image of woman looking at a meeting of coworkers

Hallmark Media executive vice president of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly instructed a former employee not to cast "old people" for Hallmark roles, saying that "our leading ladies are aging out," according to a lawsuit filed against the network this month and obtained by The Associated Press.

Penny Perry, a 79-year old casting director who filed the lawsuit Oct. 9 in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that she was wrongfully fired from the network known its feel-good movies because of her age, and despite stellar performance reviews.