‘Tis the season! Hallmark Channel is getting into the holiday spirit early this year, announcing its new Christmas in July film slate.
Fans of the network will be treated to a double dose of Christmas beginning on Friday, June 24, on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, per Crown Media Family Networks. The channel will feature holiday movies nonstop through Thursday, July 30.
Hallmark Channel will then begin its coverage of all things Christmas the following week on Friday, July 1, which will run through the end of the month. This year’s schedule will also include three new films that’ll get fans into the festive spirit, starting with My Grown-Up Christmas List.
The feel-good movie premieres on Saturday, July 9, and stars Kayla Wallace as Taylor, a journalist, and Kevin McGarry as Luke, a military man. Throughout the film, Taylor and Luke’s “special bond” grows “over the course of several Christmases that they spend together and apart,” according to a press release.
The movie, which is based on the Amy Grant and David Foster song by the same name, will reveal what happens to Taylor after she returns home to assist her grandfather in running his Christmas store. While Taylor and Luke’s “chemistry is undeniable,” per the official synopsis, they have a slow build from friendship to more.
“They work together to overcome any challenges that arise and commit to making the most important wish on their Christmas list come true — to spend every Christmas together for the rest of their lives,” the network’s press release states.
Campfire Christmas, which premieres on Saturday, July 16, will shine a different light on the holidays, focusing old flames and hometown hangouts.
“Romance rekindles for Peyton and her closest friends when her parents decide to host a holiday themed reunion before selling their family-owned summer camp,” the logline reads. Tori Anderson, Corbin Bleu and Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman are all on board to star in the film.
Hallmark lovers can catch Vanessa Lengies and Jesse Hutch in Christmas in Toyland on Saturday, July 23, amid a slew of old holiday favorites from the network. This new movie will focus on the highs and lows of the season as a “toy store data analyst attempts to save hundreds of jobs right before Christmas to help keep the in-store experience alive,” per the synopsis.
Christmas in July marks the first batch of programs for the network without Candace Cameron Bure as part of the Hallmark family. The Full House alum, 46, announced in April that she would be joining GAC Media to create year-round content after previously being dubbed Hallmark’s “Queen of Christmas.”
“I’m very excited to develop heartwarming family and faith-filled programming and make the kind of stories my family and I love to watch,” Cameron Bure said in a statement at the time. “I am constantly looking for ways that I can inspire people to live life with purpose. GAC fits my brand perfectly; we share a vision of creating compelling wholesome content for an audience who wants to watch programming for and with the whole family. Great, quality entertainment with a positive message is what my partnership with GAC is all about!”
GAC Media, which was acquired by former Hallmark boss Bill Abbott in June 2021, has pulled a few big names onto its roster over the past year, but many Hallmark staples are still on board for the 2022 holiday season and beyond — including Andrew Walker and Lacey Chabert.
Christmas in July begins on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries on June 24 and on the Hallmark Channel on July 1.
