Hallmark Movies Now Is the Best Way to Stream Your Christmas Favorites

Damian Holbrook December 5, 2023, 9:30 am

Tamera Mowry-Housley, Ronnie Rowe, and Isabel Birch in 'Inventing The Christmas Prince' — Hallmark

*Inventing the Christmas Prince*

“In the same way that viewers flock to our linear channels for our signature Christmas programming, the holiday season is one of our streaming service’s most popular times of the year,” says Emily Powers, executive vice president of streaming and digital platforms at Hallmark Media. In fact, HMN is the No. 1 streaming destination for holiday viewing, she notes. But it’s about more than numbers. “The positive impact we have on viewers during this special time of year is something I’m really proud to be a part of,” she says.

This year, HMN will be making the season brighter than ever with a slew of fresh movie premieres. So if an unbeatable library of Yuletide-themed treats is on your to-watch wish list, we compiled some further intel, straight from the source, to make the seriously stacked service even more tempting.

Reshma Shetty, Will Kemp in 'Jolly Good Christmas'

Jolly Good Christmas (Credit: Rob Baker Ashton/Hallmark Media)

So, what is the difference between Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies Now?

Hallmark Channel and sister net Hallmark Movies & Mysteries are linear channels available through your cable provider. Hallmark Movies Now is the company’s subscription streaming service. For $5.99 a month ($59.99/year), users get access to commercial-free films and shows from both of the Hallmark hubs, plus new stuff too. It’s like the Netflix of comforting, feel-good content.

How can I watch?

Streaming devices like Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast all support HMN, but you can also just go straight over to hmnow.com on your browser to watch your favorites directly — and sign up for your free seven-day trial.

Does Hallmark Movies Now have television shows too?

The streamer is stuffed like a stocking with them. Hallmark Channel classics Good Witch, Chesapeake Shores, and When Calls the Heart are all available. You can also see recent rodeo hit Ride and Andie MacDowell’s drama The Way Home. There are even throwback broadcast titles such as CBS’s Touched by an Angel and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. “We continue to make [our TV shows] available…to support existing fans and to reach new ones,” Powers says. To that end, they’ve also made some worth-a-binge acquisitions: In the 2018–19 Canadian crime comedy Carter, Jerry O’Connell plays a TV star who returns home after a fall from grace, and the underrated soap Legacy — which ran on the late UPN network from 1998 to 1999 — tracks a post – Civil War Kentucky family.

Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas 2022: The Complete Lineup

And does the streamer feature every Hallmark movie…ever?

Maybe not all of them, but with more than 1,000 hours of programming available, you won’t run out of options quickly.

How often are there new things to watch?

The roster is switched up regularly, based on what hits most with viewers. “Month to month, offerings are new and distinct from our linear channels,” explains Powers. “We’re always listening to our fans.”

Just how many holiday movies can there be, really?

“We offer hundreds of holiday movies on the service,” Powers proudly confirms. Recent Hallmark Channel arrivals include last year’s cheerful London-set Jolly Good Christmas with Reshma Shetty (Blindspot) and A Big Fat Family Christmas with Shannon Chan-Kent (Good Trouble), as well as 2018’s music-filled Christmas at Graceland with Kellie Pickler and Wes Brown. (Check out even more worth streaming on the following spread.) There’s literally something for every type of streamer. As Powers points out, “A perfect Hallmark viewer is anyone — people of all ages and from all walks of life — looking for an entertainment experience that brings comfort and joy.” That sounds like glad tidings to us.

This is an abbreviated version of TV Insider’s December cover story. For more in-depth, reported coverage on select December Hallmark titles and more streaming shows from the publishers of TV Guide Magazine, pick up the issue, currently on newsstands, or purchase it online here. You can also subscribe to TV Insider Magazine here now.