Counting down to Christmas? 3 new Hallmark, Lifetime movies with suburban stars

Posted November 03, 2018 7:31 am

Lisa Miner

Joy Holbrook (former Naperville resident Danielle Panabaker) re-connects with the comforts of home in Hallmark's "Christmas Joy." Courtesy of Hallmark

Small-town traditions! Cookie contests! Lost loves!

Must be time for Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas. This year, the cable channel has 22 new selections to rotate. Plus, you can check out more happily-ever-after holiday offerings on Lifetime, UP and ION.

And as an added bonus, suburban stars will be popping up on a few - starting this weekend.

So pour yourself a cup of cocoa, claim a spot on the couch, and check out when and where you can see these familiar faces getting in the holiday spirit.

Danielle Panabaker

Local connection: Born in Georgia, she moved to Naperville as a child and attended Neuqua Valley High School.

Movie: "Christmas Joy" on Hallmark

Air dates: It debuts at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, and repeats at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4. You can also catch it at various times on Nov. 8, 10, 12, 14 and 20.

The premise: The aptly named Joy (Panabaker) is up for a big promotion, but she must rush back to her North Carolina hometown to help her Aunt Ruby recover from surgery. She offers to take Ruby's place in the town's Cookie Crawl competition - and re-connects with an old crush. Oh, and they go ice-skating.

Television producer Maggie Baker (former Buffalo Grove resident Jessy Schram) falls for Danny Wise (Chad Michael Murray) in "Road to Christmas." Courtesy of Hallmark

Jessy Schram

Local connection: She grew up in Buffalo Grove and attended Buffalo Grove High School.

Movie: "Road to Christmas" on Hallmark

Air dates: Debuts at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4. You can also catch it at various times on Nov. 8, 10, 18, 20 and 23.

The premise: Schram stars as Maggie Baker, a TV producer who tries to secretly reunite the host of a popular Christmas special with the host's sons as part of a live broadcast from Vermont. Then - surprise! - Baker falls for one of the sons (Chad Michael Murray).

Suburban native Bruce Boxleitner stars with Cheryl Ladd in Lifetime's "The Christmas Contract." Courtesy of Lifetime

Bruce Boxleitner

Local connection: He was born in Elgin and lived in both Crystal Lake and Mount Prospect, graduating from Prospect High School.

Movie: "The Christmas Contract" on Lifetime

Air date: 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 22

The premise: Boxleitner stars as a dad whose daughter, Jolie (Hilarie Burton), heads home to Louisiana for the first time since breaking up with her boyfriend. She knows they'll run into each other since his parents and hers run the town Christmas market together. Things get even more awkward when she finds out he has a new girlfriend. So she and a friend cook up a contract with a handsome novelist, who will serve as a buffer with the ex. Prediction: Romance ensues.

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