News

Hallmark Christmas movies remain as cozy as ever, with tree-lighting, cookie-decorating and magical snowfall still the currency of the realm. But since the arrival of Wonya Lucas as the new CEO of Hallmark Media (formerly Crown Media) in 2020, the network’s offerings have branched out in many ways: Lots more diversity, of course — including, this year, Hallmark’s first holiday romance centered on a same-sex relationship and the network’s first film focused on Kwanzaa — but also new and different plots.

The memes show no sign of dying, but the movies themselves don’t always match the traditional roadmap. Two of this year’s new movies didn’t end with a kiss, a change previously unthinkable in Hallmark-land.

How do I know all this? Because I watched all 43 new 2022 Hallmark holiday movies (including the three that premiered in July on Hallmark Channel and the nine that premiered on Hallmark Movies...

There is one undeniable truth: Christmas holiday fare is a dime a dozen. Specialty channels like Hallmark literally air Christmas movies in July, and amp up the output as the season draws nearer, with such titles as A Christmas Cookie Catastrophe and A Royal Corgi Christmas. TV series air their obligatory Christmas-themed episodes, The Big Bang Theory's "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis" or Friends' "The One With the Holiday Armadillo," and then there are the standards, like A Charlie Brown Christmas. A trip to the movie theater this year offers everything from the adult-centered rom-com Christmas With the Campbells to the decidedly unrom-com Violent Night. What also is undeniably true is that only a handful become legitimate holiday classics, films that endear themselves to the public, becoming as much a tradition of Christmas as the family gathering. Films like Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Carol.

Exclusive: Hunter King (The Young and the Restless, Life in Pieces) has signed a multi-picture deal with Hallmark Media.

King made her Hallmark debut earlier this year in the Hallmark Channel original movie Hidden Gems. She followed it up with Nikki & Nora: Sister Sleuths on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and will next star in A Royal Corgi Christmas, premiering Friday, November 25 (8 p.m. Et/Pt), on Hallmark Channel as part of the network’s annual “Countdown to Christmas.”

“Hunter King brings such a spark to each role she brings to life and has been a wonderful addition to the Hallmark family,” said Lisa Hamilton Daly, Executive Vice President, Hallmark Media. “We’re thrilled to continue to work with Hunter and know viewers will be completely charmed by her performance in A Royal Corgi Christmas.”

King played Summer Newman on The Young and the Restless, which earned her two Daytime Emmys. She...