Hallmark movies are a staple of every holiday season. Is it really Christmas if you haven’t watched a dozen movies about a big city career woman falling back in love with her hunky high school boyfriend, who is now a single dad, while also saving her family’s small business? Here’s a hot tip for these not-so-cold months: Hallmark doesn’t just make original movies for the wintry holidays. In fact, Hallmark — and companion network Hallmark Movies & Mysteries — release original movies all year round, many of them starring your faves from the network’s annual Countdown to Christmas celebration. I’m talking about Lacey Chabert, Jodie Sweetin, and all the regulars.
With Hallmark and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries releasing new movies every single weekend all year long, it can feel daunting to look at a list of new movies on VOD and hit “play” on one at random. If you need some guidance to Hallmark’s non-holiday offerings, if you’re looking for the best of the best, look no further.
Below you’ll find a rundown of the 10 best Hallmark movies of the year so far, and you’ll be surprised by what Hallmark gets up to when ’tis not the season to be jolly.
How to stream the best Hallmark movies
As for how and where you can stream these — your best bet is usually checking the On Demand section of live TV streaming services like frndly, Hulu, Sling TV, and Philo. And if you want to catch the movie as it airs, or check it out on demand after it airs on Hallmark, you can find showtimes for each movie on their individual Hallmark Channel page (you’ll find a link in every entry below)
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Erin Cahill and Marco Grazzini star in this baseball romcom about a big-city publicist tasked with rehabilitating a pitcher’s tarnished image. The catch: the two of them used to date! Hearts in the Game may sound like the typical Hallmark romance, but this movie is full of surprises — like how the story prioritizes female friendship and has something important to say about mental health. Add in a hilarious performance by Donia Kash as the publicist’s assistant and you have a home run for Hallmark.
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Alexa PenaVega and Nicholas Bishop play advertising execs who get paired on a super flashy account and sent to Paris. When their clients misread their relationship, these two have to suddenly play engaged in order to save their jobs. With gorgeous scenery and lots of adult chemistry, A Paris Proposal has way more in common with classic romances like When Harry Met Sally. Even the fashion choices are commendable, which is something I never say about Hallmark movies!
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Torrey DeVitto and Yannis Tsimitselis play a couple who, while visiting his family back in Greece, have to defend themselves from his nosey, overbearing mom (Marina Sirtis). It turns out she has lots of ideas about their upcoming wedding and she is going to share them — and book the venue, buy the dress, pick the cake, etc! Hallmark’s spin on My Big Fat Greek Wedding is unlike any other movie on this list in that it focuses on a woman trying to set boundaries while building a relationship with her future mother-in-law.
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Hallmark MVP Jodie Sweetin plays internationally renowned lounge singer Jane da Silva, a woman who is taken by surprise when she inherits… her late uncle’s nonprofit private eye agency?? When faced with a case involving a teen whose Juilliard tuition has vanished, the impulsive Jane throws herself into a world of intrigue populated by scammers and people who skulk around empty houses in ski masks. This first Jane Mystery is so good that you’ll be cheering for an encore.
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Eva Bourne plays a tech employee on the rise who has the bright idea of importing traditional Indian matchmaking techniques into the company’s dating app. To do so, she has to work alongside the son of a super successful matchmaker, played by Never Have I Ever’s Rushi Kota. What starts out as a broad Hallmark romcom grows into a sincere love story with something to say about how we find and treat love today. Plus Rekha Sharma gets lots of great zingers as matchmaker Raina, including one aimed at Elon Musk.
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Fan favorite Hallmark sleuth Aurora Teagarden made a triumphant return in this prequel movie starring Skyler Samuels. Something New rewinds the timeline back to 2008, when Aurora was fresh out of college and her bestie Sally (Kayla Heller) was on the verge of getting married to a super shady dude. Cue the murder, and cue Aurora’s first-ever breaking and entering as an amateur crime-solver. This franchise reboot comes complete with new characters, atmospheric and moody cinematography, and lots of potential.
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Erica Durance plays Noelle, a mother in mourning who, through a twist of fate, ends up exchanging letters with a teen girl (Erica Tremblay) who’s grown up without a mother. This unlikely pen-pal situation becomes even more awkward when teenager Grace mistakes her new buddy for Noelle’s teenage daughter. It’s easy for any Hallmark drama to veer into relentlessly maudlin territory, but Unexpected Grace somehow avoids that by treating its characters with dignity and never shying away from the hard questions about grief and loss. It’s not a joy ride, but it might offer some catharsis.
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Lacey Chabert, another Hallmark holiday MVP spending the off-season playing a sleuth, stars as a police officer tasked with solving the murder of the CEO of an international ballroom company. Fortunately for her, the annual ballroom competition is coming up and all of the major suspects will be in attendance. She will catch the bad guy… and she will do so with the help of a surly ballroom instructor (Will Kemp), whether she wants it or not. Between the dancing detective, Jane da Silva, and the new Aurora Teagarden, 2023 has seen a solid rebuilding of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ lineup.
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Stephanie Bennett plays an aspiring feature writer whose upcoming wedding season gauntlet — three lifelong besties all getting hitched in one month — gets turned into a life-changing pitch for a lifestyle mag. Now she has to juggle her own complicated thoughts on marriage with the hassles of destination weddings and her increasingly complicated feelings for her plus one (Casey Deidrick). Instead of focusing on one couple, Wedding Season has a fantastic ensemble that feels super fresh and modern, especially for Hallmark.
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Heather Hemmens plays a prep cook for a Gordon Ramsey-esque TV chef who is thrust into the spotlight when her temperamental boss bails on an international shoot. Cheering her on, though, is an Australian cameraman (Luke Mitchell) who believes in all of her fresh ideas. Lovely shots of Portugal paired with legitimately delicious-looking food make A Pinch of Portugal stand out, as does the movie’s surprisingly nuanced take on balancing a career and romance.