Andrew Walker, Paul Campbell and Tyler Hynes return in Hallmark’s Three Wiser Men And A Boy

The wait is finally over. One of the most anticipated holiday films of the year is finally here! The Brenner boys are back. Yes, Andrew Walker, Tyler Hynes and Paul Campbell have returned Three wiser men and a boy on Hallmark Channel.

As we reported last spring, the network announced that fans’ wishes had been granted. The most-watched cable TV movie of 2022 will be getting a sequel this holiday season. It’s a responsibility the cast didn’t take lightly, as Andrew Walker said Life in the South.

“We were all nervous. This film was for the fans,” he said. They noted that they all understood that it was thanks to the fans that they were able to come back and make another film. “It was just big shoes to fill. I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves because we really wanted to give them something that they would like.”

In the first film Three kings and a babywe meet the Brenner boys Luke (Walker), Stephen (Campbell) and Taylor (Hynes) and their mother Barbara, played by Margert Colin. A baby is left with just a note that firefighter Luke has to take care of until the unknown mother can return. Barbara is called to help her sister recover after a bad fall, and the care of this mysterious baby falls to the three brothers.

What follows is a series of hilarious situations as the brothers go through a parenting boot camp and learn to trust each other again. This first installment gave us Hallmark guys in elf costumes, Tyler Hynes with Baby Björn, and of course the Sugar Plum Fairy Dance. Spoiler alert: At the end of the film, the baby’s mother returns and she and Luke fall in love.

When we rejoin the Brenner family in the second film, five years have passed. Luke is now a fire chief and married to Sophie. Thomas is no longer a baby, he is a little boy in kindergarten. Stephen is retired from animal psychiatry and is now in the self-help industry, having written a book about how he overcame his anxiety. He and Susie are still together but not married yet. And Taylor, well, he’s single and still looking for his career. All three brothers are still very actively involved in their nephew’s life. Something has also changed for Barbara, because she has a new love interest that the Brenner boys don’t get along with so well.

The quick-witted banter between brothers is still plentiful in this sequel and all three actors flex their comedic muscles. They play off each other so well that sometimes you forget you’re watching a movie. Walker credits his co-stars’ work in the comedy. “Honestly, Paul and Tyler, I feel like they add value to my work. Both are very agile actors. And I also put a lot of pressure on myself to just get up.” However, when asked which of them will break first when the laughter can no longer be suppressed, Walker answered without hesitation: “Paul. Light. I’m so glad I’m not.”

Besides the laughs, this story also has many heartfelt moments. For Walker, his character is now 42 years old, he’s in charge at work but isn’t necessarily the center of attention, his mother and brothers don’t need him as much anymore, and a lot of his identity now revolves around being the father to be from Thomas. It’s these “nuanced” levels, as Walker put it, that excited him about the role. Particularly noteworthy is the story about the father-son relationship with Thomas, played by Miles Marthaller.

“Miles – he’s the sleeping star of this movie,” Walker said. “He’s incredible. It was so hard for them to find this little guy and he was from Vancouver and he was this little boy from the Vancouver area. When you walked into the room and did your audition, they knew immediately: This is the boy.”

There is a very tender scene between Walker and Marthaller where Luke puts Thomas to bed. Walker said it was a very sweet, simple scene, but one that really touched him as the father of a four-year-old and a nine-year-old boy. He used his real life experience as a father to bring real emotion to this sweet moment. He said it was one of his favorite days on set.

Paul Campbell and his Hallmark co-star Kimberly Sustad wrote this script as well as the first film. Walker remembers a day when she was on set with the rest of the cast, and he said he felt a moment of gratitude for being allowed to make a second one of these films. “I feel so lucky to be part of this group.”

Three wiser men and a boy Premieres on Hallmark Channel, Saturday, November 23, 8:00 p.m. EST.