Hallmark Kicks Off 15th Annual ‘Countdown to Christmas’ in October

It may still technically be summer for a few more days, but Hallmark is ready to dive into the fall and winter holidays. The network will celebrate its 15th annual “Countdown to Christmas” programming block starting on Oct. 18.

Starting on that date, the network will premiere a total of 40 new movies, most of which will premiere on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on Hallmark Channel. These will be available to watch starting at 8 p.m. ET. New movies will also be available on Thursdays at 8 p.m. on Hallmark Mystery.

Hallmark+ is also getting in on the holiday spirit. The streamer will launch seven original movies as well as four seasonal series. These include two limited holiday series — a first for the network — “Mistletoe Murders” and “Holidazed.” Based on the Audible audio series of the same name, the six-episode “Mistletoe Murders” follows a small-town shop owner with a secret and stars Sarah Drew and Peter Mooney for a Oct. 31 premiere. The eight-episode “Holidazed” details the chaos that come with family celebrations and stars Dennis Haysbert, John C. McGinley, Loretta Devine and Virginia Madsen and will premiere on Nov. 14.

Another Hallmark first is the reality competition show “Finding Mr. Christmas.” Hosted by Jonathan Bennett and featuring Melissa Peterman as a lead judge, the series pits 10 hopeful hunks against each other in a series of festive challenges as they try to prove they have the heart, talent, authenticity and charisma to be Hallmark’s next star. The winner will make his Hallmark Channel debut in the original movie “Happy Howlidays,” which also stars Jessica Lowndes. A premiere date for the show will be announced at a later date.

Finally, in “Ready, Set, Glow!” Hallmark fan-favorite Wes Brown will travel around the country, showcasing spectacular holiday light displays and the stories of the people responsible for them. It will premiere on Dec. 12.

Last year, holiday movies propelled Hallmark Channel to be the No. 1 entertainment channel on cable among women 18 and older during the company’s fourth quarter. So far, Hallmark has led ratings during this quarter and with this demographic for the past decade.

Here’s the full list of upcoming movies:

OCTOBER

• Oct. 18: “Twas the Date Before Christmas”
  • Starring Robert Buckley (“Chesapeake Shores”), Amy Groening (“The Santa Summit”)
• Oct. 19: “Holiday Crashers”
  • Starring Lyndsy Fonseca (“Nikita”), Daniella Monet (“Baby Daddy”), Chris McNally (“When Calls the Heart”), Jag Bal (“The Flash”)
• Oct. 20: “Scouting for Christmas”
  • Starring Tamera Mowry-Housley (“Inventing the Christmas Prince”), Carlo Marks (“Chesapeake Shores”), Marci T. House (“Tribal”)
• Oct. 24: “This Time Each Year” (on Hallmark+)
  • Starring Alison Sweeney (“Hannah Swensen Mysteries”), Niall Matter (“Holiday Hotline”)
• Oct. 25: “Operation Nutcracker”
  • Starring Ashley Newbrough (“Mistresses”), Christopher Russell (“Star Trek: Discovery”)
• Oct. 26: “The Christmas Charade”
  • Starring Rachel Skarsten (“Batwoman”), Corey Sevier (“Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove”)
• Oct. 27: “The 5-Year Christmas Party”
  • Starring Katie Findlay (“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”), Jordan Fisher (“The Flash”)
• Oct. 31: “My Sweet Austrian Holiday” (on Hallmark+)
  • Starring Brittany Bristow (“Rising Suns”), Will Kemp (Reign”)

NOVEMBER

• Nov. 1: “A Carol for Two”
  • Starring Ginna Claire Mason (“A Holiday Spectacular”), Jordan Litz (“Wicked on Broadway”), Charlotte D’amboise (“Galyntine”)
• Nov. 2: “Our Holiday Story”
  • Starring Nikki DeLoach (“Curious Caterer Mysteries”), Warren Christie (“The Watchful Eye”)
• Nov. 3: “Holiday Mismatch”
  • Starring Caroline Rhea (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch”), Beth Broderick (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch”)
• Nov. 7: “Unwrapping Christmas: Tina’s Miracle”
  • Starring Natalie Hall (“Charmed”), Alec Santos (“Firefly Lane”)
• Nov. 7: “Five Gold Rings” (on Hallmark+)
  • Starring Holland Roden (“Teen Wolf”), Nolan Gerard Funk (“The Flight Attendant”)
• Nov. 8: “Trivia at St. Nick’s”
  • Starring Tammin Sursok (“Pretty Little Liars”), Brant Daugherty (“Pretty Little Liars”)
• Nov. 9: “Santa Tell Me”
  • Staring Erin Krakow (“When Calls the Heart”), Daniel Lissing (“When Calls the Heart”), Benjamin Ayres (“Family Law”), Christopher Russell (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Kurt Szarka (“Maid”)
• Nov. 10: “‘Tis the Season to Be Irish”
  • Starring Fiona Gubelmann (“The Good Doctor”), Eoin Macken (“La Brea”)
• Nov. 14: “Unwrapping Christmas: Mia’s Prince”
  • Starring Kathryn Davis (“Everything Puppies”), Nathan Witte (“Superman & Lois”)
• Nov. 14: “A Reason for the Season” (on Hallmark+)
  • Starring Taylor Cole (“The Originals”), Kevin McGarry (“When Calls the Heart”)
• Nov. 15: “Christmas with the Singhs”
  • Starring Anuja Joshi (“The Resident”), Ben Hollingsworth (“Virgin River”)
• Nov. 16: “Jingle Bell Run”
  • Starring Ashley Williams (“Falling Together”), Andrew Walker (“Curious Caterer Mysteries”)
• Nov. 17: “Confessions of a Christmas Letter”
  • Starring Angela Kinsey (“The Office”), Alec Santos (“Sight Unseen”)
• Nov. 21: “Unwrapping Christmas: Lily’s Destiny”
  • Starring Ashley Newbrough (“Mistresses”), Torrance Coombs (“Reign”)
• Nov. 21: “A Novel Noel” (on Hallmark+)
  • Starring Julie Gonzalo (“Supergirl”), Brendan Penny (“Chesapeake Shores”)
• Nov. 22: “22: Christmas on Call”
  • Starring Sara Canning (“Holiday Road”), Ser’Darius Blain (“Will Trent”)
• Nov. 23: “Three Wiser Men and a Boy”
  • Starring Paul Campbell (“The Cases of Mystery Lane”), Tyler Hynes (“Letterkenny”), Andrew Walker (“Christmas Island”), Margaret Colin (“Three Men and a Baby”)
• Nov. 24: “To Have and To Holiday”
  • Starring Madeleine Arthur (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”), Robert Bazzocchi (“Gen V”), Eric Close (“Nashville”)
• Nov. 27: “Christmas Under the Lights” (on Hallmark+)
  • Starring Heather Hemmens (“Roswell, New Mexico”), Marco Grazzini (“Virgin River”)
• Nov. 28 “Unwrapping Christmas: Olivia’s Reunion”
  • Starring Cindy Busby (“Everything Christmas”), Jake Epstein (“Suits”)
• Nov. 28: “Debbie Macomber’s Joyful Mrs. Miracle”
  • Starring Rachel Boston (“Field Day”), Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes (“Never Been Chris’d”), Tanner Novlan (“The Bold and the Beautiful”), Matthew James Dowden (“Creepshow”), Max Lloyd-Jones (“The
    Mandalorian”)
• Nov. 29: “A ’90s Christmas”
  • Starring Eva Bourne (“Once Upon a Time”), Chandler Massey (“Days of our Lives”), Katherine Barrell (“Good Witch”)
• Nov. 29: “Deck the Walls”
  • Starring Ashley Greene (“Twilight”), Wes Brown (“Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up”), Danny Pellegrino (“The Stalking Fields”)
• Nov. 30: “30: Believe in Christmas”
  • Starring Meghan Ory (“Chesapeake Shores”), John Reardon (“Hudson & Rex”)
• Nov. 30: “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story”
  • Starring Hunter King (“The Santa Summit”), Tyler Hynes (“Three Wise Men and a Baby”), Ed Begley Jr. (“Young Sheldon”), Richard Riehle (“Office Space”), Diedrich Bader (“American Housewife”),
    Christine Ebersole (“Bob Hearts Abishola”), Megyn Price (“The Ranch”)

DECEMBER

• Dec. 1: “The Finnish Line”
  • Starring Kim Matula (“Saturday Night”), Beau Mirchoff (“Ride”), Nichole Sakura (“Superstore”)
• Dec. 1: “The Christmas Quest”
  • Starring Lacey Chabert (“Mean Girls”), Kristoffer Polaha (“Wonder Woman 1984”)
• Dec. 5: “5: Season’s Greetings from Cherry Lane”
  • Starring Jonathan Bennett (“Mean Girls”), Annabelle Bourke (“A Biltmore Christmas”), Corey Cott (“Making Waves”), Sarah Dugdale (“Virgin River”), Shannon Kook (“The 100”), Vincent Rodriguez III
    (“Crazy Ex Girlfriend”)
• Dec. 5: “A Dance in the Snow” (on Hallmark+)
  • Starring Erica Cerra (“Nancy Drew”), Mark Ghanimé (“Virgin River”), Vanessa Burghardt (“Cha Cha Real Smooth”), Dorian Giordano (“Lockdown”)
• Dec. 6: “Private Princess Christmas”
  • Starring Ali Skovbye (“Firefly Lane”), Derek Klena (“Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin”), Erica Durance (“A Scottish Love Scheme”)
• Dec. 7: “Sugarplummed”
  • Starring Maggie Lawson (“Psych”), Janel Parrish (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”)
• Dec. 8: “Leah’s Perfect Gift”
  • Starring Emily Arlook (“Grown-ish”), Evan Roderick (“Arrow”), Barbara Niven (Chesapeake Shores”)
• Dec. 12: “Happy Holidays from Cherry Lane”
  • Starring Benjamin Ayres (“Family Law”), Catherine Bell (“Good Witch”), James Denton (“Desperate Housewives”), Erica Durance (“Smallville”), Julie Gonzalo (“Supergirl”), Ryan Rottman (“The Lying
    Game”)
• Dec. 12: “All I Need for Christmas” (on Hallmark+)
  • Starring Mallory Jansen (“Paging Mr. Darcy”), Dan Jeannotte (“Sense & Sensibility”)
• Dec. 13: “Hanukkah on the Rocks”
  • Starring Stacey Farber (“Virgin River”), Daren Kagasoff (“The Secret Life of the American Teenager”), Marc Summers (“Double Dare”)
• Dec. 14: “The Santa Class”
  • Starring Kimberley Sustad (“The Nine Lives of Christmas”), Benjamin Ayres (“Saving Hope”)
• Dec. 15: “Following Yonder Star”
  • Starring Brooke D’Orsay (“Two and a Half Men”), John Brotherton (“Fuller House”)
• Dec. 19: “Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane”
  • Starring John Brotherton (“Fuller House”), Erin Cahill (“Blue Ridge: The Series”), Brooke D’Orsay (“Royal Pains”), Chelsea Hobbs (“Navigating Christmas”), Benjamin Hollingsworth (“Virgin River”), Sam Page (“The Bold Type”) , Matt Dusk (“Call Me Fitz”)
• Dec. 19: “Trading Up Christmas” (on Hallmark+)
  • Starring Italia Ricci (“Chasing Life”), Michael Xavier (“Wild Cards”)
• Dec. 21: “Happy Howlidays”
  • Starring Jessica Lowndes (“Major Crimes”) opposite the to-be-announced winner of “Finding Mr. Christmas”