Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas is back with its biggest slate yet, 34 original movies and a new season of Mistletoe Murders rolling out over 10 weeks starting October 16. Diversity across the lineup remains thin overall, but a handful of titles do feature Black leads and standout cast members worth putting on your radar. Here’s a closer look at 8 movies to circle on your calendar, followed by the complete premiere schedule for the full lineup.
‘Tis the Season for Setups
Premiere: Friday, Oct. 16
Cast: Amanda Schull, Victor Webster, Barbara Niven, Verity Marks
A hyper-organized single mom and party planner butts heads with a ski instructor while secretly trying to set up their single parents, only for their matchmaking schemes to keep turning into accidental foursomes.
Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story
Premiere: Saturday, Oct. 17
Cast: Lyndsy Fonseca, Robert Buckley, Marsha Mason, Barbara Alyn Woods, Khary Payton, with cameos from Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson, quarterback Caleb Williams, Bears legends Mike Singletary and Charles “Peanut” Tillman, Tamera Mowry-Housley, and Dyon “Mojo” Brooks
A freelance reporter profiling a Bears superfan attending her 500th game falls for the superfan’s grandson while learning what it means to be part of Bears Nation.
Mistletoe Murders Season 3
Premiere: Thursday, Nov. 5
Cast: Sarah Drew, Peter Mooney, with Catherine Bell and Holly Robinson Peete as guest stars
Emily Lane teams up again with Detective Sam Wilner to solve three new Christmas mysteries as her past collides with her present.
Merry Memories
Premiere: Friday, Nov. 6
Cast: Lindura, Brendan Morgan
A rigid accountant helping care for her nephew while his military mom is deployed clashes with his free-spirited substitute teacher as they team up to build him a holiday scrapbook, and find themselves falling for each other along the way.
Mistletoes and Mimosas
Premiere: Sunday, Nov. 15
Cast: Tamera Mowry-Housley, Kristoffer Polaha, Jennifer Robertson
A business consultant who inherits her late uncle’s debt-ridden Christmas bar faces off against a rival club owner in a 12-day holiday competition to save it, and finds their rivalry turning into something more.
Our Holiday Playbook
Premiere: Friday, Nov. 20
Cast: Taylor Cole, Charles Michael Davis
A woman recruits a former football star to pose as her boyfriend so he can join her family’s annual holiday flag football rivalry, and their fake relationship starts feeling real.
The Snowflake Effect
Premiere: Friday, Dec. 4
Cast: Heather Hemmens, Mark Ghanimé
A corporate attorney accidentally sets off a cursed holiday gift exchange and has to team up with a shop clerk to track down a magic antique snowflake before Christmas Day, or be stuck with bad luck for the next year.
Hearts All Aglow
Premiere: Friday, Dec. 18
Cast: Mishael Morgan, B.J. Britt, Holly Robinson Peete
A music historian chasing an interview with a legendary singer crosses paths with an attorney trying to recover a piece of his late mother’s history, and the two team up at a chaotic Christmas gala.
Full Hallmark Countdown to Christmas 2026 Schedule
- ‘Tis the Season for Setups — Friday, Oct. 16
- Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story — Saturday, Oct. 17
- Mr. & Mrs. Christmas — Sunday, Oct. 18
- Winter Wonderlanes — Friday, Oct. 23
- Forgotten Holiday — Saturday, Oct. 24
- What If Christmas — Sunday, Oct. 25
- Who’s Coming for Christmas? — Friday, Oct. 30
- Adopting St. Nick — Saturday, Oct. 31
- A Danish Christmas — Sunday, Nov. 1
- Mistletoe Murders Season 3 — Thursday, Nov. 5
- Merry Memories — Friday, Nov. 6
- Holiday Unplugged — Saturday, Nov. 7
- A Season of Promises — Sunday, Nov. 8
- My Christmas Cowboy — Friday, Nov. 13
- The Nights Before Christmas — Saturday, Nov. 14
- Mistletoes and Mimosas — Sunday, Nov. 15
- Our Holiday Playbook — Friday, Nov. 20
- Christmas in Blue Dog Valley — Saturday, Nov. 21
- Double Booked for the Holidays — Sunday, Nov. 22
- Christmas Delivered — Thursday, Nov. 26
- The Christmas Eve Feast — Friday, Nov. 27 (6 p.m. ET)
- Return to Santa — Friday, Nov. 27 (8 p.m. ET)
- The Most Wonderful Secret — Saturday, Nov. 28 (6 p.m. ET)
- Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True — Saturday, Nov. 28 (8 p.m. ET)
- Eight Nights for Love — Sunday, Nov. 29 (6 p.m. ET)
- Miles to Christmas — Sunday, Nov. 29 (8 p.m. ET)
- The Snowflake Effect — Friday, Dec. 4
- A Grand Biltmore Christmas — Saturday, Dec. 5
- An Angel in My Stocking — Sunday, Dec. 6
- Christmas in Canterbury — Friday, Dec. 11
- Snow Globe Town — Saturday, Dec. 12
- Noelle Nomads — Sunday, Dec. 13
- Hearts All Aglow — Friday, Dec. 18
- Barking All the Way — Saturday, Dec. 19
- Save the Date for Christmas — Sunday, Dec. 20