New Christmas movies coming to CBS in 2022
New Christmas movies coming to CBS in 2022 promise to bring a touch of Hallmark to the network. CBS has announced the production of three Christmas-themed films, two of which are being produced by a company that does extensive work with Hallmark Channel.
Until last year, CBS limited its holiday programming to the children’s classics “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman.” But in December 2021, the network released the original movies “Christmas Takes Flight” and “A Christmas Proposal.”
CBS is one of several networks and streaming platforms cashing in on Hallmark Channel’s winning holiday movie formula. In 2021, Netflix added 12 holiday romantic comedies to its lineup, including A Castle for Christmas, starring Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes.
Hallmark ratings sweep
Hallmark, which is famous for producing dozens of romantic comedies throughout the year, had a ratings sweep last holiday season with its Countdown to Christmas and Miracles of Christmas programming.
According to Nielsen ratings, more than 2 million viewers tuned in to watch the new holiday movies premiering every weekend from late October to late December. During the opening weekend of Countdown to Christmas, Hallmark beat out all four major networks for the 8-10 p.m. Saturday time slot among women ages 18-54.
New Christmas Movies coming to CBS
Sheryl Crow will write music for the first of the three movies, which is titled When Christmas Was Young. Written by bestselling novelist Robert Tate Miller (Hope at Christmas, Forever Christmas), the movie follows a music manager desperate to find a hit for one of his clients. When he meets and falls for a singer-songwriter who gave up on making it big years before, he tries to secure the rights to a Christmas song she wrote.
Dance and fitness guru Amanda Kloots will star in Fit For Christmas, a movie that takes place in the Christmas-obsessed town of Mistletoe, Montana. According to a description from the network, Kloots plays a fitness instructor at the local community center who meets and falls for a businessman, only to find out he wants to tear down the center to build a resort. The movie is being produced by Brad Kevoy’s Motion Picture Corporation of America, a company that has produced Christmas movies for Hallmark, Netflix, and GAC Family, the new network started by former Crown Media CEO Bill Abbott.
Motion Picture Corporation of America is also producing Must Love Christmas, the third movie on the CBS holiday roster. In the film, an author known for her Christmas-themed novels becomes stranded in a small town. She finds herself in a love triangle with a childhood friend and a local reporter.
CBS has not yet given a release date for the films.