Watching holiday movies has become a tradition for many families, and the list of contenders just got a lot larger.
For the 2024 holiday season, more than 100 new titles from networks such as Hallmark, Great American Family, BET+ and Netflix have joined the Christmas-movie canon to light up the small screen with messages of joy, hope, family — and of course, love.
While you can learn more about the full list here, we’ve narrowed the field to a more manageable number. Here are some intriguing picks for your holiday viewing.
Great American Family
It seems like the holiday season starts earlier each year, and this year, Great American Family got in the spirit back on Oct. 19, when it kicked off its fourth annual Great American Christmas holiday lineup with 16 new movies. Let’s take a look at some highlights.
In “A Royal Christmas Ballet,” Brittany Underwood plays a retired ballerina who saves a local production of “The Nutcracker” and falls in love unexpectedly. In “Home Sweet Christmas,” Candace Cameron Bure plays a lawyer who returns home after inheriting part of a maple syrup farm — then reunites with a childhood friend and falls in love. Former “Saved By the Bell” heartthrob Mario Lopez plays a mayor whose childhood Christmas list begins coming true, in “Once Upon a Christmas Wish,” inspiring residents to embrace its small-town friendliness. (It’s not clear who falls in love here, but we’re confident love will prevail.)
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Hallmark
With 32 new movies added to its 15th annual Countdown to Christmas programming, the Hallmark Channel is still winning Christmas. Catch these new titles, including “Holiday Crashers,” “The Christmas Quest” and “A Carol for Two,” airing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night leading up to the holiday (the Countdown began on Oct. 18).
The lineup goes beyond the traditional plotlines, though. With “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story,” the network is tapping into the crossover appeal of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs — back-to-back league champs in 2023 and 2024, and the most buzzed-about team in recent history thanks to the romance between Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and mega pop star Taylor Swift.
BET+
BET+, the streaming version of the long-running Black Entertainment Television network, will air eight original holiday films between Nov. 7 and Dec. 25. Leading the lineup is a sequel to a popular 1980s comedy.
“Brewster’s Millions: Christmas” carries on the theme of the original 1985 film, which starred Richard Pryor in the lead role, but with a twist: in order for heiress Monica Brewster (played by China Anne McClain) to inherit her uncle’s fortune, she must discover the real meaning of faith, family and love at Christmastime. The comedy also features Richard Pryor Jr. BET’s holiday series wraps with “Blended Christmas,” which features Jennifer Freeman in the story of a bride who cancels her destination wedding to take care of her husband’s former wife and kids.
Netflix
Streaming giant Netflix only has five new original Christmas movies on tap this year, but they’re not fooling around with star power— even enlisting Hallmark Channel holiday-movie queen Lacey Chabert for “Hot Frosty” and Lindsey Lohan on “Our Little Secret.” More of a “Die Hard” fan? Check out “Carry-On,” an action thriller about a strange package found on a Christmas day flight.
But that’s far from all the holiday movies Netflix has queued for viewers. Pick from titles ranging from “Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square” to animated features like “An Elf’s Story” to blockbusters like “Love Actually.” Here are 25 titles titles Netflix recommends for your holiday viewing.
