2019 Premieres We’re Most Excited For
The 2018 holiday season was the first year we dedicated serious time to our Very Merry Movies reviews. Our friends loved it. Our parents…well, they wished they had better stories to tell when asked “What are your kids up to?”
We found a lot of joy reviewing movies last year, especially when two 2018 premieres made our Very Merry list. So, we’re at it again! We want to see what 2019 movie premieres have to offer the genre. And we have a lot to choose from.
Hallmark came out to say they’re releasing 40 new movies this year. Lifetime is coming for them by starting It’s a Wonderful Lifetime on October 25. That doesn’t even mention the new content coming from Netflix, Freeform, Ion, UpTV, and whatever Amazon might try this year.
There were a lot of synopses to sift through. But these six stood out as the movies we’d schedule our calendars around (or, heck, cancel plans for) given their Very Merry potential:
#6: A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby
Channel: Netflix
Premiere: December 5, 2019
Ok. “Very Merry Potential” is a stretch for this third installment of the “A Christmas Prince” franchise. But even though we panned its sequel last year, we feel obliged to stick with the characters to see if they can recapture the charm of the first film.
What we know so far is that Prince Richard and (the now Queen) Amber are having a baby! No other details are attached to the description other than that they encounter “an ancient curse.”
We fear this flick will fall into the “so bad, it’s good” realm. However, given the underwhelming plots we abundantly found in our 2019 research, we’re craving a little frivolity this season.
#5: Merry & Bright
Channel: Hallmark
Premiere: November 2, 2019
Nothing feels more Christmas-movie-esque than an Evil Corporation’s attempts to make a small-town company more profitable. And if that company makes candy canes and the suit-wearing consultant is one of our favorite scene stealers, Andrew Walker, we’ll prioritize that film.
High-production values and chemistry between the leads will be what’ll elevate this movie from the other 39 Hallmark premieres. Here’s hoping they can sneak in some Hate Becomes Love fireworks, too.
#4: Christmas Reservations
Channel: Lifetime
Premiere: November 2, 2019
There’s no other way to say this: Lifetime brought it last year in its Christmas movie game. None stood out more than the charming “A Very Nutty Christmas,” which our favorite Melissa Joan Hart starred in and produced. She’s doing it again this year, so we’ve added her flick to our list.
The plot seems a little generic: MJH is an Event Coordinator at a lodge when her Rekindled Romance college sweetheart shows up with his two children…and is a Widower. But if it has half the charm of her 2018 premiere, Melissa Joan Hart will be well on her way to stealing the Christmas Movie Queen crown.
(And yes, it premieres the same date and time as “Merry and Bright.” But that’s what DVR is for.)
#3: Same Time, Next Christmas
Channel: Freeform
Premiere: December 5, 2019
Rob will deny it, but he loved “Glee.” So if there’s any chance Lea Michele will sing in this warm-weathered flick, we’re game. (And who are we kidding? Of course she’ll sing! Probably “Mele Kalikimaka,” if we’re betting people).
Set where we got married (Maui), this plot promises Lea will meet up with her Rekindled Romance childhood sweetheart during her family’s annual Christmas vacation to Hawaii. While we assume we won’t get snow or a sandy Sleigh Ride, we’re hopeful our talented star and the beautiful sunsets will carry this movie into the Classic category.
#2: Christmas in Rome
Channel: Hallmark
Premiere: November 30, 2019
An American tour guide in Italy? Check. A ceramics company for sale? Check. A ceramics-company owner who won’t sell unless the hunky buyer can learn all about the city from said tour guide? Check. And did we mention the tour guide is Lacey Chabert? Triple check.
So many details helped this movie check the boxes of our 2019 must-watch list. The scenery alone promises to get this movie to a “Merry” rating. On-screen chemistry and Roman trivia will elevate it to a long-term “Very Merry” holiday classic.
#1: The Knight Before Christmas
Channel: Netflix
Premiere: November 21, 2019
The fact that a Hallmark movie is not our top premiere of the season says something about the state of the made-for-TV Christmas movie genre. We want interesting plots! We want unexpected situations! And we still want our beloved clichés intermixed. Enter the high-production content we found from Netflix in 2018.
Last year’s “The Princess Switch” starring Vanessa Hudgens made our Very Merry list, so we got a little too excited by her 2019 premiere. Add in time travel and the promise of a “medieval knight” who warms the heart of a cynical science teacher (Hudgens), and we’re game.
It’s a lot of pressure to put on someone new to the Xmas movie scene. But if Hudgens can handle acting as two characters with vacillating accents, she can meet our high 2019 premiere expectations.
