I’m So Excited for the Hallmark Christmas Season, But I Was Shocked to Realize That Lacey Chabert’s Movie Didn’t Even Make It to My Top 5

The 2024 fall TV lineup may just be getting started, but that didn’t stop Hallmark from revealing its upcoming holiday movie lineup. This year, in celebration of its 15th anniversary as a holiday movie destination, the cable network is releasing 47 new movies, including two starring Momma Donna Kelce and one starring the Queen of Christmas, Lacey Chabert. The list is so extensive that I was shocked to realize that Chabert’s new film didn’t even make my top five!

Unlike last year, when Chabert made dual appearances in two Hallmark Christmas movies, this year she will only appear in one. Christmas task premieres on December 1, and the queen of the holiday movie season will play a divorced archaeologist opposite Kristoffer Polaha, who will play her ex-husband and an expert in ancient Norse languages. Given their knowledge, the duo is sent to Iceland to find a mysterious treasure before it falls into the wrong hands.

While this definitely sounds exciting, it seems too rowdy and not romantic enough for my Hallmark holiday taste. Luckily, there are plenty of other movies on offer that keep me pumped and counting down the days until the holiday season begins.

(Photo Source: Hallmark Channel)

Five Years of Christmas Party

Five Years of Christmas Party is at the top of my nice things list this year.

For the past five years, former high school theater rivals Alice (Katie Findlay) and Max (Jordan Fisher) have been reuniting to work holiday parties for a catering company. After they both learn this is the company’s final year, they grow closer and must confront their true feelings before they part ways.

As a fan of Fisher, I can’t wait to see his Hallmark debut. I’m also a sucker for the enemies-to-lovers trope, so this movie ticks both boxes. Luckily, I won’t have to wait too long for it, as it premieres on cable Sunday, October 27.

(Photo Source: Disney+)

Holiday Mismatch

Hallmark is known for reuniting actors from past projects during the holiday season, and this year will be the time to do so again. Holiday mismatch. Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick, best known for their roles as aunts in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, will reunite on the small screen as rival Christmas committee members who accidentally set up their adult children on a date.

It already sounds like this movie is going to deviate from the perfect standard Hallmark formula, as the film focuses on the mothers rather than their supposedly doting children. One thing seems certain: it will be full of laughs, given Rhea and Broderick’s iconic chemistry. You can’t miss it Holiday Mismatch when it airs on Sunday, November 3.

(Photo Source: Hallmark Channel)

It was the date before Christmas

This year’s edition will kick off on Friday, October 18th and will be on my list of most anticipated films. It was 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 in order to save the annual Olympic Christmas tournament that her family is competing in.

Groening played in Santa Claus Peak last year, which had a unique spin on Hallmark Christmas movies, so I’m hoping the same goes for this one. Plus, I’m an Olympics superfan, so anything related to them always excites me.

(Photo Source: Fox)

Sugar plum

Sugar plum characteristics Pretty Little Liars alum turned Hallmark star Janel Parrish stars as Sugarplum, a made-for-TV holiday character who comes to life to help Emily (Maggie Lawson) create the perfect Christmas for her family. You’d think Sugarplum would make things easier, but her magical powers actually do 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 can’t wait to see her in another Hallmark holiday movie. I also love the project’s potential to poke fun at the so-called perfect Christmas that the cable network has been promoting for 15 years. We’ll probably have to suspend our belief and not dwell on the plot of this movie too much.

Regardless, you won’t want to miss this potentially meta Christmas movie, which premieres Saturday, December 7.

(Photo Source: Hallmark Channel)

Three Wise Men and a Boy

In recent years, the cable network has begun airing sequels to its most popular films. In 2022, The Three Kings and the Child was one of the greatest films and now its fans are getting the long awaited sequel, Three Wise Men and a Boyon Saturday, November 23.

Three Wise Men and a Boy the Brenner brothers reunite as they struggle to direct Thomas’s school summer 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 will be true this time. I’m also excited to see them juggle Luke’s son, who is much older than he was in the first movie.

With 47 debuting films, it was hard to narrow it down to just five. Some honorable mentions include A Christmas Carol for Two AND St. Nick’s Fun Facts. I can’t wait to check out the brand new reality show Finding Mr. Christmas, in which ten men compete against each other for the lead role in the last film in the program Happy Christmas.

While there is much to celebrate this year’s cast, I am disappointed that there aren’t many films featuring LGTBQ+ couples this year. Some of the synopses are a bit vague, though, so I hope we get some. After all, Jonathan Bennett stars in Christmas Wishes from Cherry Lane, which may require him to repeat his role Christmas on Cherry Lane. However, the film is apparently not an official title on the list yet, as it will premiere on Thursday, December 5.

Hallmark’s Christmas Countdown kicks off on cable Friday, October 18, so get your cable boxes ready because it’s not traditionally available anywhere else. Superfans should also check out the Hallmark+ app, which will be airing new movies and two original limited series during the holiday season, in addition to more than 600 hours of past movies.