of the most fun of being a writer is giving them this platform or this stage where it gives them a chance to go from there, a launching point, and when they do come up with extra stuff like that, it’s just even better. I feel proud, like, I get to take credit for that, because I set it in motion.
I love that Alison Sweeney was able to turn her and Gabriel Hogan’s inside joke into a fun moment for Reality Bites: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, and I appreciate any opportunity to keep Monty Python alive and well in general conversation.
Do yourselves a favor and give Monty Python and the Holy Grail a watch (or rewatch), but first be sure to catch Sweeney in Reality Bites at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, February 6, on Hallmark Mystery.