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Q: I got over the "Good Witch" season being over by getting into "Chesapeake Shores," but then its season ended after just a few episodes, too. Why do they keep doing this?

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Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

There are a couple of answers to that question, one of which is actually good news.

The boring answer is that cable shows ("Good Witch" and "Chesapeake Shores" are both Hallmark Channel originals) always get shorter episode orders than broadcast shows. The 22-episode model, designed to cover the traditional fall/winter viewing season that broadcast schedules (and broadcast ad sales) were built around, just doesn't exist for cable. The reality on cable is 10- or 12-episode seasons.

That said, "Chesapeake Shores" didn't even get that -- its fourth season, which ended in late September, was only six episodes long.

However, one of the reasons for that is that there's still a movie to come.

Hallmark announced back in February that it would produce a spinoff movie based on the O'Brien sisters. There's been no word on an airdate yet, but Meghan Ory ("Once Upon a Time"), who plays Abby O'Brien, said on social media in September that it was coming "in the near future." 

Hallmark is, of course, still better known for its TV-movie production than its series production, and it seems to be developing a sort of blended model with these two shows. "Good Witch" started as a series of films and has since settled into a system of short seasons supplemented with a movie each year.

 

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