Hallmark's 2020 Christmas Movie Slate Is Finally Here and It's More Diverse Than Ever
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
Put down those PSLs and forget about carving those pumpkins because Hallmark Channel just released the full line-up of movies for 2020's Countdown to Christmas, which officially begins on Oct. 24. So who needs Halloween when you can have the holiday season that early?!
Of course, the Queen of Christmas Candace Cameron Bure is back in action, starring in her ninth film for the network, while Lacey Chabert is working double, leading two movies, and Danica McKellar is returning for her sixth holiday outing.
And while we're excited for those perennial favorites' latest projects, what we're most thrilled with is that the new 40-movie slate is Hallmark's most diverse and inclusive ever, including the network's first lead gay couple trying to adopt a child in The Christmas House, starring Mean Girls' Jonathan Bennett, and Holly Robinson Peete and Rukiya Bernard finally take the lead in the fourth release in the Christmas in Evergreen franchise.
Plus, Hallmark is once again celebrating Hanukkah and has several movies featuring interracial main couples, a first for their successful programming event. Talk about the cheer we definitely need this year.
Breaking Down Hallmark's Roster of Christmas Movie Leading Men
"Our holiday table is bigger and more welcoming than ever. This year's movies reflect our most diverse representation of talent, narratives, and families, including The Christmas House featuring a storyline about a gay couple looking to adopt their first child, and starring Jonathan Bennett in an ensemble cast," Michelle Vicary, EVP, Programming, said in a statement. "Our movies are rooted in warmth and positivity, meaningful connections, family gatherings, and seasonal traditions—a winning formula we hope will bring our millions of viewers much-needed levity and holiday cheer at the end of a tough year."
The seasonal affair is also adding several new faces to its already stacked roster of leads, including Aaron Tveit, Janel Parrish, Jeremy Jordan, Marisol Nichols and Krystal Joy Brown, among others.
Check out the full schedule with all of the details we know so far.
Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas (all movies premiere at 9 p.m. ET)
Jingle Bell Bride
Stars: Julie Gonzalo and Ronnie Rowe Jr.
What It's About: Wedding planner Jessica Perez (Gonzalo) travels to a remote town in Alaska to find a rare flower for a celebrity client and is charmed by the small town during Christmas, as well as the handsome local (Rowe Jr.) helping her.
Airs: Saturday, Oct. 24
Chateau Christmas
Stars: Merritt Patterson and Luke Macfarlane
What It's About: Margot (Patterson), a world-renowned pianist, returns to Chateau Newhaus to spend the holidays with her family and is reunited with an ex(Macfarlane) who helps her rediscover her passion for music.
Airs: Sunday, Oct. 25
Christmas With the Darlings
Stars: Katrina Law and Carlo Marks
What It's About: Just before the holidays JessicaLew (Law) is ending her tenure as the assistant to her wealthy boss to use her recently earned law degree within his company, but offers to help his charming, younger brother (Marks) as he looks after his orphaned nieces and nephew over Christmas.
Airs: Saturday, Oct. 31
One Royal Holiday
Stars: Laura Osnes, Aaron Tveit, Krystal Joy Brown, Victoria Clark and Tom McGowan
What It's About: When Anna (Osnes) offers a stranded mother(Clark) and son (Tveit) shelter in a blizzard, she learns that they are the Royal Family of Galwick. Anna shows the Prince how they do Christmas in her hometown, encouraging him to open his heart and be true to himself.
Airs: Sunday, Nov. 1
Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater
Stars: Ashley Williams and Niall Matter
What It's About: Single mom Maggie (Williams) is facing Christmas alone until Lucas (Matter) crashes into her life and becomes an unexpected house-guest. Together they overcome Christmas while finding comfort in their growing bond.
Airs: Saturday, Nov. 7
On the 12th Date of Christmas
Stars: Mallory Jansen and Tyler Hynes
What It's About: Two seemingly incompatible game designers team up to create a romantic, city-wide scavenger hunt themed for the "12 Days of Christmas."
Airs: Sunday, Nov. 8
How Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies Unexpectedly Became a Coveted Rite of Passage
Christmas in Vienna
Stars: Sarah Drew and Brennan Elliott
What It's About: Jess (Drew), a concert violinist whose heart just isn't in it anymore, goes to Vienna for a performance. While there, she finds the inspiration she has been missing, and a new love.
Airs: Saturday, Nov. 14
A Timeless Christmas
Stars: Ryan Paevey and Erin Cahill
What It's About: Charles Whitley (Paevey) travels from 1903 to 2020 where he meets Megan Turner (Cahill), a tour guide at his historic mansion, and experiences a 21st Century Christmas.
Airs: Sunday, Nov. 15
A Nashville Christmas Carol
Stars: Jessy Schram, Wes Brown, Wynonna Judd, Sara Evans, RaeLynn, Kix Brooks and Kimberly Williams-Paisley
What It's About: Vivienne Wake (Schram), a workaholic television producer in charge of a country music Christmas special showcasing newcomer Alexis (Raelynn), never lets personal feelings get in the way of business. On the verge of accepting a job in LA, and with the return of Gavin Chase (Brown), her childhood sweetheart and manager to the special's headliner, Belinda (Evans), she receives a visit from the ghost of her recently deceased mentor, Marilyn (Judd). Her mentor warns her current path leads to a dark future and has recruited both the Spirit of Christmas Past (Brooks) and the Spirit of Christmas Present (Williams-Paisley) to help her get back on track. The Spirits' time-jumping adventures force Vivienne to take hold of her life.
Airs: Saturday, Nov. 21
The Christmas House
Stars: Robert Buckley, Jonathan Bennett, Ana Ayora, Treat Williams, Sharon Lawrence and Brad Harder
What it's About: Working through some difficult decisions, Mitchell family matriarch Phylis (Lawrence) and patriarch Bill (Williams), have summoned their two grown sons—TV star Mike (Buckley) and Brandon (Bennett)—home for the holidays. It is their hope that bringing the family together to recreate the Christmas house, will help them find resolution and make a memorable holiday for the entire family and community. As Brandon and his husband Jake (Harder) make the trip home, they are anxiously awaiting a call about the adoption of their first child. Meanwhile, Mike reconnects with Andi( Ayora), his high school sweetheart.
When It Airs: Sunday, Nov. 22
A new movie will air on Monday, Nov. 23, though it has yet to be announced.
A Christmas Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Stars: Rochelle Aytes and Mark Taylor
What It's About: Erin (Aytes) is planning the town's Christmas celebration and must win over firefighter Kevin (Taylor) in order to obtain the beautiful spruce tree from his property for the celebration.
Airs: Tuesday, Nov. 24
A Bright and Merry Christmas
Stars: Alison Sweeney and Marc Blucas
What It's About: Two competing TV hosts (Sweeney and Blucas) are sent to a festive small town over Christmas. While pretending to get along for the sake of appearances, they discover that there's more to each other than they though
Airs: Wednesday, Nov. 25
Five Star Christmas (working title)
Stars: Bethany Joy Lenz and Victor Webster
What It's About: After moving back to her hometown, Lisa (Lenz) plots with her siblings and grandparents to help her father's new bed and breakfast get a five-star review from an incognito travel critic (Webster), but ends up falling for him, not knowing he is the real critic.
Airs: Thursday, Nov. 26
Christmas By Starlight
Stars: Kimberley Sustad and Paul Campbell
What It's About: Annie (Sustad), a lawyer,must help her loved ones this holiday season. Her family's restaurant, The Starlight Café, is slated for demolition. The heir to the development firm responsible, William (Campbell), makes her an unlikely proposition: He'll spare the café if Annie spends the week "appearing" as the legal counsel his father is demanding he hire in the wake of some costly mistakes.
Airs: Friday, Nov. 27
Watch Candace Cameron Bure Reveal Her Daily Skincare Routine
Christmas Waltz
Stars: Lacey Chabert, Will Kemp and JT Church
What It's About: After Avery's (Chabert) storybook Christmas wedding is canceled unexpectedly, dance instructor Roman (Kemp) helps her rebuild her dreams.
Airs: Saturday, Nov. 28
If I Only Had Christmas
Stars: Candace Cameron Bure and Warren Christie
What it's About: At Christmas, a cheerful publicist (Bure) teams up with a cynical business owner (Christie) and his team to help a charity in need
Airs: Sunday, Nov. 29
Christmas in Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing
Stars: Holly Robinson Peete, Colin Lawrence, Rukiya Bernard, Antonio Cayonne and Barbara Niven
What It's About: As Michelle's (Peete) wedding approaches, Hannah (Bernard) steps up to help finish the launch of the new Evergreen museum while questioning her relationship and future with Elliot (Cayonne).
Airs: Saturday, Dec. 5
Christmas She Wrote
Stars: Danica McKellar and Dylan Neal
What It's About: When Kayleigh (McKellar), a romance writer, has her column cancelled right before Christmas, she heads home to reconnect with her family. Kayleigh gets an unexpected visit from the man(Neal) who cancelled her column who fights not only to bring her back to the publisher but also for her heart.
Airs: Sunday, Dec. 6
Cross Country Christmas
Stars: Rachael Leigh Cook and Greyston Holt
What It's About: Former classmates Lina (Cook) and Max (Holt) are traveling home for the holidays, until a storm hits and they have to work together to make it home in time, no matter the mode of transportation.
Airs: Saturday, Dec. 12
Christmas Come Twice
Stars: Tamera Mowry-Housley and Michael Xavier
What It's About: Emily (Mowry-Housley) is a top newscaster who has achieved her career dreams but still has regrets about the guy (Xavier) who got away five years earlier. When the Christmas carnival comes to town, a ride around the carousel takes her magically back in time to the carnival five years before...giving her a second chance at love before she must return to Christmas present.
Airs: Sunday, Dec. 13
Kardashian-Jenner Christmas Party 2019
Christmas Carousel
Stars: Rachel Boston and Neal Bledsoe
What It's About: When Lila (Boston) is hired by the Royal Family of Marcadiato repair a carousel, she must work with the Prince (Bledsoe) to complete it by Christmas
Airs: Saturday, Dec. 19
Love, Lights, Hanukkah!
Stars: Mia Kirshner, Ben Savage and Marilu Henner
What It's About: As Christina (Kirshner) prepares her restaurant for its busiest time of year, she gets back a DNA test revealing that she's Jewish.The discovery leads her to a new family and an unlikely romance over eight nights.
Airs: Sunday, Dec. 20
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries' Miracles of Christmas (all movies premiere at 9 p.m. ET)
Christmas Tree Lane
Stars: Alicia Witt, Andrew Walker, Drake Hogestyn and Briana Price
What It's About: Music store owner Meg (Witt) spearheads the community effort to save the Christmas Tree Lane shopping district from demolition. As she finds herself falling for Nate (Walker), a recent acquaintance, she's thrown when she learns his surprising tie to the developer.
Airs: Saturday, Oct. 24
Deliver By Christmas
Stars: Alvina August and Eion Bailey
What It's About: Bakery owner Molly (August) meets Josh (Bailey), a widower who recently moved to town with his young son, but she is also charmed by a mysterious client whom she's never met in person and she doesn't realize that they're the same man.
Airs: Sunday, Oct. 25
Cranberry Christmas
Stars: Nikki DeLoach and Benjamin Ayres
What It's About: A separated couple (DeLoach and Ayres) feign marital bliss on national television to help their town's Christmas festival—and their business. But what will the future hold for them when rekindled love is complicated by new opportunities?
Airs: Saturday, Oct. 31
Holly & Ivy
Stars: Janel Parrish, Jeremey Jordan and Marisol Nichols
What It's About: When Melody's (Parrish) neighbor, Nina (Nichols), learns that her illness has returned, Melody promises to keep Nina's kids, Holly & Ivy, together. To adopt the children, she must renovate her new fixer-upper, which she does with the help of contractor, Adam (Jordan).
Airs: Sunday, Nov. 1
The Christmas Ring
Stars: Nazneen Contractor and David Alpay
What It's About: A reporter (Contractor) searches for the love story behind an antique engagement ring. With the help of the ring's owner's grandson(Alpay), they learn the legacy his grandparent's left behind.
Airs: Saturday, Nov. 7
The Christmas Bow
Stars: Lucia Micarelli and Michael Rady
What It's About: When an accident puts her music dreams on hold, a gifted violinist (Micarelli) reconnects with an old family friend (Rady), who helps her heal and find love during the holidays.
Airs: Sunday, Nov. 8
Meet Me At Christmas (working title)
Stars: Catherine Bell and Mark Deklin
What It's About: When Joan's (Bell) son's wedding planner unexpectedly quits, she must coordinate his Christmas Eve wedding with the help of Beau (Deklin), the bride's uncle. As they work alongside each other they discover their fates and pasts are intertwined
Airs: Saturday, Nov. 14
The Christmas Doctor
Stars: Holly Robinson Peete and Adrian Holmes
What It's About: A week before Christmas, Dr. Alicia Wright (Peete) is offered an assignment away from home. A mysterious man (Holmes) from her past journeys to find her before Christmas and brings with him a revelation that could change Alicia's life forever.
Airs: Sunday, Nov. 15
A Little Christmas Charm
Stars: Ashley Greene and Brendan Penny
What It's About: Holly (Greene), a jewelry designer finds a lost charm bracelet and teams up with investigative reporter Greg (Penny) in hopes of finding the owner and returning it by Christmas Eve.
Airs: Saturday, Nov. 21
The Angel Tree
Stars: Jill Wagner and Lucas Bryant
What It's About: A writer (Wagner) seeks the identity of the person who helps grant wishes that are placed upon the angel tree, and in the process, reconnects with her childhood friend (Bryant).
Airs: Sunday, Nov. 22
USS Christmas
Stars: Jen Lilley, Trevor Donovan and Barbara Niven
What It's About: Maddie (Lilley), a reporter for a Norfolk newspaper, embarks on a Tiger Cruise during Christmastime where she meets a handsome naval officer (Donovan) and stumbles upon a mystery in the ship's archive room.
Airs: Saturday, Nov. 28
Time For Us to Come Home for Christmas
Stars: Lacey Chabert and Stephen Huszar
What It's About: Five guests are mysteriously invited to an inn to celebrate Christmas. With the help of the owner Ben (Huszar), Sarah (Chabert) discovers that an event from the past may connect them and change their lives forever. Executive produced by Blake Shelton.
Airs: Saturday, Dec. 5
A Godwink Christmas: First Loves, Second Chances
Stars: Brooke D'Orsay and Sam Page
After 15 years, Pat (Page) moves home from Hawaii with his two sons and through a series of coincidences, or Godwinks, ends up stuck in traffic next to his high school sweetheart, Margie (D'Orsay), at Christmas.
Airs: Sunday, Dec. 6
A Glenbrooke Christmas
Stars: Autumn Reeser and Antonio Cupo
What It's About: As Christmas nears, heiress Jessica Morgan (Reeser) seizes what seems like her last chance to experience a relaxed Christmas and heads off to the small town of Glenbrooke, where she meets a handsome fireman (Cupo).
Airs: Saturday, Dec. 12
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Christmas Homecoming (working title)
Stars: Taylor Cole and Steve Lund
What It's About: When a mysterious key and a holiday riddle arrive on their doorsteps, Kate (Cole) and Kevin (Lund) embark on a Christmas romance adventure they'll never forget.
Airs: Sunday, Dec. 13
Swept Up by Christmas (working title)
Stars: TBD
What It's About: An antique seller and a cleaner clash over how to downsize a magnificent estate right before Christmas. As the two uncover the house's treasures, they find a way to reconnect the reclusive owner with his own Christmases past.
Airs: Saturday, Dec. 19
Project Christmas Wish
Stars: TBD
What It's About: For years Lucy has played Santa to her small town's community by making their holiday wishes come true. But when Lucy grants a little girl's wish for a Christmas like she used to have with her Mom, she unexpectedly finds her own wishes coming true in life and love.
Airs: Sunday, Dec. 20
Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. ET.
