Do you hate waiting until December for Christmas? Well, you don’t have to because Hallmark Channel is letting us celebrate it early with four movies and a Hallmark+ event.
CHRISTMAS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Saturday, July 4, 8 pm ET/PT
Stars: Jessica Lowndes (Howlidays) Daniel Lissing (Single on the 25th)
Chelsea (Lowndes) and Jake (Adam Hurtig, A Suite Holiday Romance) are America’s sweethearts and the stars of a hit reality show, Renovation Romance, where they help couples transform their homes and relationships. For a live Christmas special, they’re tasked with renovating a cozy New Hampshire cabin alongside a new duo, Cooper (Lissing) and Janice (Samantha Kendrick, The Snow Must Go On). But behind the festive cheer, Chelsea and Jake’s relationship is fading. As their latest project progresses, it becomes clear to Chelsea that she and Jake have different priorities in life and must decide if their relationship can be salvaged or if it’s time for a fresh start.
O LITTLE CHRISTMAS MARKET
Saturday, July 11, 8 pm ET/PT
Stars: Katherine Barrell (The Christmas Baby), Stephen Huszar (To Philly with Love)
Olivia (Barrell) is a gifted miniature artist who has devoted her heart to the town’s Christmas market, a tradition started by her late father. When a corporate developer plans to tear it down, she risks losing the legacy she holds dear. A chance meeting at a train station with Grayson (Huszar), a talented yet unfulfilled architect, sparks an unexpected connection. Their bond is tested when Olivia learns his firm is behind the buyout. As Christmas draws near Olivia rallies the community to save the market after securing a delay to the final decision. Amid the holiday magic, Grayson and Olivia’s romance blossoms despite being on seemingly opposite sides of the deal. Together, they must find a way to merge their dreams and save the market, discovering that in order to endure love – like art – requires taking a leap of faith.
SNOWBOUND FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Saturday, July 18, 8 pm ET/PT
Stars: Vanessa Lengies (Sweet Summer Love), Marcus Rosner (Sullivan’s Crossing)
Cassidy Evergreen (Lengies) is an ambitious guest services manager at her family’s boutique hotel company who is determined to prove she’s ready for the next step in her career. Her mother – and boss – Joanne (Kathryn Greenwood, Ghosts), sends her to Ridgeford Valley to evaluate the future of the charming but struggling Linden Lodge. Upon arriving, she meets Trey Sanderson (Rosner), the lodge’s devoted co-owner who is doing everything he can to preserve it. Alongside his spirited daughter, Lilly (Skywalker Hughes, Joe Pickett), Trey is working tirelessly to keep the lodge’s beloved holiday traditions alive, including the town’s annual Christmas Festival. As Cassidy becomes part of the festivities – from untangling Christmas lights and snow tubing adventures to helping Lilly sell holiday wish lanterns for charity – she begins to discover the magic that makes Linden Lodge so special. Along the way, Cassidy finds herself drawn to Trey, Lilly and the close-knit community that gathers there each Christmas season. But when outside pressures threaten the future of the lodge, Cassidy must decide what truly matters most.
LOVE UNDER THE MISTLETOE
Saturday, July 25, 8 pm ET/PT
Stars: Jen Lilley (A Royal Setting), Nick Bateman (A Brush with Love)
Interior designer Grace (Lilley) runs a business with her best friend and her brother in the quaint town of Ivy Glen but is too busy for a real relationship. Ryan (Bateman), a successful New York City financial advisor and Grace’s former high school crush, returns home planning to sell his grandmother’s historic St. Nicholas House. The mayor convinces him to revive the beloved Ribbons & Bows charity fundraiser and brings Grace on board to help. Working side by side to pull the event together, the former couple reminisces and feelings they once shared slowly resurface. But will this yuletide reunion lead to love under the mistletoe?
To read about the Hallmark+ event, then click here!
Hallmark+ announced today that it picked up Hope Valley: 1874 for another season. The When Calls the Heart prequel is the streamer’s #1 series.
“Hope Valley: 1874’s dream cast led by Bethany Joy Lenz, Benjamin Ayres and Jill Hennessy, has brought to life the rich characters and beautiful story crafted by showrunner Alfonso Moreno,” began Michelle Vicary, Head of Programming, Hallmark Media. “Our fans and press alike have enthusiastically embraced the series, making it especially rewarding to continue telling this story.”
The story which explores the earliest days of the frontier settlement that later became Hope Valley, chronicling the courage, resilience and relationships that laid the foundation for the close-knit town viewers have come to love. Lenz portrays Rebecca Clarke, a recent widow who travels with her 11-year-old daughter Sarah (Mila Morgan) to the Western Canadian frontier to escape a threat back home and make a fresh start following her husband’s death. When she discovers the boarding house she purchased sight unseen needed extensive renovations, Rebecca faced a tougher road ahead than she had imagined. Thanks to the fledgling community that embraces them – including local rancher and confirmed bachelor Tom Moore (Ayres), with whom she becomes close, and Hattie Quinn (Hennessy), a widow herself who runs the trading post with the help of her daughter Olivia (Roan Curtis) – Rebecca and Sarah become an intrinsic part of the settlement and they begin to find their way. Helping keep the peace between the ranchers and gold prospectors who are at odds with each other is Constable Alexander Vaughn (Lachlan Quarmby), who becomes smitten with Olivia, much to the dismay of local blacksmith Clayton Cooley (Jedidiah Goodacre), who has long harbored feelings for her. As the season comes to a close a sudden turn of events leaves their futures uncertain.
When Calls the Heart is the Hallmark Channel’s most-watched show of all time, and after 13 seasons, it is still going strong. So strong, it is getting a prequel on Hallmark+ today.
Hope Valley: 1874 stars Bethany Joy Lenz, Benjamin Ayres, Jill Hennessy, Roan Curtis, and Lachlan Quarmby.
Newly widowed, Rebecca Clarke (Lenz) left Chicago with her 11-year-old daughter, Sarah (Mila Morgan), to open a boarding house in Hope Valley.
The town needs one because there are plenty of pioneers who are flocking there to find gold. The locals don’t want them there, so they don’t want the boarding house.
Since it is 1874, Rebecca did not see what the building looked like before she bought it. That is a bad thing because it is in complete decay. She gave up everything for it, so what is she going to do?
Tom Moore (Ayres) is a local rancher, and he hates the pioneers more than everyone else there. He does not want them there and is doing everything he can to stop them. But they are fighting back, and that is leading to a lot of conflicts between those who live there and those who are new to the area.
Constable Alexander Vaughn (Quarmby) has been assigned to Hope Valley and will try to maintain order between the two groups. He has the law on his side, but is that enough?
Then there is Hattie Quinn (Hennessy) and her daughter, Olivia (Curtis), who together run the valley’s trading post. They are the bridge between the two sides. They are pioneers who have settled there.
The mother and daughter have also welcomed Rebecca to their town, and they will make a good trio. Will Tom make them a quartet? Rebecca and Tom have a connection, but their differences are coming between them. Something I am sure will change as the show goes on.
I have to admit, I have never seen When Calls the Heart, so I can’t compare the two or know how they are connected. Having said that, I really enjoyed Hope Valley.
It is the perfect period piece for us to enjoy. It might take place 150 years ago, but it feels modern. It is also a series that we can enjoy as a family, and we need more of that.
So if you have been debating whether to subscribe to Hallmark+, this is your reason to do so.
Lacey Chabert is the Hallmark Channel’s darling, and they have been giving her quite an adventure this year. First, they sent her to the Happiest Place on Earth to film the Christmas movie, Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True. And today, Hallmark+ announced that she is taking a trip to Europe to star in a six-episode limited series, Paris Is Always a Good Idea.
Career-driven nonprofit executive Chelsea Martin (Chabert) travels to Paris with her confident rival-turned-ally, Jason Knightly (Scott Michael Foster) to secure a major donation but a heartfelt message from her late mother – and a loving push from her sister Annabelle (Rebecca Hanssen) – sends her on an unexpected journey to reconnect with the three great loves she once left behind.
From the rolling hills of Ireland to the magic of Paris and the sun-kissed vineyards of Spain, Chelsea retraces old footsteps and discovers that sometimes moving forward means first looking back. The telemovie is filming on location in Paris and Spain.
“We can’t wait for viewers to come along on Chelsea’s journey of self-discovery, healing and – of course – unforgettable romance,” began Michelle Vicary, Head of Programming, Hallmark Media. “We know Lacey will bring a warmth and authenticity that will draw viewers into Chelsea’s world as she goes down this exciting path that ultimately leads her to the love she didn’t know she was looking for.”
The Romantic Drama, which is based on the novel by Jenn McKinlay, is expected to air later this year on the streamer.
Fans still cannot get enough of When Calls the Heart, so Hallmark is giving the period drama a prequel, Hope Valley: 1974.
Set in 1874, the series explores the earliest days of the frontier settlement that later became Hope Valley, chronicling the courage, resilience and relationships that laid the foundation for the close-knit town viewers have come to love. Lenz portrays Rebecca Clarke, who travels from her home city of Chicago to the Western Canadian frontier with her 11-year-old-daughter Sarah (Mila Morgan, The Holiday Sitter). But when her wagon breaks down, and she realizes the boardinghouse is not as advertised, Rebecca has no choice but to accept help from local rancher and confirmed bachelor, Tom Moore (Ayres). Despite her best intentions to remain unattached, Bella can’t help but slowly fall for Tom and develop a friendship with tenacious pioneer woman Hattie Quinn (Hennessy). Hattie’s daughter Olivia (Curtis) helps run their trading post and catches the eye of Constable Alexander Vaughn (Quarmby), much to the dismay of Clayton (Goodacre), who harbors feelings for her.
The series stars Bethany Joy Lenz (A Biltmore Christmas), Benjamin Ayres (The Santa Class), Jill Hennessy (City on a Hill), Roan Curtis (Firefly Lane) and Lachlan Quarmby (Providence Falls).
Hope Valley: 1874 premieres on Saturday, March 21, on Hallmark+. After the first episode, it moves to Thursdays for the rest of its season.
