Rating: 🎄🎄🎄
Premiere Date: October 11, 2025
Description: In A Wisconsin Christmas Pie, pastry chef Emma Parker (Leclerc) trades Chicago hustle for cherry pie and hometown drama when she returns to her family’s orchard in Door County. The farm’s in trouble, the developers are circling, and apparently (as we often discover), the only way to save it all is through a holiday pie bake-off. (Because of course it is.) Along the way, Emma reconnects with her high school sweetheart, Mitch (Carnes), and the two discover that the true secret ingredient might just be love.
Chemistry: I’ll be honest—the chemistry was about as warm as a slice of pie straight from the fridge. Leclerc gave a lovely, grounded performance, but Carnes never quite met her energy, and I didn’t buy them as a couple. Their scenes worked fine, but not fireplace crackle fine.
Plot: The premise sounded simple enough—pie, romance, developers—but this thing had more layers than a dessert casserole at a Midwestern potluck. Between the bake-off, a fish boil, and saving the orchard, I needed a flowchart to keep up. Still, it wasn’t without charm—just a little overstuffed, like someone added too many fillings.
Design: Real snow! Actual bare trees! A rare holiday movie miracle. The decorations were kitschy in the best way—small-town Wisconsin through and through. And at one point, a man appeared dressed as a giant cherry pie, and you better believe I was absolutely here for it.
Overall: As the season’s first outing, this one benefits from the early-holiday goodwill that hasn’t yet been buried under twelve cookie-cutter plots. Not the best, not the worst—just a perfectly average slice of Christmas comfort to kick things off for Great American.
Best Enjoyed With: A steaming mug of coffee, a slice of actual cherry pie, and zero expectations of romantic chemistry.
Holiday Movie Wrap 