Below is a List of 5 Christmas Movies discovered, so far,
for the UP network's 2015 Christmas Season!
Click on the Titles for More Details...
UP-TV Christmas movies:
My One Christmas Wish - starring Amber Riley, Matreya Fedor, Ali Skovbye, Jarod Joseph, Priscilla Faia, and Ken Tremblett
Beverly Hills Christmas - starring Dean Cain, Eric Roberts, Daniel Baldwin, John Savage, Donna Spangler, Simona Fusco
Angels in the Snow - starring Kristy Swanson (The Christmas Wish), Chris Potter (Heartland), Colin Lawrence, Catherine Lough Haggquist, Lizzie Boys, Kolton Stewart
A Dogwalker's Christmas Tale - starring Lexi Giovagnoli (All She Wishes), Dina Meyer (Miss Match) and Patrick Muldoon (Days of Our Lives), Jonathan Bennett (Another Christmas Kiss)
Rodeo & Juliet - starring Krista Allen, Tim Abell, Nadine Crocker, Zeb Halsell, Buck Taylor
There may be more UP movies added... please stay tuned!!!
Click on Titles above for more details on each movie...
A special thank you to L. Monroe for sharing some of the titles above.
These UP movies look good this year! Do you think these 5 movies are the limit for UP or will there possibly be more?
ReplyDeleteUP premiered 9 new Christmas movies last year, and since I've heard they are planning to go even bigger than last year, I'm expecting there to be more, but we'll have to wait and see!
DeleteMissing out again! Wish we could get UP on AT&T u-verse!
ReplyDeleteWonder why they haven't made the UP channel available for AT&T u-verse customers since merging with DirecTV and adding Hallmark back to their channel lineup? If I were you, I would Call, and use Twitter or Facebook, if you have accounts there,... and request it!
DeleteHas Dean Cain left Hallmark?
ReplyDeleteYou are right - Dean Cain hasn't had a major part on Hallmark for awhile, but he hasn't left the network all together... he actually had a very small cameo role in the Valentine movie "A Wish Come True". I'm sure he'll be back at some point!
DeleteMiss him....he needs another Christmas Movie for sure.
DeleteFunny to see both Dean Cain and Kristy Swanson names, but not together this year in a Christmas movie. They've done so many together in the past.
ReplyDeleteSo true - they've portrayed a couple in many made-for-TV films... Operation Cupcake, Merry Ex-mas, and A Belle for Christmas.
DeleteYou know, I watch some of the UP Christmas movies each year -- I never seem to watch all of them, and I didn't realize there were 9 last year -- but, I've got to be honest... I just don't like them anywhere near as much as I like the Hallmark movies. I can't explain it. I don't know why. A lot of the Hallmark actors appear in UP movies (and ION movies, and Lifetime movies, and ABC Family movies) too. The stories are not dissimilar. But I just don't like them as much. Even the Lacey Chabert movie last year -- "The Tree That Saved Christmas" -- did not impress me, and I generally like most of her TV movies.
ReplyDeleteION has been churning out more holiday movies each year too, and a few of them have been decent. I am interested to see what they've got planned for this year too.
I agree that ION seems to produce better programs than UP. It's a shame ABC Family isn't making original movies anymore. Though some of them have been awful, they've had some gems. I also sometimes prefer Lifetime movies to Hallmark's (heresy here, I know) simply for their better production values. As Hallmark produce more and more movies each year, I've seen the cheapness of these productions become ever more apparent. Don't get me wrong, I still love them, but I've noticed that my favorites tend to be from earlier years.
DeleteI have to disagree. Sorry. I follow Net's web-site daily and I like your comments, Sherry, but I had to comment and say I would much rather watch an UP movie over ION.
DeleteWhy? ION's are typically cheesy and they don't seem to care if they are more like Lifetime. (TV-14 range) I cannot think of one "ION gem" as Anonymous called them?
UP's movies are not always the best, but made or edited for families, which is what we like. Also, I like Lacey Chabert's UP movie "The Tree That Saved Christmas". In my opinion, it's far better than Lacey's recent Hallmark movie "Family For Christmas", which was a train wreck as soon as she woke up to the screaming girls she didn't recognize as her own daughters.
One more thing, I agree with Anonymous, most of the best ones seem to be from earlier years. Sadly, the value may be going down due to mass production.
I liked The Tree That Saved Christmas. Lacey was great in it last year. I was hoping it would be released on DVD. Any news on that?
DeleteIt's wonderful we have so many networks and movies to choose from - since we all like many different things!
DeleteI do prefer the family friendly variety, but it seems even Lifetime and ION are offering more like that. I think they are trying to keep up with Hallmark during the Holidays, which I'm sure is a challenge. ABC Family's latest attempts, in years past (Holidaze, Christmas Cupid, etc...) were far from family-friendly and I'm thinking viewership suffered for that very reason and perhaps is why they haven't offered any new premieres.
All in all, it will be fun to see what everyone has to offer this year. I'm excited to see UP's new line-up of Christmas movies since my family really enjoyed "Paper Angels" and "The Tree that Saved Christmas" last year.
If you want to check out this year or previous years, you can see my Christmas Movie list, here.
"The Christmas Clause", starring Lea Thompson, was an ION original movie and quite good; one of the ones I still remember 6-8 years later by name. "Dear Secret Santa", "A Very Merry Mother of the Bride," "Undercover Christmas" "Kristin’s Christmas Past" and "Love at the Christmas Table" were all very good, memorable Lifetime Christmas films.
Delete"Dear Secret Santa" was really good! I also liked "Twelve Trees of Christmas" -- which felt very, very, very much like a sweet Hallmark movie, but it was on Lifetime -- and I also liked "A Snow Globe Christmas," which was on Lifetime. "The Road to Christmas" was pretty good too.
DeleteThere really have been quite a few decent Lifetime Christmas movies over the years, but last year it seemed like they kind of gave up and didn't really try to do anything too interesting, or it seemed like they were trying to veer in a different direction that where they had been going in prior years.
ABC Family (which is now inexplicably changing its name to "Freeform"??) seemed to have given up in terms of new Christmas content in 2014 too. Really, only ION and UP stepped up their games in 2014 and made a lot of movies (combined) to compete with Hallmark. But ABC Family and Lifetime have made some watchable Christmas movies in the past and could very well do so again.
The much-loved "Picking up and Dropping Off" and "Borrowed Hearts" were both ABC Family movies, if I recall correctly, as were "Holiday in Handcuffs" and "Snowglobe," which are two cheesy ones I really enjoy. And one of my very favorite Christmas movies, "Christmas Do-Over" was an ABC Family original. They also made the Year Without a Santa Claus sequel which was just OK, but I think new animated Christmas specials are something we desperately need.
DeleteThat is somewhere Hallmark has dropped the ball too, though they previously made the very cute Jingle specials, as well as the excellent Hoops and YoYo specials, we’ve had nothing new for years now on that front. :( You’d think Hallmark would be well suited, too, with their merchandising tie-in opportunities.
It's a shame ABC Family hasn't produced an original holiday movie or special for a while, and this new focus shift/name change probably doesn't bode well for that changing in the future, especially given the content shift in recent years during the 25 Days of Christmas, which now seem to focus on daily airings of the Harry Potter films, versus truly Christmas-themed movies. (I know most of the Potter movies have a Christmas scene or two, but I wouldn’t call them holiday films.)
Anyone else remember "Karoll's Christmas”? That was a very good A&E original Christmas movie. Don’t see those anymore!
It does seem like Hallmark, ION and UP have cornered the made-for-TV Christmas market, with Lifetime throwing a couple out there as well. Most of these movies — though I’m not 100% sure about Lifetime — all come from the same couple of production companies, so therefore offer a similar formula, no matter where they end up airing. It's also why you see the same stable of actors (‘80s, ‘90s TV regulars as the leads, with a large Canadian supporting cast) again and again across the various networks.
Enjoyed reading all these movie thoughts, so much so!...
DeleteI just wanted to add a couple things... Hallmark actually had a new little animation last year, a cartoon short during Northpole, that I noticed, when I recorded it on Christmas Day. I will have to go back and look at it to give you further info on it.
Also, Borrowed Hearts (one of my old favorites with Roma Downey) isn't really from ABC Family, it actually premiered in 1997 on CBS during the height of Touched By Angel, in which Roma starred! It's amazing that even the main local networks use to give us some cherished Christmas movies, such Jennie Garth's "Secret Santa" from NBC, Olivia Newton John and Gregory Harrison's "A Christmas Romance" from CBS, and then Roma Downey, again, plus George Newbern, and Doris Roberts in "Sons of Mistletoe", which was also CBS....and many more!!!
Also, it's truly unfortunate the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies no longer have a home on local TV, which never made sense to me when they always garnered great ratings.
Thankfully, there is still the Hallmark channels to give viewers wonderful, new, family Christmas movies year after year! Hopefully, more will be released on DVD for those who do not have cable!
Also, to Sherry's fun movie comment above...
DeleteAwful is my opinion on ABC family's name change... However I think they are strongly wanting to veer away from being a family known network, and the name "Freeform" (coming in 2016), which sounds very strange, is how they plan to achieve it.
Their 25 days of Christmas surely doesn't excite viewers as it once did, although I know it still gets them great ratings each year, which always surprises me since they haven't had anything new for awhile and they typically play the same stuff repeatedly, except for the one ABC Family movie most want to see... "The Christmas List"! The most recent movie they did that I liked was "12 Dates of Christmas"... A little crazy, but so creative and fun!
Also, loved Ashley Williams in Lifetime's "Christmas in the City"... She's adorable in just about anything... Looking forward to see her in a couple weeks in Hallmark's "October Kiss"!
"Christmas in the City" was great -- and very, very much like a Hallmark movie in the type of tone we would expect. While 2013 was a great year for Hallmark's movies, it was also a pretty decent year for Lifetime's Christmas movies as well!
DeleteI agree about the name "Freeform" being awful! I was saying to someone else that there are too many other words and phrases that begin with "free," and "Freeform" is not memorable enough to keep people from mangling the name or messing it up when talking about it.
I thought that "12 Dates of Christmas" was cute. I liked "The Mistle-Tones" better, but "12 Dates..." was not bad. Last year, I don't know what ABC Family was thinking. Both that channel and Lifetime seemed to veer off in a different direction that did not seem to mesh with what they did in 2013 and prior years. I hope they get back on track with the Christmas movies, but I am not keeping my hopes up for "Freeform." Lol.
There was a time when ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas was THE place to go for familiar, popular Christmas TV fare. I'm a huge Disney fan to begin with, so I appreciated that they showed Disney movies year-round. Also, I love, love, love the old Rankin-Bass stop motion specials from my childhood, and I was happy to see that they found a home on ABC Family.
DeleteAnd Lifetime would throw in a few Christmas movies each year, so there was a good dose o' Christmas cheer to be had.
But THEN.... Hallmark started rising in the ranks... suddenly becoming an established holiday presence with more movies each year, and my attention shifted over to both Hallmark channels. Really, seeing that Hallmark is a brand that has always been known to celebrate holidays and special occasions, it makes perfect sense for them to become the #1 TV holiday destination and continue those celebrations via their movies. Soon, Hallmark had surpassed ABC Family in my mind, simply because they were making multiple original movies every year, and those movies had a tone and feel that I liked.
What probably started out as Hallmark wanting to compete with ABC Family and Lifetime, ended up being a situation in which Lifetime, UP, ION and whoever else now want to compete with Hallmark... and Hallmark keeps raising the stakes, with more new movies each year!
Hallmark has more new movies every year but they mostly follow the same forumal now and star the same exact actors every year. So many of their new stuff is boring and not like the Christmas movies of the past. ION is stepping up its game and becoming more interesting and UP looks to be stepping up their game as well. Even TV One introduced a few original Christmas movies last year. And unlike the other channels Hallmark's movies lack diversity.
DeleteThe same general crop of actors makes the rounds between all of the channels and their movies. Patrick Muldoon and Dean Cain, for example, have been in movies for several channels. Cameron Mathison was in an ABC Family Christmas movie in the same year that he was in 2 Christmas movies for Hallmark and a non-holiday movie on Lifetime. Alicia Witt did a Christmas movie for Hallmark and one for Lifetime in the same year. Lacey Chabert mostly works with Hallmark, but she has done things for Lifetime, and UP, and I think another channel too. Teri Polo has been all over the place.
DeleteI could give more examples, but the point is that many of the same actors are going to eventually pop up in movies across all the channels that run new movies, and they all have very similar stories and tones.
One of the reasons I love the Hallmark Christmas movies is because of the reliable stable of actors. I like the familiar faces and formulas! I really do. I usually prefer the movies on the regular Hallmark Channel to the movies on Movies & Mysteries, too, though I have to spend more time on HMM now because "The Christmas Ornament" and "Angels & Ornaments" are going to be there and I can't miss those!
I will agree that the Hallmark movies lack diversity. That is very, very true. They seem to be making small strides in the right direction, but they have a long way to go.
But as far as everything else goes, I love what Hallmark does and that's why I prefer their movies over the movies on the other channels. Their formula works for me.
What small strides? They don't even have diverse supporting players in most movies
DeleteAnonymous -- I'm not really certain why you singled out a post of mine from October, but you must not actually be watching any of the Hallmark movies if you think that there aren't diverse supporting players. In fact, that's one of the main things people complain about -- that the diversity is in the supporting casts and not in the lead roles. People often refer to the "best friend," the "boss" or the "co-worker" being of color, but not the lead actors or actresses, and that's the point of contention.
DeleteAlso, Katrina Law -- the lead actress in 2 Hallmark movies -- is Taiwanese-American. Meghan Markle -- the lead in two Hallmark movies -- is biracial. Jessica Szohr -- the lead in one Hallmark movie -- is either biracial or multiracial (I cant recall).
So... I repeat what I said (that you argued with). Those are small strides. Not major leaps and bounds, but small strides. ;-)
I had Comcast and was talked into going with AT&T. I found the Hallmark Channel on AT&T was extra and did not carry UP TV. It only took me one week to go back to Comcast where I can get BOTH Hallmark channels and UP TV at no extra costs. I also call AT&T requesting UP and they had no idea when it will be available. As I have said many times thank you for allowing me to give my opinions and questions are always answered. Peace
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to switch back and get Hallmark, HMM, & UP! It's such a shame we can get so many channels at such a high price and yet not always the one or two we really want! Enjoy!!! :)
DeleteWow, looks like UP channel is really upping their game. They've got an interesting line up again this year and a few cast members that can carry their own weight. BTW, Net, all is well in our area, God is good and thanks for your prayers!!
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear all is well for you, Linda... I was so afraid for you after seeing such tragic results from the heavy rain on our news. My heart is full and still praying for those who were especially hit the hardest.
DeleteThank you, Linda, for always adding to the movie discussion! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on upcoming movies!!!
For some reason, when I tried to click Reply above to respond to a couple of comments that responded to my post, nothing happened. I couldn't reply! Lol.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I don't necessarily always prefer watching ION's movies over UP's movies, but I prefer Hallmark's movies over UP (and usually over everyone else's movies too). I said that there were a few (or maybe a couple) that I saw on ION that were decent. I've seen a couple of movies on UP that were decent too, but I just don't really like their movies nearly as much as Hallmark's. I did not like "The Tree that Saved Christmas" at all, despite how charming Lacey is.
Honestly, as Net said, all of these other channels are stepping up to compete with Hallmark. Hallmark is currently leading the pack in terms of holiday movies, and none of the other channels are coming close. But they are stepping up their games and making more holiday movies to at least try to get in the game a little bit.
And, also as Net said, some of the movies made by the other channels are like Hallmark's. Some of them could really be interchangeable. The same actors make the rounds between channels. The same sorts of stories are told. The same fake snow appears in all of the movies! Lol. Many of the movies are so similar across all channels that I think some viewers get confused and think that they saw Lifetime, ABC Family, UP or Ion movies on Hallmark! They can't tell the difference.
I have seen a few good holiday movies on Lifetime ("The Christmas Angel," for example, with Bruce Davison, is a beautiful story that had me in tears!).
I've seen decent movies on ABC Family ("The Mistle-tones" was utterly delightful. "Snowglobe" was also quite charming and funny).
I've seen some decent movies on UP and ION ("Christmas in Palm Springs" and "Holiday Road Trip," respectively).
But, at the end of the day, Hallmark's movies keep me interested and I am most looking forward to what they bring to the Christmas table every year! :-) I know that with 19 new movies (including WCTH) coming up this November and December, there is no way they can all be winners. There will likely be some train wrecks and clunkers in the bunch! I suppose I will feel content if I end up loving even just 5 of the new movies. I am encouraged by the specific actors and actresses in the movies this year -- I like quite a few of them from their previous movies (Alicia, Candace, Katrina, Sarah, Andrew, Paul, etc.), and I hope that means that I can at least count on their new movies to be good.
One of my all-time favorite made-for-TV Christmas movies, Holiday Switch, was a Lifetime original.
ReplyDelete"Holiday Switch" is one of my favorite Lifetime movies, too! I wrote about how much I liked it - here on my blog, and the son of the woman who wrote it, responded to share it was previously titled "The Laundry Room" and was re-written to make it a Christmas movie!
Delete"Holiday Switch" and "Comfort and Joy" are two of my all-time made-for-TV Christmas films, and both are Lifetime originals.
ReplyDeleteI definitely like both of these movies... Hope to see them again this year on Lifetime! :)
DeleteThanks for sharing the wonderful list of Christmas movies. this year. Keep updating more informative blogs with us.
ReplyDeleteThank You!!! ;)
DeleteOnce Upon a Christmas and Twice Upon a Christmas have aired on Hallmark and ABC Family in recent years but that was a PAX(now known as ION) original movie.
ReplyDeleteThank you for making this website! I am a Holiday movie nut and just shared this page on Facebook!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite movies are Borrowed Hearts and Holiday Romance but can't find them listed to play on any channel this year? Any ideas?