Paul Campbell Reveals the Joke He Wasn't Allowed to Tell in a Hallmark Movie: 'Legally He Can't Marry His Cat'

The 'Three Wise Men and a Baby' co-writer and his two costars, Andrew Walker and Tyler Hynes, reflect on the ways Hallmark movies have evolved in recent years

Paul Campbell is sharing a not-safe-for-Hallmark joke that never made it on the screen.

The co-writer of the 2022 Hallmark hit, Three Wise Men and a Baby — in which he costarred alongside Andrew Walker and Tyler Hynes — Campbell, 44, opened up about this creative process and the ways the network is evolving its storytelling, weaving important storylines its scripts. In Three Wise Men and a Baby, for example, his character goes as far as taking anxiety medication on camera.

"To see him actually take the pills means you have to acknowledge that his disorder is a real thing," Campbell told Vulture. "If he doesn’t take the pills, you can kind of go, 'I don’t know. He’s got some stuff going on.' Hallmark said, 'Yeah, absolutely. We’d like to see that. That’s a big part of his journey.' I don’t know if three or four years ago that would’ve made it into the edit."

"That said, there are still some restrictions," he added. "I can’t write 'sucks.' I can write 'jerk,' which is pretty fun and opens some doors."

Related: Paul Campbell Says Tyler Hynes Is a 'Natural-Born Baby Whisperer' in 'Three Wise Men and a Baby'

Instead, Campbell shared that he either resorts to using the word "stinks" or leans "older" with his word choices like “rats” or “jeepers.”

"I wrote a joke about marrying a cat in a recent script," he recalled. "There was a joke where my character went, 'Marriage is different for everybody. Love is different. I love my cat, but I wouldn’t marry my cat.' And then another character goes, 'Yeah, because of the legal red tape.'"

"Hallmark told me, 'We can’t tell a joke about the only reason he’s not marrying his cat is because legally he can’t marry his cat,'" he continued. "They walked that one back. That was a good joke, though."

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Hynes and Walker also shared ways the Hallmark Channel has evolved.

"There’s no reason why you can’t represent more versions of love. I think the network feels the same way," says Hynes.

Walker noted that while the movies will continue to deliver on their promise of a hopeful, happy ending, not everything is being tied up with a perfect bow.

"I did a movie this year called Christmas Island, and at the end of the movie our characters were like, 'We don’t know how this is going to work, but we’ll try to make it work.' She goes off as a pilot, and I have to stay on the island. It wasn’t your typical Hallmark ending to a movie, because there’s still an element of uncertainty in the air."

Three Wise Men and a Baby was a Hallmark first as well, as it featured three male leads and centered around three brothers who are thrust into having to care for a baby just as Christmas approaches.

While speaking to PEOPLE at Hallmark's "Countdown to Christmas" event in October 2022, Campbell shared one of the most shocking things he learned about Hynes while filming the Christmas movie. "I think the most surprising thing is how good Tyler was with the babies. He was just like a natural-born baby whisperer," Campbell laughed. "He would take the crying baby, and he would just walk around whispering things to it."

"Andrew and I would just go, 'Oh, Tyler's got this figured out.' That goes on top of the résumé!" he added.

Related: Hallmark Reveals Full Schedule of 2023 Holiday Movies Featuring Lacey Chabert, Phylicia Rashad, and More

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Though working with babies ensured lots of crying on set, Campbell revealed that the emotional nature of the film tugged on their heartstrings and had them in tears while filming.

"It's a love story among three brothers... these three guys rediscovering each other," he said. "The emotional arcs and the character arcs are very similar to a traditional rom-com. They can't stand each other at the beginning of the movie, but by the end, there's three of us crying in a minivan and talking about their feelings."

Walker added, "It's the funniest project I probably have ever been a part of, but it's grounded with so much heart."

A special extended cut of Three Wise Men and a Baby is available for streaming on Hallmark Movies Now.

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