Cut, Color, Murder is a new Signature Mystery coming to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries on Sunday, February 6.
The movie features Julie Gonzalo and Ryan McPartlin as a salon operator named Ali and the new detective in town, Kyle, who work together to solve the murder of a pageant director.
As the story unfolds, Ali’s reminded of her husband’s murder years previous, which makes her more eager to solve the current case and clear the names of her friends and family.
We had the opportunity to talk with Ryan, who’s at the heart of this production as creator, executive producer, and star.
When we caught up with Ryan, he was getting in touch with his inner child by visiting Wisconsin, where he spent summers with his parents growing up.
He was laughing at people ice fishing in the cold weather, thrilled to see his parents again, and in touch with his friend, Tom Lennon (Reno 911’s Lutenient Dangle), about a possible project together.
If that sounds awful normal for a man like Ryan, how he got into the business was about upending normality to make his mark on the world.
While still in school, Ryan sold insurance as a college agent for Northwestern Mutual. “I was good, too,” he said. ” I was the number one college agent for one month, but in the country.”
It was just one month, but wearing a suit at that age, driving to Chicago to sell insurance to doctors and lawyers, wasn’t what he wanted to do.
Ryan decided to throw caution to the wind and reach for a dream job, something entirely out of his realm.
Ryan said he went home with a plan. “I told my parents I was going to move to LA for summer and start some acting classes. And they were like, ‘You’ve never been in a play. What are you talking about?’
“And I was like, ‘Well, there’s got to be a way to figure it out. And I think I just want to go check it all out.’ And that summer has turned into a career. So it’s been the endless summer for me.”
One thing led to another, and every time he thought he’d have to go home again, he’d get another role that kept him there for months or a year. “And then at one point, I’m like, ‘Oh man, I’ve already aged out of any other real job. So I better really take this seriously.'”
However, aging out of his fallback work worked in his favor, motivating him to create the roles he wasn’t getting for himself.
“So that’s how I got into the executive producing and developing these projects that I’m doing now,” Ryan said. “And I’m just so grateful that other people have responded to them and said, ‘This is great. Let’s go, let’s have fun. Let’s make-believe,’ like when I started my career.”
When I asked Ryan what roles he believed to be defining moments in his career, he provided a verbal highlight reel of how he got to where he is today.
“I remember the moment that I auditioned for Passions, the soap opera. It was the first series regular role that I was going to get. And I remember feeling like, ‘I really nailed that one. I can do this.’ And I came out a little bit cocky.
“And then when I got to set, I quickly realized I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. So I was at the right place for me at that time. Because had I gotten a bigger job, I would’ve been exposed.
“I had to learn to be comfortable on a set, but I remember just delivering that because I became good at auditioning. I didn’t necessarily become good at developing a character and performing and seeing it through.”
Those three years on Passions provided the experience he needed, and he created lifetime friendships. He worked with Eva Tamargo on Passions, always keeping her in mind as someone he’s love to work with again.
He got to do just that with Cut, Color, Murder, as she plays Ali’s mother in the movie. “I got to bring back full circle my Passions experience and bring Eva up to work with me on this,” he said. “And I was so happy that she said yes, and we were all so grateful that she did this with us.”
Fast forward to his Chuck audition, which is a bookend to his Passions experience. “I read for Chuck, and I completely melted down in the audition.”
At the time, Ryan had a newborn and wasn’t getting any sleep, but he refused to make excuses.
“So in the middle of [the audition], when I couldn’t remember the lines anymore, they’re like, ‘Ry, just do it like you did in the pre-read for the casting director, Patrick Rush. Do the same audition that you did before.’ And I said, ‘I don’t think I got it in me today.'”
They couldn’t believe what they were hearing and offered him advice to finish the audition.
Instead, Ryan said, “I was like, ‘Nah, I’m good, guys.’ I’m like, ‘Good luck with the show.’ And I just gave them some fist bumps. And I think they thought that was so funny of the way that I handled it; they still gave me the job. And it’s like, who gets that job?” Ryan laughed.
“Who melts down in an interview and still gets the job. And that’s when you just know some things are out of your hand, that it is yours, or it’s not. The role does find you.”
Ryan feels he was meant to be Captain Awesome.
The role was rewritten with him in mind, changing the character into a guy who could do anything from cardiac surgery to marathoning. “But then he melts down under pressure when he finds out Chuck is a spy. And he can’t handle it the same way Chuck does.
“And that was just such a fun character to play. And in their infinite wisdom, they kind of catered the character toward what I did in that audition. And we got to play five seasons of that.”
Ryan also remembers his audition for Living with Fran, which began with a hotshot actor (he didn’t name names) in the waiting room who was greeted by the entire executive team as if he was a shoo-in for the job, prompting Ryan and the others to wonder why there were even auditioning.
Ryan said, “So I walked into the bathroom. And I had to put some paper towels in my armpits because I was sweating so much. And I looked in the mirror, and I gave myself a little pep talk.
“And I said, I was like, ‘This is his role. He has that role. They all are expecting him to nail it. You are free. You have no pressure. Do whatever you want to do. Do what makes you laugh. Have a good time.
“And I just relaxed. And I was like, ‘Okay, let’s go have fun and make myself laugh.’ And I really did a performance that I thought — with Ben Feldman; we read together — that just cracked me up on the inside. And that just really helped.”
“And so, it turns out that other actor wasn’t very prepared. And when I got home, I didn’t know that I had the role or didn’t have the role, but I did what I wanted to do. And I just walked into our house, and my wife asked, ‘How’d it go?’
“I said, ‘You know what? I did what I set out to do.’ And I was happy about that. I go, ‘But whether I got that role or not, it doesn’t change how happy I am.’ I love our little house. I love where we’re at in life. And I’ll never forget that moment.
“I got a phone call five minutes later, right after that. And they said, ‘Congratulations, this is your first primetime series regular role.’ And we just jumped up and down and screamed. And we’re so happy. And I can’t tell you how many moments I’ve had.
“We’re still in that house 18 years later. And how many moments I’ve had in that kitchen where we’ve just had to jump up and down moment and screamed. And that is like, I’ve never wanted to buy another house because I have such emotional attachment from those memories in there.”
Of course, every audition wasn’t a win. Sometimes, Ryan wanted a job that he didn’t get, or he auditioned for a job only to hope that he didn’t get it. He’s been rejected and been the rejector. And sometimes, he did jobs for the money that have been great experiences.
“I remember getting phone calls of jobs I didn’t want to do, but I had to do for the money and sitting in the car and just tearing up over the fact that like, ‘Hey, I really wish I could be doing that other job.’ And you just got to remind yourself, ‘You know what? Go have a good time, make some friends.”
“Because even the job you don’t want to do, everybody is working their ass off. Everybody’s really working hard. So if I bring in an attitude in there that is not going to serve everybody and serve the job, I think it’s a total disservice.”
When Ryan made his first Christmas movie, he was also up for some Marvel characters and got flack for going in a different direction.
“Some people could be a little snobby and be like, ‘Well, he is doing a lower budget Christmas movie.’ I was like, ‘You know what? I love Christmas.’ I love doing these movies. And I like making people happy, and I totally respect the audience.
“And I feel like they connect with me on that. And they see that, and it jumps off the screen. And I have a good time. I have a lot of fun, and I never take it for granted, no matter what level.
“If I’m doing a $60 million Gerard Butler movie where I got to play a Navy SEAL, in Hunter Killer, or whether I’m doing a very low budget film to favor for a friend, I just bring some positive energy to it and just try and have fun,” Ryan said.
That attitude works for Ryan. He co-wrote a song with Christian Bush from Sugarland for a holiday movie he did. And when his friend, Maria Menounos, wanted some work after a devastating loss, he offered her role in his latest movie at the time. It was small, but she was grateful for his support.
Ryan reveals himself to have a large heart and a genuine understanding of what touches the hearts of others. He doesn’t take his work or friendships for granted.
“Every time I get to do a job, you never know who are fans of this genre. So when it comes to the movie mystery space, I called Eva. And I was like, ‘Listen; I would love for you to be a part of this. You are just so special to me. I don’t know if you will do it, but we’d love to have you.’
And she’s like, ‘Are you kidding? Let’s go.’ And it just really, like you said, it just fills me up and makes me … It’s infectious. It’s infectious to have a group of people that all want to have a good time making movies and making our audience happy.”
For Cut, Color, Murder, Ryan developed the movie, and big-name writers Jason Filardi (17 Again, Bringing Down the House, Chapelwaite) and Walt Becker (Clifford, The Big Red Dog) came on board with a couple of others to write the script.
They sold the script to Hallmark a few years ago, and it’s been sitting on the shelf, but then their executive, Heather Overton, gave them the green light, noting, “We’re willing to take some chances that we weren’t willing to in the past.”
Ryan couldn’t be happier, “Because getting a yes in Hollywood is next to impossible.”
Ryan’s writing team sat down in a diner together and started pitching ideas to see what worked, arriving at the salon idea because “everybody opens up to hairstylists. She’s going to get the information.”
Ryan added, “What if she was the one who actually was uncredited for solving a lot of crime?” And they all added layers to the story until it became the movie you’ll watch on Sunday, February 6.
Ryan said they followed the story, including changing the original ending. “We were looking for something big to end on, something big. And then it just kind of presented itself in the way of us saying, ‘Hey, let’s get out of the way. Let’s get out of the way and not just make this all tidy and neat at the end. And let’s do something.’
“And we were really excited that Heather and Brett, our executives at Hallmark, were like, ‘Let’s go with it, guys. Let’s take it to the bosses.’ And nobody said no. You keep waiting for these nos. And they’re like, ‘Oh, now it’s going to be fun for the audience, in the way that we thought it was fun for ourselves.'”
While Ryan was involved in every aspect of Cut, Color, Murder, it was the Hallmark network execs who thought he should take a look at Julie Gonzalo for the lead. “When I looked at her work, I was like, “Sold. Done deal.”
I watched a couple of her movies, and I was like, I just love the nuance that she brings to it. I love the small moments that she brings. And her eyes are so expressive that, that’s to me where you really see what’s going on internally through the eyes.”
And if you’re already wondering if there could be more to the Cut, Color, Murder story going forward, so does Ryan.
“We’re putting together some stories that could definitely continue the Cut, Color, Murder world. So that’s what we’re working on right now. I think that if the audience shows up, we’ll make more. That’s where everybody’s at.”
And Ryan has a message for you, too. It’s simple. “Here’s my message to the audience. I want them to have fun.”
So get your in-person or Zoom watch parties together and join him and Julie on social media to chat about the movie and try to solve the case.
Cut, Color, Murder premieres on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries on Sunday, February 6 at 9/8c.
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Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.
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