There Are So Many Holiday Rom-Coms Coming Out — Here Are The Ones To Watch
The holiday movie season is officially underway! Every year, there are more and more holiday rom-coms, with more and more networks and streamers getting in on the action that has traditionally been Hallmark and Lifetime's fare.
Because there are sooo many, it can be hard to sort through which ones are worth watching. As someone who has spent many (many, many) hours watching these movies over the years, here are my top picks for this season...
1.A Maple Valley Christmas — November 5, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
There are a couple of things that make a holiday rom-com an auto-watch for me, and Andrew Walker in the lead is one of them. He's so handsome, but more importantly, he has charisma and charm — a must to make any movie like this work. Here he stars opposite Peyton List, who plays a maple rancher who goes head to head with Walker's real estate executive over some land they both want. You know exactly where this is going, and of course, that's all part of the fun.
2.Falling for Christmas — November 10, Netflix
LiLo is back! Falling for Christmas is Netflix's first cab off the rank this holiday romance season, and it's pretty incredible to see Lindsay Lohan in a lead role in a rom-com again. She seems to be having a lot of fun in this, as she plays a hotel heiress who gets amnesia after an accident and is taken in by the dilfy average Joe owner of a nearby inn, played by Chord Overstreet.
3.Christmas with You — November 18, Netflix
It's a big season for '90s and '00s rom-com fans. Freddie Prinze Jr. joins Lindsay in returning to his finest rom-com form with Netflix. He plays a single dad whose daughter attracts the attention of her pop star idol Angelina (Aimee Garcia). When Angelina shows up in town looking to revitalize her career, she finds so much more (not a spoiler to say yes, it's love).
4.A Country Christmas Harmony — November 18, Lifetime
Sweet Magnolias fans are in for a treat with this holiday rom-com, as stars Brooke Elliott and Brandon Quinn once again find romance, this time as an estranged country music duo/pair of exes who are stranded in a storm together. Sparks (and songs) fly. Plus-size leads are still extremely rare in rom-coms in general, let alone holiday romances, so it's great to see Brooke Elliott get the spotlight here.
5.Three Wise Men and a Baby — November 19, Hallmark
Why yes, that's Andrew Walker again! He really is the king of holiday romance season. In this movie, he's joined by Paul Campbell and Tyler Hynes as they play the titular three wise men — and brothers — who find themselves unexpectedly looking after a baby for the holidays. That's right, it's basically Three Men and a Baby with Christmas thrown in the mix. I see no problem here.
6.Holiday Harmony — November 24, HBO Max
An up-and-coming singer-songwriter, played by Annelise Cepero, gets stranded in the small town of Harmony Springs on her way to LA for an iHeartRadio Christmas Eve performance. She meets an average Joe, played by Jeremy Sumpter (who you may know as your childhood crush/Peter Pan from that '00s movie). She also starts teaching music to a misfit group of kids. Oh, and Brooke Shields is in this, too!
7.The Noel Diary — November 24, Netflix
While this is more of a romantic drama than romantic comedy, there are some fun-enough elements to give it a spot on this list (Justin Hartley in a wet white shirt, anyone?). And it certainly has the holiday part happening — it's about an author (aforementioned wet Justin Hartley) who goes home for Christmas to settle his estranged mother's estate and meets a woman (played by Barrett Doss) searching for her own mother. Together they find a diary that might hold answers for them both. Because nothing sparks a romance like grief over mothers, I guess!
8.The Sound of Christmas — November 24, BET+
If you've ever watched The Sound of Music and thought, "You know what would make this better? Christmas," then you are in luck. A modern interpretation inspired by the classic musical, The Sound of Christmas stars Serayah and Ne-Yo as a charming nanny and the grouchy rich man who employs her (and not-so-secretly loves her), respectively.
9.Merry Kiss Cam — November 24, Hulu
Another '00s crush is back — this time, it's Jesse Bradford, aka the hot guy from Bring It On and Swimfan! He stars opposite Katie Lowes (who was in Inventing Anna). The pair play strangers who are spotlighted on the kiss cam at a hockey game right before their team scores a game-winning goal — turning them into an accidental good luck charm, which requires them to KEEP KISSING. What a shame...
10.Haul Out the Holly — November 26, Hallmark
If Andrew Walker is the king of holiday romances, then Lacey Chabert is most certainly the queen. She pumps them out every year, bringing all her charm to each role, with some movies more deserving of it than others. For this one, she's paired with Hallmark mainstay Wes Brown, whose character tries to rope her into the Christmas celebrations in her parents' neighborhood when she finds herself there alone for the holidays. It's not an earth-shattering plot, but the cast makes it worth a watch.
11.A Hollywood Christmas — December 1, HBO Max
I don't know about you, but I am a sucker for meta plot elements. Especially when holiday romances are involved. A Hollywood Christmas is about a Christmas movie director (played by Jessika Van) who has to deal with a grinchy network executive (Josh Swickard) who doesn't believe in the value of her work. Until, of course, she teaches him the meaning of it — and Christmas!
12.Cloudy with a Chance of Christmas — December 2, Lifetime
Brandon Quinn stars in his second holiday romance of the season (is he coming for Andrew Walker's crown?), this time as a morning show host who is sent to a small town for a Christmas Eve special alongside the show's ambitious weatherwoman, played by Valery M. Ortiz. It turns out there's more than snow in the atmosphere (there's also love) (and Christmas).
13.The Great Holiday Bake War — December 3, OWN
The Great Holiday Bake War combines two of the very best kinds of comfort watches — baking shows and holiday romances. It's about two baking school rivals who meet again in a reality TV competition and are forced to work together. Enemies-to-lovers with a side of baked goods? Yes, thank you.
14.All I Didn't Want for Christmas — December 7, VH1
Gabourey Sidibe produces and stars in All I Didn't Want for Christmas, which she describes as "a feel-good holiday story for adults who hate feel-good holiday stories." She plays a woman named Emily who drunkenly writes a letter to Santa with a bunch of wishes in a bid to make her life not suck. For better or worse, her wishes start coming true. There's no mention of romance explicitly in anything that's been released about the movie so far, but it's a pretty safe bet it'll be there, and it'll be great.
15.Something from Tiffany's — December 9, Amazon Prime Video
A gift mix-up (classic holiday hijinks!) causes the paths of two couples to cross, with surprising results (unless you're used to watching these rom-coms, in which case, it's not so surprising but still fun!). The always-watchable Zoey Deutch stars alongside Kendrick Sampson, Ray Nicholson, and Shay Mitchell, while Reese Witherspoon serves as a producer.
16.The Holiday Sitter — December 11, Hallmark
Holiday romances are unfortunately still overwhelmingly straight — The Holiday Sitter is one of the few with gay leads on the slate for this year, and it looks super cute. Jonathan Bennett of Mean Girls fame stars as a workaholic guy who gets in over his head babysitting his niece and nephew for the holidays. He enlists the help of a cute neighbor, played by Matthew James Dowden, and the two of them get on even better than expected.
17.A New Diva's Christmas Carol — December 14, VH1
A Diva's Christmas Carol is a holiday classic, and now we have a new iteration. Ashanti stars as the Scrooge figure, a mean-spirited singer and reality show judge who is visited by three spirits on a journey through Christmas's past, present, and future. The cast includes Vivica A. Fox, Eva Marcille, Robin Givens, Mckenzie Small, and Mel B, with Idris Elba listed as one of the producers.
18.A Christmas to Treasure — December 16, Lifetime
The second (and so far, it seems, only other) queer holiday romance of the season, A Christmas to Treasure sees six childhood friends reuniting in their hometown after a beloved old neighbor passes away. A holiday treasure hunt ensues — as it does — and sparks begin to fly between two of the friends, Austin and his former bestie Everett. Who can resist a childhood-friends-to-lovers romance?!
19.The Holiday Dating Guide — December 17, Lifetime
20.Hanukkah on Rye — December 18, Hallmark
Holiday romances are mostly focused on Christmas, but this is one of the few that is all about Hanukkah. Starring Yael Grobglas and Jeremy Jordan as two singles butting heads over their rival family delis while simultaneously unknowingly writing anonymous letters to each other, the whole thing has big You've Got Mail vibes. Lisa Loeb also stars.
