The Good Witch
The Good Witch is a television film that aired on the Hallmark Channel on January 19, 2008. It stars Catherine Bell as Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale and Chris Potter as chief of police Jake Russell. The film has spawned six followup television films, and the television series "Good Witch" (2015–2021). Plot. Grey House—an old, abandoned building in the town of Middleton—is infamous for being haunted by its former owner, known as "The Grey Lady". Police Chief Inspector Jake Russell decides to investigate when rumors start to spread of someone occupying the house. He enters the building , accompanied by the town mayor's wife Martha Tinsdale, and is welcomed by a mysterious, beautiful woman who introduces herself as Cassandra Nightingale. She tells them she had just moved in, and plans to open a shop on Main Street. Later, Jake Russell's children Brandon and Lori are chased by a dog on their way home from school. They end up in the front yard of Grey House and Lori falls and bruises her knee. Cassie appears and makes the dog stop just by looking at it. She talks to the dog, and tells it to behave better and  go home. The dog does as told. She invites the children into her house to take care of Lori's knee. The kitchen is full of vials and bottles containing various herbs, which leads Brandon to believe that Cassie is a witch. The new shop on Main Street is also filled with elixirs and herbs from around the world. This leads many townspeople, especially Martha Tinsdale, to believe Cassie practices black magic. As Jake Russell investigates mysterious occurrences, he and Cassie frequently interact. A mutual attraction evolves, leading him to ask her out on a date. As time passes, some  people in Middleton continue to be hostile toward Cassie and she considers leaving town. However, she postpones the date when Jake convinces her to stay. The couple spend a romantic evening at Grey House where they kiss. Production. Although set in Middleton, USA, it was filmed in Hamilton, Cambridge and Niagara-on-the-Lake, in Ontario, Canada. In the sequel, "The Good Witch's Charm", the map on the wall in the police station shows Middleton located southwest of Chicago, in the vicinity of DuPage County. The names of the suburbs and interstates that are west of Chicago can be  clearly seen. Promotion and release. On January 15, 2008, Hallmark Channel and Limbo, the mobile entertainment community, teamed up to create and launch the cable network's first-ever mobile interactive initiative. The campaign "enhanced viewers' experience of the premiere of the network's original movie ... through 'Limbo Unique' – a game played via cell phone or online". The grand prize was $2,000 and a portrait of the "Grey Lady" that was featured in the movie. Home media. The "Good Witch" (Region 1) DVD was released on January 5, 2010. "The Good Witch Collection" (Region 1) DVD was released October  14, 2014. Reception. The movie had great success on Hallmark Channel on the night of its premiere, making it the second-highest-rated original movie to that date. It premiered with a 3.8 HH (household) rating and was in nearly 3.2 million homes. It also was #1 in its time period, propelling the channel to the #4 spot in weekly ranking. Film series. In addition to the original television movie, the Hallmark Channel has aired six followup television films. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> Television series. In February 2014, the Hallmark Channel announced that "Good Witch" had been green-lighted for a  ten-episode series, starring Catherine Bell, to premiere on February 28, 2015. Production for the first season began on October 29, 2014, in Toronto, with Sue Tenney as showrunner. Bailee Madison and James Denton also star. The series ran for seven seasons, concluding on July 25, 2021.