Alert! Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas 2020 Is Happening

This has been a hard year. We are all figuring things out day by day as the coronavirus pandemic continues. We are adjusting our lives to socially distance and keep our families safe. We've had to accept the postponement or cancellation of everything from concerts to sports, to weddings. It's a lot of disappointment to deal with but this morning we have some good news. We now know that one thing will not be cancelled—Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas. In March, as the virus reached the U.S., production from movies to television came to a screeching halt. But that gave time for networks and production houses alike to come up with a plan to be able to keep creating and keep everyone safe in the process. Well, our friends over at Hallmark have done exactly that and as they say, "the show must go on."

Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries announced this morning that productions are moving forward, as safely as they can, and the Countdown to Christmas 2020 is a go! Hallmark Channel will debut 23 all-new, original holiday themed movies that will star many of our favorites from Candace Cameron-Bure, Lacey Chabert, and Luke Macfarlane.

In addition to those 23 films, over on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, their Miracles of Christmas franchise will carry on this year as well, offering us 17 brand new, original movies to inspire and delight us. These films will star familiar faces such as Nikki DeLoach, Andrew Walker, and Holly Robinson Peete, but both networks are also bringing in new talent. One new face for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will be someone fans of Pretty Little Liars or Dancing with the Stars will know well—Janel Parrish.

The bounty of new programming will also include a When Calls the Heart Christmas special, which has become as much a part of our mandatory holiday viewing as Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life. You Hearties may have already gotten a heads up on this as several of the stars documented their travels up to Vancouver on social media.

Of course, we are in a very different world these days and Hallmark assures us that every possible safety measure is being taken to keep the casts and crews safe. Many of these productions will be filmed in Canada where, for the moment, Covid-19 is a little more contained than it is here right now. From what the stars have been posting, we see that they will be quarantining for a few weeks as a cast before filming officially begins.

Countdown to Christmas will begin on both networks on Friday, October 23. Grab the tinsel and mark those calendars, y'all.