Luke Macfarlane, Italia Ricci Fall in Love While 'Jeopardizing Christmas' in Hallmark's “Catch Me If You Claus” (Exclusive)

The movie, which is one of the network's 31 new holiday originals, premieres on Thanksgiving on Nov. 23

Italia Ricci and Luke Macfarlane are getting into the Christmas spirit... a few weeks early!

The pair is set to star in Hallmark Channel's new original holiday movie, Catch Me If You Claus, which premieres on Thanksgiving — and PEOPLE has the exclusive first look.

The story kicks off on Christmas Eve, when Avery Quinn (Ricci) is awoken by someone breaking into her house. She discovers a Santa-clad man (Macfarlane) and immediately jumps into action and ties him up — with a string of Christmas lights, naturally.

However, her Santa intruder — named Chris — pleads to be let go because he's in the middle of a very important job: delivering presents. Chris claims to be Santa Claus' son and tells Avery she will be responsible for ruining the Christmas magic for lots of little kids.

"You have tied up Santa Claus, thereby jeopardizing Christmas," Chris says in the clip. "What if you couldn't complete the most important task of your life?"

However, Avery, an aspiring news anchor, is not convinced by his heart-tugging story. She suspects Chris might actually be the elusive Santa Crook who has been making headlines — and she sees the potential for a career-making story by being the one to finally nab him.

"Luke Macfarlane has one night to convince Italia Ricci if he's naughty or nice," a narrator teases in the clip.

Related: Stars of Hallmark's Christmas Island Movie Recreate Backstreet Boys Video: 'Can You Guess Which BB We All Were?'

Just as Avery is about to hand Chris over to the police, a series of mishaps make the duo flee the officers, with some bad guys on their tail. Throughout the night, Avery and Chris race to track down clues and crack the case in time to make Avery's deadline, all while Christmas hangs in the balance.

"Will Avery’s news story make it to air, or will she be late and be in despair? Will Chris make his deadline and deliver all gifts, or will this Christmas be one that gets missed?" a description for the movie reads.

Related: All the New 2023 Christmas Movies Coming to Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix, Great American Family and More

In true Hallmark fashion, as the action unfolds, the ice between Avery and Chris begins to melt and they form a connection that might just lead to love.

In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Ricci, 37, called making the movie "one of the most enjoyable shoots ever," giving Macfarlane, 43, a shout-out for bringing the fun to the set.

"[Luke] had me doubled over in laughter the entire time, and if they let us share some bloopers I can prove it," she wrote, before telling Hallmark fans, "I hope you have as much fun watching it as we had making it!"

Related: Hallmark Reveals Full Schedule of 2023 Holiday Movies Featuring Lacey Chabert, Phylicia Rashad, and More

Catch Me If You Claus is one of 31 new original movies being rolled out on Hallmark this holiday season, starring a long list of fan-favorites of the network including Lacey Chabert, Nikki DeLoach, Andrew Walker, Bethany Joy Lenz, Erin Cahill and Jonathan Bennett.

Several new faces will also join the Hallmark holiday fun, including Bryan Greenberg, Suits star Rick Hoffman and William Moseley.

Additionally, nine new holiday films will debut on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, while two more movies will premiere on their subscription streaming service, Hallmark Movies Now.

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Catch Me If You Claus premieres Thursday, Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel.

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