Hallmark Christmas Movies (+ other channels) ❤️ comfort & joy

[Imzadi]

I just stumbled upon this thread and I love it!

I usually just binge on the Christmas Movies and to be honest, I do not know the titles. I read an article once that called this genre "fairytales for adults" which it is. I love the predictability and also the settings especially when the main character is supposed to be struggling financially and lives in a multi-million dollar fully restored Victorian.

Hey Bella! Glad you found the thread. It should pick up (hopefully) once the Christmas movies are under way. This was one of my favorite threads last season.

I love the idea that this genre is "fairytales for adults." That fits so perfectly. I like the predictability and happy endings too.

I will watch anything with RP in it but was surprised that Sam Heughan (Outlander) was in one some years ago (Forgive me if this was mentioned before I did not read the whole 38 pages of the thread). He was so hard to recognize and a far cry from "Jamie" that I had to look up the cast of the movie to find out it was him, only his voice gave it away.

There have been a few other sporadic Hallmark movie threads. I remember when someone mentioned Sam Heughan from Outlander was in a Hallmark movie. I was shocked, as he really didn't look the same at all. It's the movie that had Roger Moore in it as a scrooge of an uncle. (Most of us aren't good at remembering the titles either. It's easier to describe the movie and the actors in it.)

This being said, I am always on the hunt for red coats. I swear that Hallmark has done more for the sales of red coats than anyone else. There is a site which tells the shopping information for the clothes one sees on TV and especially Hallmark. Does anyone remember what it is?

I didn't know there was such a site. Does it list the jewelry too? I adore some of the necklaces some of the characters wear. Especially the character, Rita Haywith, on the Signed, Sealed & Delivered series.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I feel like the actress who plays Rita from SSD should be the main actress in some of the seasonal movies instead of the sidekick. She is beautiful and talented, and I think she could totally carry the lead.

I will also say that the more well-known the actress, the better the scripts she gets. Candace and Lacey tend to get the cream of the crop. Some of the ones where I’ve never heard of the actress and the actor has just been in a few are marginal at best.

I like the predictability of the ending, and I’m always delighted when they change something up so there’s a new element along the way. Christmas is definitely where the best movies shine. Although if I have to watch another one with Tia Mowry obviously pregnant…I get that the actresses have lives and will be pregnant in some, and honestly it didn’t bother me with Jen Lilley and others. Tia just seemed like she was about to give birth any minute and it wasn’t hidden well in the movie. I hope this year she is just her bubbly self and acting her heart out.

It also feels weird without a Good Witch Halloween movie. Those have been such a fun staple…and those are my random musings tonight

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Hey Bella! Glad you found the thread. It should pick up (hopefully) once the Christmas movies are under way. This was one of my favorite threads last season.

I love the idea that this genre is "fairytales for adults." That fits so perfectly. I like the predictability and happy endings too.



There have been a few other sporadic Hallmark movie threads. I remember when someone mentioned Sam Heughan from Outlander was in a Hallmark movie. I was shocked, as he really didn't look the same at all. It's the movie that had Roger Moore in it as a scrooge of an uncle. (Most of us aren't good at remembering the titles either. It's easier to describe the movie and the actors in it.)



I didn't know there was such a site. Does it list the jewelry too? I adore some of the necklaces some of the characters wear. Especially the character, Rita Haywith, on the Signed, Sealed & Delivered series.

Yes they do jewelry too. I found it when I was looking up some of Jane Fonda's clothing in Frankie and Grace (Grace and Frankie?). The sites i have found are : wornontv.net, celebritystyleguide.com and starstyleinc.com There could be more also but nothing annoys me more than when I see something I love and have to sped hours looking for it on line....often never finding it.

 

[Imzadi]

There could be more also but nothing annoys me more than when I see something I love and have to sped hours looking for it on line....often never finding it.

Thanks for the links. Yes, I searched and searched for a necklace I absolutely love on one of the Hallmark movies. Will get the photos from my files later to post. I couldn't find it anywhere. I'm crafty, so I found a necklace that had similar components, although not the same at all, and I was able to disassemble the necklace and put together the parts that I like. It was a close enough approximation to satisfy that craving.

 

[Imzadi]

Tonight's Hallmark movie is Taking the Reins starring Nikki DeLoach and Scott Porter, with veteran TV actors, Corbin Bernsen and Janine Turner. It's about a writer who discovers what ended her marriage and why she stopped riding horses after going back to her family ranch.

Behind the scenes, on location interviews:

Fun Trivia: I'm old enough to remember a time when female movie directors were so few that when Susan Seidelman directed her first feature film, Desperately Seeking Susan, and it was a hit, SHE made major headlines as well as the movie and Madonna who was one of the stars in it.

Fast forward some three and a half decades, the female director of Taking the Reins, Clare Niederpruem, has directed 8 Hallmark movies since 2019. Three a year, except during the height of of the COVID shutdown. Only a mere two movies last year. She directed some of the better Hallmark movies, (IMO) often filming on location in foreign countries: As Luck Would Have It with Downtown Abbey star, Allen Leech, was filmed in Ireland. Love on Iceland was Hallmark's first movie filmed in Iceland. Her Pen Pal, one of the destination movies this summer, was filmed in France and Bulgaria.

Clare's next movie, coming this Christmas season is One December Night starring Eloise Mumford & Brett Dalton.

 

[Imzadi]

Some new Signed, Sealed, Delivered movie photos from Kristin Booth's Instagram. (She plays Shane.) The newest movie premieres Oct 17th!

One photo from SSD Higher Ground, (movie 8):

 

[Imzadi]

I feel like the actress who plays Rita from SSD should be the main actress in some of the seasonal movies instead of the sidekick. She is beautiful and talented, and I think she could totally carry the lead.

I do too. She already proved she can play a romantic role in SSD. But, Hallmark wasn't even casting Asians as leads until last year. And they seem to prefer casting younger ones than Crystal Lowe, who plays Rita. Crystal she got cast as Rita as creator/executive producer of SSD, Martha Williamson, is extremely inclusive in her casting. She had cast singer/actress Della Reece as the second lead in her Touched By An Angel series.

I guess Hallmark has put Crystal in the "best friend of the female lead" category instead of thinking of her as a female LEAD and left her there.

 

[Imzadi]

There is a new movie tomorrow night on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. I saw a commercial where Hallmark is now doing "Sunday Night Movies" on HM&M instead of an installment of the different mystery series.

This movie, Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone is adapted from the novel of the same name, by Phaedra Patrick.

According to Southern Living: "It is a wonderful movie for the entire family that harkens back to the days when Hallmark Hall of Fame films were weekly staples on the main broadcast networks. The story centers around Benedict Stone, played by Tom Everett Scott, who runs his family's business, a jewelry shop specializing in gemstones, and the unexpected arrival of a teenage niece, Gemma, played by Ella Ballentine. Gemma, the daughter of Benedict's estranged brother arrives on Benedict's doorstep during a rainstorm."

Behind the scenes, on location interviews:

Fun Trivia: The director of this movie is Peter Benson. We usually know Peter as a Hallmark actor. He usually plays the annoying boyfriend that the female lead ends up dumping after she falls in love with the male lead. Or he's often the brother role. And in the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, he plays one of the detectives. Peter's first time directing for Hallmark was for an Aurora Teagarden movie.

His second time directing was on the first episode of Lacey Chabert's Crossword Mysteries. They worked so well together that for the movie Lacey developed, Sweet Carolina, he next directed that movie. Tomorrow night will be his fourth movie for Hallmark.

 

[Toolulu22]

Can’t wait for the fall and winter/holiday movies to begin.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I love that Peter Benson also has a directing career! I’ve enjoyed everything he’s done on Hallmark to date…

Fun Trivia: The director of this movie is Peter Benson. We usually know Peter as a Hallmark actor. He usually plays the annoying boyfriend that the female lead ends up dumping after she falls in love with the male lead. Or he's often the brother role. And in the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, he plays one of the detectives. Peter's first time directing for Hallmark was for an Aurora Teagarden movie.

His second time directing was on the first episode of Lacey Chabert's Crossword Mysteries. They worked so well together that for the movie Lacey developed, Sweet Carolina, he next directed that movie. Tomorrow night will be his fourth movie for Hallmark.
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[Imzadi]

Can’t wait for the fall and winter/holiday movies to begin.

The Christmas movies start less than a month from now - on Oct 22.

 

[Imzadi]

Tonight's Hallmark movie is Love Strikes Twice, starring Katie Findlay & Wyatt Nash. It's about a woman who is stuck in a stale marriage and magically wakes up 15 years earlier. She gets to decide if she will choose the same man again. (Sounds similar to an old Nikki Deloach & Andrew Walker movie, where Nikki gets conked on the head and finds herself single again, in the past. She has to meet her husband, in which she is a total stranger to him, and get him to fall in love with her again. )

I'm actually looking forward to this movie. (Although, not looking forward to seeing Katie had lopped off her beautiful long hair with a horrible, not very flattering cut.) You guys may remember Katie Findlay & Wyatt Nash were paired up 6 years ago for Hallmark's two-part movies based on Karen Kingsbury's novel: The Bridge. I think the two leads work well together.

The Bridge movies also starred Ted McGinley & Faith Ford as a couple who owned a bookstore that the lead couple meet at a lot.

The first movie of The Bridge ended on a cliffhanger, that many of us didn't know about. It ended with something like, "To be continued next Christmas." It made so many viewers so mad to not be told ahead of time it was a two-parter cliffhanger that Hallmark ended up showing the second part only a few months later, instead of the following year. (I remember thinking there are so many Christmas movies to watch and it was getting overwhelming deciding which ones to watch first, that had I known it was a two-parter, I would have waited to watch that movie the following year, when I could have seen the movies together. )

Tonight's movie had better not be another cliffhanger.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Just set it to record tonight, thanks, Imzadi. I also have set to DVR tomorrow night One Summer on HM&M . I've noticed HM&M seems to be showing a new movie each Sunday night. On Sunday, 10/10: The Vows We Keep and also on HM&M starting on Friday, 10/22 Christmas Movies Older Christmas Movies Begin and new movies for this year begin on Saturday 10/23: Christmas Movies Start

On the regular Hallmark Channel Countdown to Christmas begins on Friday night 10/22 starting at 8pm. So it once again seems like Hallmark Channel has the even times while HM&M has the odd times which was always ideal last year for DVR-ing purposes of repeats later in the night!

 

[Imzadi]

on HM&M starting on Friday, 10/22 Christmas Movies Older Christmas Movies Begin and new movies for this year begin on Saturday 10/23: Christmas Movies Start

On the regular Hallmark Channel Countdown to Christmas begins on Friday night 10/22 starting at 8pm. So it once again seems like Hallmark Channel has the even times while HM&M has the odd times which was always ideal last year for DVR-ing purposes of repeats later in the night!

Thanks for updating us. I didn't know the Hallmark Christmas schedules and descriptions of movies were up already.

However, I see the regular Hallmark Channel new Christmas movies will start at 8pm ET.

On Hallmark Movies & Mysteries they start at 10pm ET, and only one new Christmas movie on Saturday nights. Not on an odd hour. Have you found something different listed?

It's a shame there will be no new movies on Sunday nights on HM&M this year. There's an extra new movie on Hallmark on Friday nights instead. I guess not enough miracles to write about.

 

[sasywtch]

I don't know if anyone posted this on here yet. The previous ceo of Hallmark has taken over the GAC channel. It
is 1620 on my Comcast He was the one responsible for the older type Hallmark movies. They are beginning their programming the 3rd week of October starting with a Christmas movie with Jessica Lowndes. Right now it still has the old programming but it's suppose to switch in 2 weeks with Cameron and Debbie from Home and Family doing a special on the 24th. Jen Lilley and Cameron Mathison is also doing one of their Christmas movies.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Am I the only one who loves Christmas movies, but thinks it's weird to start them right before Halloween? - I need to watch Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown first!

(Of course, I don't have any excuse to actually complain - because I'm also always on board for watching a few Christmas movies for a week in July. )

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I really enjoyed Love Strikes Twice! I admit I am a sucker for the time travel ones. I was happy with pretty much everything about it. Now I guess I need to find the Bridge movies. I didn’t watch before — I had DVR’d the first one and before I watched it found it it was a two-parter with the next one the following year, so I deleted it. I know they did release it earlier, but I moved on at that point and fiigured I’d catch them both together at some point…

 

[Imzadi]

I don't know if anyone posted this on here yet. The previous ceo of Hallmark has taken over the GAC channel. It
is 1620 on my Comcast He was the one responsible for the older type Hallmark movies. They are beginning their programming the 3rd week of October starting with a Christmas movie with Jessica Lowndes. Right now it still has the old programming but it's suppose to switch in 2 weeks with Cameron and Debbie from Home and Family doing a special on the 24th. Jen Lilley and Cameron Mathison is also doing one of their Christmas movies.

EDITED: Darn! On Spectrum Cable, the GAC Channel is a premium channel, in a higher tier package. If you are paying for Hallmark Drama you will be getting the GAC Channel too. It's channel 295 on Spectrum Cable, and my TV says I have to upgrade to get that subscription package.

Sasywtch, DO post about the movies or specials as they happen, if you are willing. Some people do have that tier package and will want to know about these movies.


I had no idea. This is great! I hope GAC Channel keeps up on making new, original movies. The reruns may eventually trickle over and be shown on other channels we do get.

I did suspect that Hallmark got a new network programmer several months ago. We've been slowly seeing the changes: much more diversity in casting the leads. Canceling the Home & Family show. Swapping out the mystery series on HMM to "regular" movies on Sunday nights. And casting non-Hallmark regulars in the leads of some new movies. I had no idea the changes went all the way up to the CEO.

I think Hallmark expanded in too many directions initially, creating the Hallmark Drama channel which basically shows endless reruns of Little House on the Prairie, and other old series. Having a streaming app which took away the best movies from Hallmark, including the Hall of Fame movies. And basically showing old TV series on Hallmark & HMM until 7pm, just to fill time, because their own content is too expensive to run in those time slots and any excess money is going to keep those other venues running, but it weakens the regular Hallmark Channel and HMM.

 

[Imzadi]

Am I the only one who loves Christmas movies, but thinks it's weird to start them right before Halloween? - I need to watch Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown first!

(Of course, I don't have any excuse to actually complain - because I'm also always on board for watching a few Christmas movies for a week in July. )

I record the new Christmas movies before Halloween to watch later. Yes, before Halloween seems way too early to me, in my opinion. (But feel free to feel differently. ) Although, then I have a pile up of movies later that can get overwhelming to get through. However, the Lifetime Channel changed their Christmas programming this year. (More about that in this post on the next page. ) So we will have more time to get through the early Hallmark Christmas movies when we are ready.

It's also why I hadn't looked for the Christmas schedule before to post. And I'm NOT changing the thread title to "Hallmark Christmas Movies 2021," until after Halloween, even though their season starts early. People can always record the new movies after Halloween, too, if they don't record them when they premiere. They will show several times.

I did, however, update the first post with the current Hallmark and Lifetime TV schedules and movie descriptions already. People can click on the links posted there to see what's coming up this season.

 

[Imzadi]

I really enjoyed Love Strikes Twice! I admit I am a sucker for the time travel ones. I was happy with pretty much everything about it. Now I guess I need to find the Bridge movies. I didn’t watch before — I had DVR’d the first one and before I watched it found it it was a two-parter with the next one the following year, so I deleted it. I know they did release it earlier, but I moved on at that point and fiigured I’d catch them both together at some point…

The Bridge movies will get repeated several times this Christmas. They were two of the better Christmas movies as they were based on a book and not on Hallmark's "Christmas formula." The original title of the movies were Karen Kingsbury: The Bridge, Part 1 & 2. But the IMDb.com is now listing them as only The Bridge. So, I think Hallmark renamed them. They probably don't want to point out that some, better written movies are based on books and thus more complex, and some on their formula.