Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas: 47 new movies, holiday series to premiere in October 2024
(WTVO) — It may be the spooky season for some people, but for Hallmark Channel watchers, October means the network’s perennial “Countdown to Christmas” is about to begin, with 47 new movies and a first-ever limited series.
This is Hallmark’s 15th year of being TV’s jingle bell juggernaut.
Hallmark says it will debut the new films across the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Mystery, and on it’s Hallmark+ streaming channel.
Hallmark+ will make 600 hours of Christmas movies available in The Very Merry Holiday Collection and is set to premiere the holiday series Mistletoe Murders and Holidazed.
The Hallmark Channel will feature a reality show called Finding Mr. Christmas, as 10 men face-off in a variety of festive feats. The winner will star in the original movie Happy Howlidays. Another reality show, Ready, Set, Glow! will focus on finding spectacular holiday light displays around the country.
The company also plans three all-new movies in the Christmas on Cherry Lane series and four installments of Unwrapping Christmas.
More announcements include:
THRILLING ADVENT-URES
In The Christmas Quest, shot on location in Iceland, an archaeologist and her ex-husband race to keep a legendary treasure from falling into the wrong hands. A teacher and a retired hockey player team up for travel-based adventure show that combines physical challenges with riddles and yuletide cheer in Jingle Bell Run. In The Finnish Line, a woman competes in a dog-sled competition that takes her through Finland with a stop at the world-famous Santa Claus Village and the Arctic Circle. And a quiet librarian gets swept into a glamorous FBI sting operation in The Christmas Charade.
HA-HA HOLIDAY: YOUR FAVORITE TV COMEDY STARS
This holiday, some favorite TV comedy stars known for making you shake when you laugh like a bowl fully of jelly are bringing joy to Hallmark including Angela Kinsey (The Office) in Confessions of a Christmas Letter; Nichole Sakura (Superstore) in The Finnish Line; Melissa Peterman (Reba) serves as lead judge in Finding Mr. Christmas; John C. McGinley (Scrubs) and Lucille Soong (Fresh Off the Boat) in Holidazed; Diedrich Bader (American Housewife) and Christine Ebersole (Bob Hearts Abishola) in Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story; Emily Arlook (Grown-ish) in Leah’s Perfect Gift; Mallory Jansen (Galavant) in All I Need for Christmas; Caroline Rhea (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and Beth Broderick (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) in Holiday Mismatch and Maggie Lawson (Psych) in Sugarplummed.
IT’S SANTA SEASON
Everyone’s favorite elf – Santa himself – plays a special part in this year’s movies. From helping a woman find her perfect match through enigmatic notes in Santa Tell Me, to the mysterious connection he may have to a family’s vintage winter hat in Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story to needing help with remembering his own identity in order to save Christmas in The Santa Class, good ol’ St. Nick brings the jolly in droves.
JOIN IN REINDEER GAMES
In Jingle Bell Run, a quiet schoolteacher competes in a travel-based reality competition show that combines physical challenges with riddles and yuletide cheer. A Christmas Bar Trivia Tournament leads to love in Trivia at St. Nick’s. A woman tries to keep her family’s annual “Christmas Olympics” tradition going in ’Twas the Date Before Christmas.
OFFICE HOLIDAY PARTY
Did you get the memo? Hallmark’s holiday slate is a tale of two offices. Confessions of a Christmas Letter stars The Office alum Angela Kinsey with a special appearance by her Dunder Mifflin co-worker Brian Baumgartner, Office Space stars Diedrich Bader and Richard Riehle star in Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story and the other Bob, John C. McGinley, stars in Holidazed, an eight-episode limited series for Hallmark+.
REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO FESTIVE
Co-stars from the cult classic film Office Space, Diedrich Bader and Richard Riehle reunite in Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. Sabrina the Teenage Witch stars Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick rekindle the magic as two mothers trying to find love for their adult children but clash with each other in Holiday Mismatch. Pretty Little Liars alums Tammin Sursok and Brant Daugherty join forces as they try to be the last team standing in a Christmas-themed quiz tournament in Trivia at St. Nick’s. And former When Calls the Heart on-screen married couple Erin Krakow and Daniel Lissing are together again in Santa Tell Me.
LONG-TIME FAMILY MEMBERS, FIRST NOEL CO-STARS
Fans will be treated to couplings of some of their Hallmark favorites who star together for the first time this holiday season. Ashley Williams and Andrew Walker dash around the country together in Jingle Bell Run. Lacey Chabert and Kristoffer Polaha go on an Icelandic adventure in The Christmas Quest. Kimberley Sustad and Benjamin Ayres are running a school for would-be St. Nicks in The Santa Class. Over on Hallmark Mystery, This Time Each Year pairs Alison Sweeney and Niall Matter in a poignant and uplifting tale. And in Our Holiday Story, Nikki DeLoach and Warren Christie take a trip down memory lane.
TRADING FOOTLIGHTS FOR CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
Some of Broadway’s best take center stage in this year’s tinsel-trimmed lineup, such as Ginna Claire Mason (Wicked), Jordan Litz (Wicked) and two-time Tony nominee Charlotte d’Amboise (Pippin, Chicago) in A Carol for Two; Jordan Fisher (Dear Evan Hansen, Sweeney Todd) is in The 5-Year Christmas Party; Tony Award nominee Derek Klena (Anastasia, Moulin Rouge, Jagged Little Pill) in Private Princess Christmas; Corey Cott (Newsies, Gigi, Bandstand, The Heart of Rock and Roll) in Season’s Greetings from Cherry Lane and two-time Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole (Oklahoma!, 42nd Street) in Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.
THE MORE THE MERRIER – SEQUELS AND FRANCHISES
The Brenner brothers (Paul Campbell, Andrew Walker, Tyler Hynes) are back in Three Wiser Men and a Boy, the follow-up to the #1 most-watched cable movie of 2022, Three Wise Men and a Baby. This time they find themselves having to step in to direct a Christmas play for Luke’s (Walker) son and his class, while the bonded brothers try to come to terms with their mom’s (Margaret Colin) new romance. In Debbie Macomber’s Joyful Mrs. Miracle, Rachel Boston stars as Mrs. Merkel in the continuation of the popular franchise. In this latest tale, she uses her special brand of holiday magic to help a family honor their late grandmother’s wish. And it’s triple the tinsel with not one, but three new movies inspired by last year’s Christmas on Cherry Lane: Season’s Greetings from Cherry Lane, Happy Holidays from Cherry Lane and Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane.
HALLMARK CHANNEL’S MERRY THANKSGIVING WEEKEND
Viewers will have much to be thankful for when Hallmark Channel once again serves up extra helpings of holiday fare during its annual Merry Thanksgiving Weekend. After a long day of gridiron action and gobbling food, viewers can unwind with an all-new original movie premiere on Thanksgiving night at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Starting Friday, November 29 and continuing through Sunday, December 1, fans can put away their holiday shopping bags and put up their feet as they settle in to enjoy a double feature with new movies premiering at 6 p.m. ET/PT and 8 p.m. ET/PT each night. For anyone
To see the full lineup, click here.
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