© 2017 Crown Media United States, LLC Jeremy lee
There is no denying that the Hallmark Channel’s made-for-TV Christmas films have become insanely popular with millions and as they have gone from cheesy guilty pleasures to some of the most anticipated of the Christmas season, the channel is set to beat its own record by releasing 40 new Christmas TV movies this year!
The Hallmark Channel and its sister network Hallmark Movies & Mysteries only set a new record last year with 38 brand new holiday films which was up from 33 in 2017. According to Entertainment Weekly, Hallmark Channel is set to air 24 of the new films while HMM will premiere the 16 others. Over the past 10 years the two networks combined have delivered 176 original holiday films, and this year they are debuting their first one in July with the launch of the network’s halfway to Christmas campaign dubbed Keepsake Christmas.
Not only is the network setting a new record with the 40 new films, but this year also marks the 10th anniversary of Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas which officially kicks off on October 25, 2019.
Back in February, Hallmark Channel announced that it already order its first three new Christmas movies of 2019 including The Christmas Song starring Kristin Chenoweth and Scott Wolf. Chenoweth will star as a youth choir director who is tasked with writing the big song for the Christmas Eve show and finds talent in a young boy who joins the choir. She then meets the boy’s widowed father, played by Scott Wolf, who seems surprised his son has joined the choir.
Melissa Claire Egan, Marc Blucas, and Patti Murin star in Holiday for Heroes, which premieres on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in November. The plot revolves around a woman (Egan) and a soldier (Blucas) who exchange letters for a year before their worlds collide.
The third film is set to be produced by none other than country star Blake Shelton. The movie will feature an emotional homecoming and plenty of Shelton’s songs, but no leads have been named for the film yet.
“The tenth year will be the biggest, boldest Christmas in Hallmark Channel history,” Crown Media executive VP of programming Michelle Vicary said. “Over the ten years, we have endeavored to be the no. 1 holiday destination, and achieved that over the last several years. What was different about last year — and what’s going to be really big about this year — is just how culturally relevant this has become in people’s minds beyond the programming, where we have towns asking if they can decorate themselves like a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, and people having watch parties.”