If you’ve been watching The Chicken Sisters on Hallmark Channel (or maybe you already streamed it on Hallmark +) and have fallen for the fierce and fabulous ladies of Merinac, we have great news. The powers that be at Hallmark announced Monday morning that the story will continue. Wendie Malick, Lea Thompson, Schuyler Fisk, and Genevieve Angelson will return for a second season. Production is currently underway. 

The first season introduced us to the dynamic and vibrant characters created originally in the novel of the same name by K.J. Dell’Antonia. There is big drama in the tiny, fictional, Southern town of Merinac. Gus (Wendie Malick) owns Mimi’s, a chicken shop that has been in the family for generations. But her own daughters are not helping her run the business. Her eldest daughter Mae (Genevieve Angelson) shed her small town persona to recreate herself in the big city as a television host. Mae’s sister Amanda (Schuyler Fisk) crossed enemy lines when she married Frank Jr., son of Nancy (Lea Thompson) who owns Frannie’s, the arch rival chicken shop. 

When Amanda sends a letter to a reality competition show, suddenly life in the quiet town turns upside down when the TV crew come to Merinac and Mae returns home for the action. Suddenly it’s a showdown between Mae and her mother versus Amanda and the mother figure she chose over her own family. The feud between families is played out on camera for the world to see. 

While the first season stayed very close to the storyline the book laid out, the season finale (which we won’t spoil as it has yet to air on Hallmark Channel) ends in much of the same way the novel does. So, where do we go from here? Hallmark said in a press release that Showrunner and Executive Producer Erin Gibson has taken on the task of expanding the storyline “beyond the pages of the book.”

The second season will bring all new family-centric drama and likely humor as well. And, it will also see the cast expanding. Hallmark announced that David James Elliott (Trumbo, JAG) will be joining the series in a recurring role. 

If you didn’t already stream the full series, The Chicken Sisters is airing now episodically on Hallmark Channel on Sunday evenings. There are plenty of ways to get caught up and ready for the next chapter. We cannot wait.