Looking for some girl power this holiday season? Just turn your TV to the Hallmark Channel and keep it on through the New Year.
Over the course of its decade (and counting) run, Hallmark has quietly assembled a surprisingly stacked line-up of leading ladies, most of whom return each year to lead a Christmas rom-com during their Countdown to Christmas programming.
One of its go-to moves it to cast a familiar face—whether they’re a former child star the public watched grow up or an actress who appeared on a hit teen drama—playing into the “nostalgia factor.” While other networks are going with revivals to capitalize on the trend, Hallmark is just going for star power…and it’s working, especially for their wildly successful Countdown to Christmas programming, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year after continuously making the network the highest rated cable channel in the fourth quarter for the last several years.
“We’re all about creating traditions and celebrating family and celebrating who people want to spend time with, whether it’s a romantic relationship or a friendship or a parent or a sibling,” Hallmark exec Michelle Vicary previously told E! News. “Why couldn’t we recreate that as a television experience? We know our audience would like to see these people because they are iconic television stars who they can relate to, who they aspire to be like or that they feel like are family or friends and would like to see more of them. When we strategically cast them that way, our audience said, ‘Yes, that’s exactly what we want.'”
And no star represents the Hallmark Channel brand better than Candace Cameron Bure, the Full (and Fuller) House lead, who has become the network’s golden girl, leading their Countdown to Christmas (C-to-C in our households) charge and starring in the hit Aurora Teagarden film series.
Her latest film for Hallmark, Christmas Town airing on Dec. 1, marks Candace’s eighth Christmas outing, but she’s not the only female lead to hit her eighth film in 2019, with Party of Five and Mean Girls star Lacey Chabert also returning (and heading to Rome).
Hallmark; E! Illustration
In our imagination, the creative teams behind the Hallmark Christmas movies assemble at the beginning of each year for a leading lady draft of sorts, bringing scouting reports, comparing stats and eyeing a star to lead their film. (We kind of love that these movies tend to be all about the female lead, and also love to imagination the network’s top ladies staging their own fantasy football-esque draft to choose their male co-star for their movie each holiday season. Dibs on Andrew Walker!)
So we decided to do our own scouting report of sorts, rounding up many of the female leads who have starred in multiple Christmas films for the network over the years (and limited our list to stars who have one debuting this 2019 season).
Hallmark
Candace Cameron Bure
Movies: Moonlight & Mistletoe (2008), The Heart of Christmas (2011), Let It Snow (2013), Christmas Under Wraps (2014), A Christmas Detour (2015), Journey Back to Christmas (2016), Switched for Christmas (2017), A Shoe Addict’s Christmas (2018), Christmas Town (2019)
Signature: Career-focused (and well-dressed) professional who must re-discover the true spirit of Christmas…while falling in love.
Come on, do we even need to explain? Hallmark loves CCB more than Buddy the Elf loves maple syrup and their viewers love her even more. Candace’s line-up of Christmas movies, which she also produces, mark as the highest rated original movie of the whole year for Hallmark annually, always landing the coveted end-of-Thanksgiving-weekend slot (and hosting the Thanksgiving week festivities, too).
“It’s been not only a privilege but an honor to work with her because she knows how to build her career and her brand, and that’s what we do for a living too,” Hallmark exec Michelle Vicary told E! News of their Christmas Queen. Long may she reign!
Hallmark Channel
Lacey Chabert
Movies: Matchmaker Santa (2012), A Royal Christmas (2014), Family for Christmas (2015), A Christmas Melody (2015), A Wish for Christmas (2016), The Sweetest Christmas (2017), Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe (2018), Christmas in Rome (2019)
Signature: She has the range, but her go-to seems to be sweet and overworked young professional who has to find her voice…while finding love.
Without question, Chabert has appeared in the most Hallmark movies, appearing in Christmas, Valentine’s Day, June Weddings, Fall Harvest and other eventized programming since 2010. She starred in four films this year alone aka a leading lady for all seasons and occasions.
The Party of Five and Mean Girls star plays into the nostalgia the network loves to tap into, and was picked to host the 2019 Christmas: A First Look special in July. She’s a friendly and familiar face viewers love to spend time with, so if anyone could take Bure’s Christmas crown, it’s her.
Alexx Henry/Hallmark Channel
Danica McKellar
Movies: Love at the Christmas Table (2012), Crown for Christmas (2015), My Christmas Dream (2016), Coming Home for Christmas (2017), Christmas at Grand Valley (2018), Christmas at Dollywood (2019)
Signature: Uptight professional who is either trying to get a promotion or plan an event…while falling in love.
The Wonder Years star majorly taps into the nostalgia factor for Hallmark fans, with Danica also bringing a certain seriousness and sensitivity to her characters, who are often too career-focused for love.
Ricardo Hubbs/2018 Crown Media United States LLC
Jen Lilley
Movies: The Spirit of Christmas (2015), Mingle All the Way (2018), Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday (2019)
Signature: Spunky young woman, usually either a tech entrepreneur or chef/baker, who enjoys banter…while falling in love.
It’s clear Lilley, who brings a bit of a different flavor to the Hallmark roster with a sassy edge, is one of the network’s newer favorites, landing some pretty big movies in the C-to-C line-up as well as in the other seasonal programming events.
Crown Media / Steven Ackerman
Nikki DeLoach
Movies: Christmas Land (2015), A Dream of Christmas (2016), Reunited at Christmas (2018), Two Turtle Doves (2019)
Signature: A warm, approachable and capable working single parent who doesn’t think she’s ready for romance…while falling in love.
DeLoach is arguably Hallmark’s most underrated leading lady, always delivering a . And they clearly noticed the chemistry between DeLoach, who has served as an EP on several of her films, and Michael Rady, pairing the two in back-to-back films. Please Hallmark, can we have some more of this delightful duo?!
Josh Stringer/2019 Crown Media United States LLC
Jill Wagner
Movies: Christmas Cookies (2016), Maggie’s Christmas Miracle (2017), Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa (2018), Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses (2019), Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy (2019)
Signature: Tough yet sensitive tomboy whose had her heart broken and will slowly let her walls down…while falling in love.
Yet another super underrated lead, Wagner is consistently good and impossible not to root for, even with the most ridiculous circumstances. For some reason, her charisma works even better for us in the Fall Harvest offerings, but we look forward to the Teen Wolf alum’s Christmas offering each year.
Hallmark Channel
Jodie Sweetin
Movies: Finding Santa (2017), Entertaining Christmas (2018), Merry & Bright (2019)
Signature: Slightly goofy and awkward young professional looking to save Christmas…while falling in love.
You love to see Jodie following in her on-screen big sis and Fuller House co-star’s steps, joining the roster of Hallmark Channel romantic leads. While she’s not quite at Candace’s status, she’s landed pretty big movies and prime airtimes.
Hallmark Channel
Alicia Witt
Movies: A Very Merry Mix-Up (2013), Christmas at Cartwright’s (2014), I’m Not Ready for Christmas (2015), Christmas List (2016), The Mistletoe Inn (2017), Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane (2018), Our Christmas Love Song (2019)
Signature: The red hair, the lip-bite and slightly sarcastic tone…all while falling in love.
Talk about a versatile and reliable lead: Not only has Alicia starred in many movies for the network over the years, she’s also provided music for several, produced some and even wrote her first film for Hallmark.
“This one I wrote the story to, so it’s based on my original idea,” she told Media Village of her 2019 offering. “It’ll be my first produced thing as a writer, which is very exciting, and I’ll be writing an original song to perform on camera as the character sings. I love that Hallmark was the first to step forward and actually make it happen. They’re open to listening to their actors. It’s been wonderful working with them as a producer and developer.”
Crown Media
Ashley Williams
Movies: Christmas in Evergreen (2017), Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa (2018), Northern Lights of Christmas (2018), The Christmas Wish (2019), Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy (2019), Holiday Hearts (2019)
Signature: Exhaustingly cheery yet likable Christmas-obsessed small town girl who unexpectedly charms everyone she meets…while falling in love.
So how likable is the How I Met Your Mother star? Well, Hallmark tapped her for three different films for the 2019 slate, including an appearance in the Christmas in Evergreen franchise that launched off of her charisma two years ago.
Eike Schroter/Crown Media United States LLC
Erin Krakow
Movies: A Cookie Cutter Christmas (2014), Finding Father Christmas (2016), Engaging Father Christmas (2017), Marrying Father Christmas (2018), Sense, Sensibility, & Snowmen (2019), When Calls the Heart‘s annual Christmas specials
Signature: Playing her When Calls the Heart character or Father Christmas franchise character…while falling in love.
“They’re loyal, they treat us well, and they hire us year after year. It feels like being part of a family,” Krakow told TVOVermind of being part of the Hallmark fam. “And the fans are so passionate and engaged.” And she would know better than anyone, thanks to the small-but-fierce following When Calls the Heart has amassed.
Alexx Henry/Hallmark Channel
Autumn Reeser
Movies: A Bramble House Christmas (2017), Christmas Under the Stars (2019)
Signature: Capable and cute fighting for a cause…while falling in love.
OK, it’s impossible not to immediately root for The O.C. vet, it just is. Bonus points for the chic and very on-trend bob, too. And her 2019 offering with Jesse Metcalfe introduced some much-needed freshness to the typical Hallmark lead: She was a foster mom (not a divorcee or widow) with a great job and a relatable problem: she was in debt due to medical bills. I mean, it all still worked out in the end, but progress!
Fred Hayes/Crown Media United States LLC
Rachel Boston
Movies: Ice Sculpture Christmas (2015), A Rose for Christmas (2017), Christmas in Angel Falls (2017), A Christmas in Tennessee (2018), Check Inn to Christmas (2019)
Signature: Uptight professional who is either trying to get a promotion or plan an event…while falling in love.
One of the Hallmark’s mainstays, Boston isn’t as tied to the Countdown to Christmas programming as some of the other vets, but can always be counted on to deliver a subtle and sweet performance.
Crown Media United States, LLC
Merritt Patterson
Movies: A Royal Winter (2017), The Christmas Cottage (2017), Christmas at the Palace (2018), Picture a Perfect Christmas (2019)
Signature: Young creative professional mulling over major life and career decisions…while falling in love.
Another newcomer who really nails the whole girl-next-door-who-will-help-bring-your-groceries-into-the-house vibe Hallmark viewers can’t resist.
Ricardo Hubbs/Copyright 2017 Crown Media United States LLC
Brooke D’Orsay
Movies: Miss Christmas (2017), Christmas in Love (2018), Nostalgic Christmas (2019)
Signature: Rocking amazing Blake Lively-esque hair…while falling in love.
More of a newcomer to the C-to-C line-up, Brooke brings a sunny disposition and friendliness to all of her holiday-hued roles, though has yet to snag one of the prime timeslots just yet.
Katherine Bomboy/Crown Media United States LLC
Kellie Pickler
Movies: Christmas at Graceland (2018), The Mistletoe Secret (2019)
Signature: Southern charm and singing…while reluctantly falling in love.
Um…at least the American Idol alum’s singing voice sounds great?
Rhonda Dent/Crown Media United States LLC
Jessica Lowndes
Movies: Merry Matrimony (2015), A December Bride (2016), Magical Christmas Ornaments (2017), Christmas at Pemberley Manor (2018), Rediscovering Christmas (2019)
Signature: A young professional woman who was once dumped so she focuses on taking the next step in her career when she unexpectedly meets a guy. She usually ends up revealing a surprisingly good singing voice…while falling in love.
For some reason, the 90210 vet felt like an unexpected addition to the Hallmark fam a few years ago,, but she’s proven to be a solid lead.
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