I’ve been an avid Christmas movie viewer since about 2016, the first year I tuned in for an upcoming Hallmark movie. The viewership amped up considerably during the pandemic and when I was helping caretake my mother when she fought cancer, and as the cabler upped up its number of movies hitting the Christmas schedule each year, I upped my viewership too. But I have to say, it felt like there was a little magic missing in 2024 and I’d like to see that change in 2025. Here’s what I’d like to see change in the coming year.
More High Tier Scripts Are Needed
Hallmark content is typically split, at least in my mind, into two different tiers. The more known faces tend to get higher quality co-stars, better written conceits and scripts and the lower tier goes to lesser known individuals on the brand to fill the network’s mad Countdown to Christmas quota. It’s fine in my mind if the network wants to invest fewer resources into that lower tier content, but in my mind there were way fewer winners this past year in that higher tier. I did like Lacey Chabert and Krisoffer Polaha’s The Christmas Quest. Of course, there were a few other bright spots on the schedule, but even the high tier stuff felt a little stilted to me compared to other years.
I actually thought Hallmark’s most high-profile movie of the season Holiday Touchdown: A Chief’s Love Story had a really silly script and also had some really bad fake snow CGI’d in, despite its charming cast including Momma Donna Kelce. And a lot of the “types” of movies Hallmark tends to like to repeat – a time travel concept, a Christmas comedy etc – just had less exciting premises than normal.
For example, the most high-profile “comedy” movie the network put out this year was (probably) Three Wiser Men and a Boy. I’m not going to say I hated this movie, because I absolutely didn’t, but when you stack the sequel up against its predecessor Three Wise Men and a Baby or other delightful comedies like Haul Out The Holly, other years just produced a better lineup for the network.
Another example? Time travel is often a topic that crops up in Hallmark Christmas films and in 2023 we got A Biltmore Christmas starring Kristoffer Polaha and Bethany Joy Lenz, which might be the best time travel movie the network has ever put together, though I think the underrated Love Strikes Twice, the accurately rated A Timeless Christmas and the delightfully cast Next Stop, Christmas should also be in that mix. In 2024, however, we got That ‘90s Christmas, a premise that should have been great but fell a little flat and I think it had a lot to do with the writing.
I don’t know if the network was trying to cut budget with Hallmark+ getting off the ground, there were BTS decisions being made that weren’t the best fit (Lisa Hamilton Daly did recently exit), or if it was simply chance that I found many of the projects less engaging this year, but whatever the case, I’d like to see a big change next year. I’d like more quality than quantity, and I’m OK if that means fewer movies.
But why should Hallmark care?
Competition Is Increasing At Netflix And Other Outlets
This holiday season, for the first time in maybe recent memory, my favorite holiday movie was on Netflix and not Hallmark. I actually really enjoyed Our Little Secret’s straight comedy antics over much of the stuff we got at Hallmark, and I particularly enjoyed the zany antics going on between Lindsay Lohan’s Avery and Kristin Chenoweth’s Erica.
I know not everyone loved the new Lindsay Lohan vehicle, but even if you didn’t, Netflix has ramped up its Christmas lineup considerably, as have other streaming services and GAF, which now houses names like Candace Cameron Bure, Danica McKellar and more. Right now, I still think Hallmark has the edge when it comes to its programming, but it’s a razor thin line where it used to be a chasm, and some of its stars are doing great work elsewhere, as well. (See: Netflix's Hot Frosty with Lacey Chabert as an example.)
As much as many of us love the holiday season, at some point I do think the competition will get fierce and the bubble will burst a bit. As an OG Hallmark fan, I’d like to see the channel remain the premiere place for holiday movies, but if last year’s lineup was any indication, other outlets are edging in.
To note, the cast wants Holiday Touchdown 2 after the movie became the No. 1 release of the season, and to be honest, I love the idea of re-teaming frequent male lead Tyler Hynes with the ever-delightful Hunter King. I just want a great script this time that’s less reliant on Chiefs cameos and gimmicks like Catrick Mahomes. That’s all I’m saying. The countdown to Christmas is already on, so let’s make some 2025 Christmas movies among the best of all time.
