Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
Premiere Date: October 25, 2025
Description: Weatherman Ted Cooper (Robert Buckley) loves Christmas, but the last few have been disasters. Determined to make this one different, Ted heads home to Lackawanna, NY, ready for a holiday reset. Within hours, though, he’s fallen off a ladder, landed in Urgent Care, and reconnected with Dr. Hope Miller (Kimberley Sustad)—his old high school crush. Between his sister’s snark, a streak of holiday bad luck, and a string of injuries that could fill a safety PSA, Ted’s optimism gets tested. But with help from Hope, his family, and some Christmas spirit, he might finally get the merry he’s been forecasting.
Chemistry: Hello! Buckley and Sustad are gems. They’re both charmingly awkward in a way that makes their connection believable and refreshingly down-to-earth. You feel like you could run into them at a real Christmas party and instantly want to be their friend.
Plot: This one was a delight. It hit all the familiar beats of a Hallmark romcom but did it with more nuance, warmth, and an exceptionally wonderful script. Ted’s unlucky streak gave the story momentum without tipping into slapstick. This is the kind of script Hallmark should hold up as the holiday gold standard.
Design: The design team earned their paycheck. Sure, there was some blanket snow underfoot at the tree farm, and the on-tree snow looked a little sudsy, but the rest was top-notch. I even took decorating notes from one of the houses (no shame). And whoever decked out that hospital deserves an award—if your ICU doesn’t have a heartbeat made from red tinsel, you’re doing it wrong.
Overall: A fantastic first five-tree film of the season. Buckley and Sustad have nailed the “com” in romcom, delivering humor, charm, and chemistry in equal measure. This one is what holiday TV magic looks like when everything aligns.
Best Enjoyed With: A cozy blanket and the smug satisfaction of knowing you’re watching the first five-tree hit of the season.
Holiday Movie Wrap 