It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The Christmas movie schedule is upon us, and I’ve already busted out a big bag of Jet Puffed marshmallows and my I Just Want To Drink Hot Chocolate And Watch Hallmark Movies All Day mug. I’ve also started consuming an inordinate amount of new Hallmark movies, as well. If you aren’t on the same page as me, the good news is there’s more brand new stuff this weekend. Still, I’m not sure if (or how) the network will top one I’ve already watched.
Do Watch: A Newport Christmas
If you’re a big fan of The Gilded Age, Hallmark hit up Newport, Rhode Island this season to give us our yearly fix when it comes to time travel romance. Hallmark has had some bangers over the years, including A Biltmore Christmas and A Timeless Christmas. I’m happy to state A Newport Christmas checks all the right boxes.
Ginna Claire Mason and Wes Brown start in this year’s higher profile time travel romance. Mason goes pretty theatrical with her spunky performance of a woman from Newport’s heyday being sent via sailboat to the future. Whilst there she encounters such highfalutin contraptions as the internet, electric Christmas lights, inflatable snowmen, and some societal changes, such as women wearing pants. But things turn a bit dire after she begins to fall for Nick, the man helping her to return to the past.
Hallmark often saves some of its best holiday scripts for heavy hitters like Lacey Chabert, Bethany Joy Lenz, Erin Krakow, Alison Sweeney and, of course, many more, but the pairing of the ever-popular Brown with the relative newcomer in Mason really worked for me. Mason has been doing one Christmas movie per year for Hallmark since 2022, but she’s most known for her theatrical work in Wicked and more. Hopefully, we’ll see her around more on the network in the future.
Listen, I’m always a sucker for a time travel movie in general, but this one is significantly better than last year’s A ‘90s Christmas. In fact, I’ve already watched it twice, and I’m getting the feeling it may end up being my favorite holiday movie this year. That’s amazing given how early we are in the game, and how many cool projects are still set to come down the pipeline between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
What’s Coming To Hallmark This Weekend?
Hallmark has a pretty easy-to-remember schedule for fans this holiday season. The channel is consistently airing a new Christmas movie on both Saturday and Sunday each weekend. The schedule started in mid-October and will run through Sunday, December 21. Erin Krakow’s holiday movie this year is hitting the schedule this weekend, and I am excited for it. The new flick has her starring reuniting with her pal and former co-star Tyler Hynes after 2021’s extremely likable It Was Always You. And this one’s a new take on A Christmas Carol, to flick called Christmas Above the Clouds.
The other new movie this weekend will be one of the network’s signature “Europe at Christmas” style movies and also features a heavy-hitting cast in Jonathan Bennett, Brandon Routh and Eden Sher. This will feature three siblings on a family cruise on the Danube and will, and is titled A Keller Christmas Vacation.
To be frank, there are so many heavy hitters still left to come, and I’m hoping Hallmark has really reinvested in scripts like I’d wanted to see last TV season. The sequel to last year’s Holiday Touchdown this time featuring the Buffalo Bills, is set to air on November 22 (and Josh Allen is planning to watch). Lacey Chabert’s annual Hallmark outing this year will be with longtime network star Andrew Walker, and that film, She’s Making A List, will land on December 6th.
So, I know that Hallmark has some other stuff I am looking forward to watching on the 2025 TV schedule, but to be honest, I just don’t see a future where another title is quite as merry or bright as the heartwarming A Newport Christmas was for me. I’m hoping the network just outdid themselves a few times over and proves me wrong, but for now, the Brown and Morgan starrer is top notch work, and I’m going to go ahead and keep shouting that from the rooftops. Catch it if you haven’t already!
