Lori Loughlin’s first movie post-prison is now on Netflix

Now that Halloween is over, a slew of winter and holiday-themed movies are hitting Netflix — including Lori Loughlin’s first film following her time in prison for her part in the college admissions scandal.
Although Loughlin has not returned to Hallmark, where she starred in the popular series “When Calls the Heart” for several years, she has returned to acting following her release from federal prison in December 2020.
About a year after serving a two-month sentence, Loughlin reprised her role as Abigail Stanton for “When Hope Calls,” a Great American Family spinoff of the “When Calls the Heart” series, the Deseret News previously reported.
Since then, Loughlin’s other appearances on the Great American Family network have included the film “Fall Into Winter” — which initially aired in January 2023 and marks her first film after prison — and “Blessings of Christmas” which premiered last November.
“Blessings of Christmas” was reportedly inspired by Loughlin’s real-life volunteer experience with Project Angel Food, per Parade.
For the community service that was part of her plea deal in the college admissions scandal, Loughlin, who was an executive producer for the film, completed 100 hours with Project Angel Food, Entertainment Tonight reported.
“Fall into Winter” has already cracked the top 10 films on Netflix since its release at the start of November.
In the rom-com, Loughlin plays Kerry, a woman who has to work alongside Brooks (James Tupper) — an old friend of her brother’s who was her high school nemesis — when he unexpectedly buys into her family-owned candy shop, per a description on IMDb.
At the start, Brooks’ business-oriented nature and focus on the bottom line clashes with the small-town charm that has surrounded Kerry her whole life.
“I think viewers will love the love story,” Loughlin said in a video ahead of the film’s release last year. “And it’s a feel-good film. I think it’s nice to sit back and be able to watch something with the entire family. It puts a smile on your face.”
Despite its popularity on Netflix, the film doesn’t have much favor on Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience score of 33%.
Per her IMDb, Loughlin hasn’t done much acting since her two films last year.
Earlier this year, she appeared as herself in an episode of the 12th and final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” where she was a golfer excluded from Los Angeles-area country clubs due to the college admissions scandal, per The Hollywood Reporter. Following a speech inspired by The Gettysburg Address, Larry David is able to get Loughlin approved for a membership.
“By leaning into this arc, Loughlin not only seems to have a good sense of humor about herself, she’s also in on the joke,” wrote Jackie Strause for The Hollywood Reporter.
“It’s great to be able to laugh at yourself. It’s a great way to put the past behind you,” Jeff Schaffer, executive producer of “Curb,” told The Hollywood Reporter. “I hope it helps her career. She was great, and she should work. She was really funny and wonderful to work with. People should see, ‘Oh, she’s really funny. She’s great in this stuff.’ So yeah, I hope she does get to work because she deserves to.”