Halloween is still a month away, but that hasn’t stopped some people from already counting down the days until Christmas. It’s me, I’m people! Thankfully, I’m not alone with my holiday season excitement, as Hallmark has also been bitten by the festive bug early this year. In fact, the channel is kicking things off in the 2023 Christmas movie schedule super early, with the Countdown to Christmas officially starting on October 20th.
Variety shared an entire rundown of what to expect from this year's Countdown to Christmas lineup. Of course, it wouldn’t be the holiday season without a Lacey Chabert Hallmark Christmas movie, and the channel seems to agree since we’re getting two brand-new movies with her as the lead.
Lacey Chabert Continues Her Hallmark Channel Reign
Chabert makes her first appearance of the 2023 holiday season on November 18th with the premiere of A Merry Scottish Christmas. The movie will follow Lindsay (Chabert) and her estranged brother Brad (Scott Wolf), who are traveling to Scotland to reunite with their mother. While there’s no mention of a romance in the official synopsis, I’m sure there’s one brewing.
Chabert’s second movie on the Countdown to Christmas lineup is Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up. A sequel to last year’s Haul Out The Holly hit, the movie picks up after Emily (Chabert) and Jared (Wes Brown) have had their happily-ever-after moment.
This year, the pair are excited to spend their first holiday together as an official couple. Their plans for a magical Christmas might be at stake, though, thanks to some brand new residents to Evergreen Lane. I smell some Christmas drama on the horizon!
But There Are Other Reasons To Celebrate Too
As much as I love a good Chabert movie, there are other reasons to celebrate Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas too. For one, there are some new faces joining the Hallmark Christmas movie family. Maybe I’m biased, but I’m super excited to see William Moseley (who rose to fame in The Chronicles of Narnia franchise) make his Hallmark debut on November 25th. Moseley will play famous soccer star Graham in Christmas in Notting Hill. Graham’s world is rocked when he returns to his hometown and meets a woman (Sarah Ramos) who doesn’t recognize him. The horror!
This year's lineup also is keeping in line with Hallmark’s goal of diversifying its representation. Christmas on Cherry Lane, which premieres on December 9th, follows three couples as navigate big life milestones around the holidays. I'm pumped for the network to continue this inclusion with LGBTQ+ couples and more.
One such couple (played by Jonathan Bennett and Vincent Rodriguez III) finds their family expanding on Christmas Eve. My Christmas Guide (premiering November 2nd) follows a professor who has lost his eyesight and the guide dog trainer he hires to help him with his dog adoption. And A World Record Christmas (premiering November 16th) centers around a couple’s autistic son who hopes to set a Guinness World Record on Christmas Eve.
While Hallmark romances are aplenty this year (including a fun love triangle on November 4th with the release of Never Been Chris’d), Hallmark also seems to be expanding to friendships too. I’m certainly excited for some platonic Christmas relationships, and The Santa Summit sounds like it’s going to deliver just that on November 5th. There’s also a brand new Hallmark Hanukkah movie premiering on December 10th. Round and Round is a time loop that finds Rachel stuck reliving the night of her parents’ Hanukkah party over and over again.
As a Hallmark Christmas movie super fan, I also can’t wait to see the “yuletide Easter Egg hunt” that the network is promising. It’ll definitely be fun scouring the movies looking for cameos to past movies, that’s for sure. Maybe Hallmark is starting a Christmas Cinematic Universe?
If those movies don’t get you excited, don’t worry because there’s plenty more to choose from. In fact, Hallmark is kicking things off even earlier for subscribers of Hallmark Movies Now, who will be treated to two originals before they premiere on TV and two extended cuts of 2022 favorites. Until then, check out our schedule of Hallmark’s upcoming movies so you don’t miss a thing.
