Hallmark Channel’s 17th annual Countdown to Christmas kicks off Oct. 16 with a lineup of 34 original television movie premieres, with Tamera Mowry-Housley, Holly Robinson Peete and Mishael Morgan starring in some of the titles.
Mowry-Housley stars in Mistletoe and Mimosas, premiering Nov. 15. Per the official description, she plays Claire Bennett, a Manhattan business consultant who inherits her late uncle’s Christmas-themed bar and faces off against a rival club owner, played by Kristoffer Polaha, in a 12-day competition to save the business.
Robinson Peete and Morgan both appear in Hearts All Aglow, premiering Dec. 18. Morgan plays Mari, a music historian chasing an interview with Tasha, a Grammy-winning singer and museum founder played by Robinson Peete. Per the official description, the two are drawn together with B.J. Britt’s Julian at a Christmas gala, where a series of chaotic contests leads them to a discovery neither expected. Robinson Peete also guest stars this season on Mistletoe Murders, alongside Catherine Bell.
What else is in the 2026 Countdown to Christmas lineup?
This year’s slate marks 10 more movies than 2025’s lineup, with premieres airing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday across 10 weeks. Three tentpole films anchor the season: Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story, the third installment in Hallmark’s partnership with the NFL and Skydance Sports; Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True, filmed at Walt Disney World Resort; and A Grand Biltmore Christmas, filmed at Biltmore House as a follow-up to 2023’s A Biltmore Christmas.
Mistletoe Murders also returns for a third season, premiering Nov. 5, with Sarah Drew and Peter Mooney reprising their roles as Emily Lane and Detective Sam Wilner.
When does Countdown to Christmas premiere?
Countdown to Christmas begins Oct. 16 and runs through the holiday season, with new premieres airing Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. All original movies and series episodes are available to stream the next day on Hallmark+.
Full 2026 Countdown to Christmas movie premiere schedule
Oct. 16: ‘Tis the Season for Setups — Amanda Schull, Victor Webster, Barbara Niven
Description: “Hyper organized single mom and party planner Lexi (Schull), her free-spirited mother June (Niven) and teen daughter Piper (Verity Marks) are set to spend Christmas at a local ski resort after Lexi is hired to organize their annual holiday party. Upon arrival she immediately butts heads with Ridge (Webster), the ski instructor and son of the lodge’s owner, Dan (John B. Lowe). Despite not getting along from the get-go, Lexi and Ridge notice a spark between June and Dan and decide to set them up.”
Oct. 17: Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story — Lyndsy Fonseca, Robert Buckley, Marsha Mason, Barbara Alyn Woods, Khary Payton
Description: “When ambitious freelance reporter Avery Clark (Fonseca) returns to Chicago to spend Christmas with her mom (Woods) and new stepdad (Payton), she’s hoping for a little holiday downtime before her next assignment. Instead, she lands a feel-good story profiling Darlene Donnelly (Mason), a beloved Chicago Bears superfan about to celebrate an incredible milestone – attending her 500th game.”
Oct. 18: Mr. & Mrs. Christmas — Brendan Penny, Pascale Hutton
Description: “Taylor Lewis (Penny) is a single dad and holiday display expert who relocates to the charming town of Pineway with his two children just weeks before Christmas. Despite the challenges of a new home, new school and a daughter who seems to be outgrowing their cherished holiday traditions he’s determined to make the season magical. As Taylor takes charge of the town’s beloved Christmas Market revival, he finds himself unexpectedly partnered with Sophie Shaw (Hutton), a practical accountant hoping to prove she’s ready for a new leadership role.”
Oct. 23: Winter Wonderlanes — Ashley Newbrough, Franco Lo Presti
Description: “Audrey Bell (Newbrough) is a globe-trotting pop-up restaurateur who returns home for Thanksgiving to the news that her late grandfather’s beloved bowling alley, Wonderlanes, will be sold. Audrey agrees to stay for one last festive season at Wonderlanes and decides to revive its iconic Winter Wonderlanes youth bowling tournament. To drum up publicity for the event, she reluctantly teams up with Jason Miller (Lo Presti), a local news reporter and her high school boyfriend.”
Oct. 24: Forgotten Holiday — Janel Parrish, Daniel Lissing
Description: “Kathryn Liu (Parrish) is an antiques buyer for her father’s store and has been happily dating Rob Ashford (Lissing) for nearly a year. When he surprises her with a pre-Christmas proposal, her fear of a failed relationship sends her dashing away without giving him an answer. Heartbroken, as Rob drives to his sister’s house he has a car accident that leaves him without memories of the past year, including their relationship and his once-infectious love of Christmas.”
Oct. 25: What If Christmas — Lori Loughlin, Tom Cavanagh
Description: “Erin (Loughlin) has always supported her heart surgeon husband, Adam’s (Cavanagh) career by organizing the hospitals’ Christmas charity galas. However, when he moves to a new hospital, her help is no longer needed. Feeling lost and without a purpose back in New York City, her long-suppressed regrets over giving up her dream of pursuing fashion design start bubbling up. When Erin is given a peculiar heart-shaped Christmas ornament, she wakes up in an alternate reality where she’s a world-famous fashion designer.”
Oct. 30: Who’s Coming for Christmas? — Rhiannon Fish, Jake Foy, Mila Morgan
Description: “Having recently relocated, Julie (Fish) is setting up her new town using pieces she inherited from her late grandmother, including a beautiful dining room table she plans to use on Christmas Eve when she hosts dinner for the first time. Though she doesn’t have her guest list set just yet Julie takes inspiration from her grandmother and has faith that her holiday table for eight will be filled.”
Oct. 31: Adopting St. Nick — Amy Groening, Michael Rady
Description: “Maren (Groening) is a busy single mother to her adopted daughter, Leah (Taylor Blake). As the owner of her late father’s beloved hardware store, she is often found helping repair just about anything for her fellow locals, leaving very little time for herself. When the chance to participate in the Christmas Companions program at Jolly Acres, a new-yet-thriving retirement community in town, Leah excitedly jumps at the chance as she misses having a grandfather in her life.”
Nov. 1: A Danish Christmas — Emilie Ullerup, Corey Sevier
Description: “Marie (Ullerup) is a hotel tech executive living in Chicago who returns home to Copenhagen to spend the holidays with her family and puts herself to work at their inn. When Ryan Miller (Sevier) checks in a case of mistaken identity leads Marie to believe he’s a travel writer. She sets out to make sure his stay is perfect, which includes the Christmas tour Ryan’s expecting.”
Nov. 5: Mistletoe Murders Season 3 premiere — Sarah Drew, Peter Mooney, with Catherine Bell and Holly Robinson Peete guest starring
Description: “Emily Lane (Drew) once again teams up with Detective Sam Wilner (Mooney) to solve three new Christmas mysteries as her past collides with her present, leaving her questioning everything she believed to be true.”
Nov. 6: Merry Memories — Lindura, Brendan Morgan
Description: “Michaela (Lindura) is a rigid accountant who steps in to help her brother care for his young son Danny (Omi Fitzpatrick-Gonzales) while Danny’s military mom is deployed over Christmas. When Danny is assigned to create a holiday scrapbook for his mom, Michaela reluctantly accepts help from his free-spirited substitute teacher, Bryan (Morgan), whose creativity clashes with her need for preciseness and control.”
Nov. 7: Holiday Unplugged — Nikki DeLoach, Juan Pablo Di Pace
Description: “Sally (DeLoach), an art teacher, has spent the last 10 years honoring the memory of her late husband Jake while raising their children, Keegan (Brandon Ironside) and Boo (Remy Marthaller). Feeling like she’s finally ready for love, she joins a dating app and is matched with Damon (Di Pace), her former colleague who taught her kids’ kindergarten class.”
Nov. 8: A Season of Promises — Brooke D’Orsay, Ali Liebert, James Denton
Description: “Heidi (D’Orsay) and Sophie (Liebert) are sisters who couldn’t be more different – Heidi is buttoned-up and laser focused on landing the play-by-play job for the local pro hockey team while Sophie is following her dream of making it in stand-up comedy while waitressing. Though a years-ago rift following their mother’s passing have pulled the sisters apart, what they do share is a deep love for their father Ed (Denton).”
Nov. 13: My Christmas Cowboy — Amy Acker, Luke Macfarlane, Sara Canning
Description: “Meg (Acker) set aside her newscaster aspirations after a disastrous audition experience in college and has been happy as a news producer in her small town of Fern, Texas. Billy Kane (Macfarlane), her former college crush and audition partner, is a well-known celebrity host in Hollywood on the brink of losing his career after an on-camera gaffe.”
Nov. 14: The Nights Before Christmas — Tyler Hynes, Laci J Mailey
Description: “One Christmas Eve Marty (Hynes), whose life is in a bit of a rut, finds himself wishing he had more time. Thanks to some holiday magic, he awakes the next morning to discover it’s Christmas Eve – again. Confused at first, Marty learns to embrace his new normal and begins to truly appreciate the sights, sounds and people of New York City that previously went unnoticed.”
Nov. 15: Mistletoe and Mimosas — Tamera Mowry-Housley, Kristoffer Polaha, Jennifer Robertson
Description: “Claire Bennett (Mowry-Housley) is a successful business consultant in Manhattan who unexpectedly inherits her beloved Uncle Lou’s Christmas-themed bar, The Tipsy Reindeer, in upstate New York. When she returns, Claire discovers the bar comes with high debt – her Uncle Lou was overly generous to people in town while the booming business of Algorithm, an upscale and trendy new club, added insult to injury.”
Nov. 20: Our Holiday Playbook — Taylor Cole, Charles Michael Davis
Description: “When Lexi Bell (Cole) returns home for the holidays, she faces a beloved family tradition she’d rather avoid: the fiercely competitive Bell Bowl, an annual Christmas flag football showdown between her father and uncle that has fueled decades of sibling rivalry. But when an injury sidelines her brother-in-law it looks like Lexi’s family’s losing streak will remain unbroken.”
Nov. 21: Christmas in Blue Dog Valley — Erin Cahill, Andrew Walker
Description: “On-set veterinarian Goldie MacKenzie (Cahill) leaves the glamour of Hollywood behind to buy a family-run veterinary clinic in tight-knit Blue Dog Valley, arriving just in time for the town’s cherished Christmas season. When Dr. Gable, the clinic’s longtime owner, unexpectedly ends up out of town, Goldie is hosted by his handsome son Cohen (Walker), the black sheep of the family because he decided to forego their expectation of becoming a vet.”
Nov. 22: Double Booked for the Holidays — Rachael Leigh Cook, Owain Yeoman, Stephen Hagan
Description: “There’s only one thing identical twins, quiet and bookish Abigail (Cook) and globe-trotting event planner Charlie (Cook), agree on is that this first Christmas without their mom will be difficult. When they unexpectedly get a last-minute chance to travel to Wales and spend a week running the Story Shoppe, an AirBnb/bookshop in Hay-on-Wye, they jump at the opportunity.”
Nov. 26: Christmas Delivered — Autumn Reeser, Wes Brown
Description: “Determined to unwind from the stresses and loneliness of her everyday life, Kimberly Carr (Reeser) travels to Canada to spend Christmas with her grandmother, JoJo (Linda Darlow), at her beautiful, cozy farmhouse. Kimberly’s plans for a restorative holiday are turned upside down when she crosses paths with Ben Chambers (Brown), owner of a local tree farm and new Christmas tree delivery app called TreeBen.”
Nov. 27 (6 p.m. ET/PT): The Christmas Eve Feast — Daniella Monet, Kevin McGarry, executive produced by Giada De Laurentiis
Description: “Silvana ‘Silvy’ Gianetti (Monet) is disillusioned with her job as the Executive Chef at a swanky restaurant in New York. Growing up in a large and loving Italian-American family, Silvy is drawn to the food and comfort of her home. When her beloved Nonna suffers a minor wrist injury, Silvy is called back home to Boston’s Italian North End to prepare the family’s beloved ‘Feast of the Seven Fishes’ Christmas Eve dinner.”
Nov. 27 (8 p.m. ET/PT): Return to Santa — Paul Campbell, Rachel Boston
Description: “Hopeful and dreamy eight-year-old Jake (Campbell) writes a letter to Santa with all his most fantastical wishes. But when the letter gets lost in the North Pole, young Jake wakes up disappointed, and no longer a believer. Decades later Santa discovers the misplaced letter and immediately sets out to make things right.”
Nov. 28 (6 p.m. ET/PT): The Most Wonderful Secret — Tammin Sursok, Peter Porte
Description: “Every Christmas, a small town honors the memory of a beloved teacher who once spread joy through her ‘Secret Norma’ gifts each holiday by creating a whimsical and heartfelt scavenger hunt for one worthy recipient. When burned-out art teacher Vanessa (Sursok) visits her widowed brother and niece Esther for the holidays, she is surprised to be chosen as the next ‘Secret Norma’ recipient.”
Nov. 28 (8 p.m. ET/PT): Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True — Lacey Chabert, Travis Van Winkle, Richard Kind, Christy Carlson Romano, Bryce Durfee, Taegen Burns
Description: “Lindsey (Chabert) and her extended family head to the Walt Disney World Resort® to spend a magical Christmas together. But the dream of a jolly holiday gets quickly dashed when Lindsey discovers her room is next door to Philip (Van Winkle), a disastrous first date she recently had, who’s also there on a family trip.”
Nov. 29 (6 p.m. ET/PT): Eight Nights for Love — Hunter King, Dan Jeannotte
Description: “Hannah (King), who works for a large auction house in New York City, is excited for her best friend Ethan (Jeannotte) to return home for a visit during Hannukah and is looking forward to some much-needed time off from work. That plan is short lived when Ethan shares the news that he’s convinced the daughter of his wealthy boss to use Hannah’s auction house to sell their family’s collection of Judaica with the condition that Hannah handles the sale.”
Nov. 29 (8 p.m. ET/PT): Miles to Christmas — Ashley Williams, Steve Lund, Alison Sweeney
Description: “When an early snowstorm sweeps through the Midwest, punctual, straight-laced ‘suit’ Cassidy Fields (Williams) is forced to hitch a ride with free spirited, music loving Johanna ‘Jo’ Woods (Sweeney) in her brother Chase’s (Lund) 18-wheeler to the nearest airport to catch another flight.”
Dec. 4: The Snowflake Effect — Heather Hemmens, Mark Ghanimé
Description: “When driven corporate attorney Tanya (Hemmens) rushes into a charming gift shop searching for a last-minute White Elephant gift, she crosses paths with Jason (Ghanimé), a handsome, laid-back clerk. Their brief encounter leads Tanya to purchase a beautiful antique glass snowflake which, unbeknownst to her or Jason, is a good luck charm that carries a generations-old Christmas tradition.”
Dec. 5: A Grand Biltmore Christmas — Holland Roden, Niall Matter, Andie MacDowell, James Trevena, Jonathan Frakes, Rachel Boston, Wes Brown
Description: “As Biltmore House opens for the first time on Christmas Eve 1895, 13-year-old Elizabeth and her family are holiday guests. When she notices Michael, a fellow teen caught trespassing by the staff, Elizabeth comes to his rescue by claiming to know him, much to his relief. The two share an instant connection and set out to explore Biltmore but Michael inexplicably vanishes.”
Dec. 5 (10 p.m. ET/PT): The Hallmark Christmas Experience: A Hometown Holiday — Co-hosts Jonathan Bennett, Melissa Peterman
No official synopsis provided beyond returning as a second-year special.
Dec. 6: An Angel in My Stocking — Fiona Gubelmann, Marco Grazzini, Nancy Robertson
Description: “Amanda (Gubelmann) and Jack (Grazzini) had a whirlwind romance and got married after knowing each other for only three months. Their first – and only – Christmas together was calamitous and was the beginning of the end to their brief marriage. Three years post-divorce and still harboring an aversion for the holiday, Amanda is heading to Vermont with her sister Lucy (Siobhan Williams) to enjoy an un-Christmasy getaway… and finds that Jack is on their flight.”
Dec. 11: Christmas in Canterbury — Jessy Schram, Will Kemp
Description: “Rose (Schram) arrives in Canterbury, England eager to spend the holidays with her childhood friend Asha (Sohm Kapila) as she leaves behind her hometown of Vienna, OH following the passing of her beloved Grandma Bud. Having first met in a children’s choir they went on to pursue careers as choir masters.”
Dec. 12: Snow Globe Town — Kimberley Sustad, Scott Michael Foster
Description: “Inspired by Brad Paisley’s song ‘Snow Globe Town,’ this heartfelt holiday romance follows Emily Church (Sustad), who joins her sister Zoe and Zoe’s longtime boyfriend on a Christmas getaway to Pine Grove, the town famously known as the Christmas Proposal Capital of America.”
Dec. 13: Noelle Nomads — Benjamin Ayres, Torrey DeVitto
Description: “Before they can embark on their luxurious Hawaiian holiday, uptight sports medicine physician Joseph (Ayres) and his daughter Annie (Kaelyn Yoon-MacRae) must first begrudgingly make a pit stop at a remote campground and deliver a package from his late father to a mysterious person named Birdie.”
Dec. 18: Hearts All Aglow — Mishael Morgan, B.J. Britt, Holly Robinson Peete
Description: “Mari (Morgan) is a fiercely intelligent music historian who manages to get an invite to the annual Christmas gala for the local music museum and has one goal: secure an interview with Tasha (Robinson Peete) the legendary Grammy award-winning singer, record producer, and museum’s founder.”
Dec. 19: Barking All the Way — Ian Harding, Tori Anderson
Description: “Billie (Anderson) is a workaholic realtor who heads home for Christmas but her journey is derailed after loveable, but chaotic canine named Yappy almost causes her car to crash. After talking to Yappy’s owner, the mysterious, yet oddly familiar Mrs. C, Billie agrees to watch Yappy while she visits her grandchildren for the holidays.”
Dec. 20: Save the Date for Christmas — Jonathan Bennett, Italia Ricci
Description: “Susie (Ricci) has checked out on dating while Alec (Bennett) is a hopeless romantic – these longtime friends have both struck out in the love department after failing to meet the right man. After being each other’s plus one to what feels like the twentieth wedding this year, they vow to take a break from attending weddings and looking for their respective prince charming.”
Featured image photo credit: Photo: Chris Haston/Warner Bros.
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