Keshet Studios, the U.S. Studio owned by global producer and distributor Keshet International (KI), has been commissioned by Hallmark Media to produce “Small Town Setup” - a new romantic comedy dating series that takes neighborly help to a whole new level - for its reimagined streaming service Hallmark+. Currently in pre-production with Ailee O’Neill (“Paris in Love,” “Welcome Home Nikki Glaser”) on board as Showrunner, this uplifting 6 x 60’ series is expected to premiere on Hallmark Media’s reimagined streaming service Hallmark+ in 2025. Produced by Keshet Studios, “Small Town Setup” will be Executive Produced by Keshet Studios’ Peter Traugott and Rebecca Mayer, Keshet International’s Keren Shahar, and Keshet Media Group’s Avi Nir, alongside Showrunner/EP O’Neill and Host/EP Williams.
The series is based on Keshet Broadcasting’s International Emmy®-nominated format “Dear Neighbors" which harks back to the good old days when parents, relatives and neighbors would play matchmaker, helping young people find love with the person they would then marry, have children, and live happily ever after with.
Hosted by Hallmark-favorite Ashley Williams (“How I Met Your Mother,” "Two Tickets to Paradise”), “Small Town Setup” is a heartwarming unscripted, romantic comedy docu-style dating series that explores the unique charm of small-town America and its welcoming community. In each episode, the audience meets different hometown parents with a big problem – their successful adult child lives far away in a big city – and is still single. The couple gathers their neighbors and asks for help to find a match for their “city single.” Now, the entire community is on the hunt to find the three best “daters” for them to have hometown adventures with, in the hope they will fall in love, move back home, and live happily ever after.
Lisa Hamilton Daly, Hallmark Media’s EVP of Programming said: “We are always looking for new ways to expand our content and grow our audiences while staying true to the Hallmark brand that people know and love. Our Unscripted slate is inspiring, heartwarming, and entertaining, with a fresh authenticity so true to Hallmark’s DNA.”
Rebecca Mayer, Keshet Studios’ EVP of Unscripted commented: “It is exciting to produce an aspirational series like ‘Small Town Setup’ and it is an honor to be a part of Hallmark’s first Unscripted slate. ‘Small Town Setup’ has all the elements that truly make it a Hallmark movie come to life – from heartwarming stories to genuine laughter, to the importance of love, family, and community.”
Keren Shahar, KI’s CEO added: “‘Dear Neighbors’ is one of those feelgood, uplifting formats that taps into that warm, fuzzy feeling of a close-knit community coming together for a good cause… all with a little neighborly meddling mixed in to spice things up! I am so excited and proud for the Keshet Studios team on their first commission and cannot wait to see how Ailee, Ashley and Rebecca bring their magic sparkle to it. Hallmark+ is the perfect home for ‘Small Town Setup.’”
As well as being part of Hallmark Media’s newly announced Unscripted slate, “Small Town Setup” is also Keshet Studios’ first unscripted commission since it launched its new Unscripted division in April 2023, with the appointment of former Showrunner Rebecca Mayer as EVP of Unscripted and Benjamin Long as VP of Unscripted in two newly created roles. Reporting to Keshet Studios’ President Peter Traugott, Mayer is tasked with expanding KI’s unscripted production footprint in the U.S. while building on Keshet Studios’ recent scripted production successes. Historically, Keshet Studios is best known for developing, packaging, and producing scripted content for the U.S. and global markets, including “A Small Light” (NatGeo/Disney+), “Echo 3” (Apple TV+), and “La Brea" (three seasons co-produced with Universal Television for NBC).
As a team, Mayer and Long have focussed on mining KI’s extensive catalog of international IP to build a non-scripted slate of entertainment formats specifically for the U.S. broadcast, cable and streaming markets, alongside developing original IP for the U.S. that will be distributed internationally by KI. At present, the prolific duo has over 20 unscripted projects - original, IP-based, and third-party - in various stages of development with partners in the U.S. and abroad, including their original physical comedy gameshow format “Stuck!,” which was launched to market at MIPCOM 2023 by Keshet International.
Originally produced by Dana Dayan’s Fushia Productions for Keshet 12, “Dear Neighbors” was one of four shows nominated at the 41st International Emmy® Awards in the Non-Scripted Entertainment Category, having debuted strongly in Israel with an average series share of 37.7%. Keshet International is the international distributor for the relationship format.