The 2024 fall TV schedule might just be getting started, but that hasn’t stopped Hallmark from unveiling its upcoming holiday movie schedule. This year, in celebration of the 15th anniversary of being the go-to for Christmas movies, the cable network is releasing 47 new films, including two featuring Mama Donna Kelce and one with the Queen of Christmas, Lacey Chabert. The lineup is so stacked, in fact, that I was shocked when I realized Chabert’s new movie doesn’t even crack my top 5!
Unlike last year, where Chabert pulled a double-header appearing in two Hallmark original Christmas movies, she’ll only be in one this year. The Christmas Quest premieres on December 1st, and it will feature the queen of the holiday movie season playing a divorced archeologist opposite Kristoffer Polaha, who will play her ex-husband and an expert in ancient Norse languages. Given their expertise, the two are sent to Iceland to search for a mysterious treasure that they have to find before it falls into the wrong hands.
While it definitely sounds exciting, it seems too adventurous and not romantic enough for my Hallmark Christmas movie taste. Fortunately, there are tons of other flicks on the lineup that have me pumped and counting down the days until the holiday season begins.
The 5-Year Christmas Party
The 5-Year Christmas Party is at the top of my nice list this year.
For the last five years, former high school theater rivals Alice (Katie Findlay) and Max (Jordan Fisher) have reunited to work at a catering company’s Christmas parties. After the two learn that this is the company’s last year, they grow closer and must confront their true feelings before they part ways.
As a fan of Fisher, I’m excited to see him make his Hallmark debut. I’m also a sucker for the enemies-to-lovers trope, so this checks off two boxes. Thankfully, I won’t have to wait too long for this one since it’ll premiere on the cable network on Sunday, October 27th.
Holiday Mismatch
Hallmark is known for reuniting co-stars from former projects during the holidays, and it’s happening again this year with Holiday Mismatch. Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick, best known for playing the aunts on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, will reunite on the small screen, playing rival Christmas committee members who accidentally set their adult children up on a date.
It already sounds like this one is going to stray from the perfect standard Hallmark formula since the focus of the film is on the mothers instead of their presumed to-be-in-love children. The one thing that seems certain is that this is going to be full of laughs, considering Rhea and Broderick’s iconic chemistry. You won’t want to miss Holiday Mismatch when it airs on Sunday, November 3rd.
’Twas the Date Before Christmas
Kicking off this year’s lineup on Friday, October 18th, and landing a spot on my most anticipated films list is ’Twas the Date Before Christmas.
After meeting Bryan (Robert Buckley) on a dating app, Jessie (Amy Groening) convinces him to pretend to be her boyfriend and spend the holidays with her to save her family’s annual Christmas Olympics competition.
Groening starred in The Santa Summit last year, which had a unique spin on Hallmark Christmas movies, so I’m hoping the same is true for this one. Plus, I’m a super fan of the Olympics, so anything remotely related always has me excited.
Sugarplummed
Sugarplummed features Pretty Little Liars alumn turned Hallmark star Janel Parrish as Sugarplum, a made-for-TV holiday character who comes to life to help Emily (Maggie Lawson) create the perfect Christmas for her family. One would think that Sugarplum would make things easier, but her magical powers actually cause more harm than good as the two struggle to make the holiday season one to remember.
As a fan of Parrish since her PLL days, I’m excited to see her in another holiday Hallmark movie. I also love the potential the project has to poke fun at the so-called perfect Christmas that the cable network has been promoting for the last 15 years. We'll probably need to suspend our belief and not overthink the plot of this one, though.
Still, you won't want to miss this potentially meta Christmas movie when it airs on Saturday, December 7th.
Three Wiser Men and a Boy
In recent years, the cable network has begun to give their most popular films sequels. In 2022, Three Wise Men and a Baby was one of the biggest movies, and now its fans are getting a highly anticipated sequel, Three Wiser Men and a Boy, on Saturday, November 23rd.
Three Wiser Men and a Boy reunite the Brenner brothers as they struggle to direct Thomas’ school holiday musical while also trying to get to know their mother’s new boyfriend.
Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes, and Andrew Walker were hilarious in the first movie, and I’m willing to bet all my Christmas presents that the same is going to be true this time. I’m also excited to see how they juggle Luke’s son, who is much older than he was in the first film.
With 47 films debuting, it was hard to narrow down my list to just five. Some honorable mentions include A Carol for Two and Trivia at St. Nick’s. I’m also pumped to check out the brand-new reality series Finding Mr. Christmas, which follows ten men competing against each other to land the lead role in the final film on the lineup Happy Howlidays.
While there are plenty of reasons to celebrate this year’s line-up, I am bummed that there don’t seem to be as many films with LGTBQ+ couples this year. Some of the synopses are a bit vague, though, so I’m hopeful we’ll get some. After all, Jonathan Bennett is starring in Season’s Greetings from Cherry Lane, which might involve him reprising his role from Christmas on Cherry Lane. However, the film doesn’t appear to be an official title on the countdown since it premieres on Thursday, December 5th.
Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas kicks off on the cable channel on Friday, October 18th so you’ll want to get those DVRs ready since these aren’t traditionally available elsewhere. Super fans should also check out the Hallmark+ app, which will air new movies and two original limited series during the holiday season, in addition to over 600 hours of past films.
