L-R: Brandon Quinn, Jana Kramer, Kelly Rowland, Thomas Cadrot, Vanessa Lachey and Ryan McPartlin. | Photos Courtesy of Lifetime

With less than 100 days to go until Christmas Day, Lifetime unveiled its full lineup for the It’s A Wonderful Lifetime holiday slate! It’s going to be a season full of cheer on the network, and it all kicks off on October 23 through December 25 with over 1200 hours of programming.

Lifetime has made a commitment to offering not only lots of festive stories, but diverse and inclusive storytelling; among their holiday offering is “The Christmas Setup”, the network’s first holiday movie with a LGBTQ romance as the lead story; “A Sugar & Spice Holiday”, its first holiday movie centered on a Chinese-American family. The creatives behind the movie also include a trio of Asian women – director Jennifer Liao, writer Eirene Donohue and casting director Judy JK Lee – in creating the authentic vision of the movie.; “Christmas Ever After”, its first movie starring a lead actor with a disability; and “A Welcome Home Christmas”, Lifetime’s first movie centered on a military vet, airing prior to Veterans Day.

Beverley Mitchell, Jana Kramer, Ryan McPartlin, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Vanessa Lachey, Marie Osmond, Fran Drescher and Brandon Quinn are among the stars leading films this year!

Melissa Joan Hart will lead “Dear Christmas” this year alongside Jason Priestley, which will also feature some familiar faces in cameos: Former One Tree Hill stars Hilarie Burton and Antwon Tanner and Jamie and Doug Hehner (Married at First Sight: Couples Cam). Hart will also direct Mario Lopez and AnnaLynne McCord in “Feliz NaviDAD”.

Tiffany Haddish steps in as executive producer of “Christmas Unwrapped”, starring Amber Stevens West, Marco Grazzini and Cheryl Ladd, while Kelly Rowland and Thomas Cadrot return in Lifetime’s first-ever holiday sequel, “Merry Liddle Christmas Wedding.“

Check out the full lineup below — including movie details and air-dates!

Photo: Candace Cameron Bure (Crown Media)

Due to the unprecedented year we’ve been having, and the altered schedules, we didn’t have our usual Christmas: A First Look Preview Special on Hallmark back in July during Christmas Keepsake Week, so it’s certainly been a question of when we’d finally get that official first look. Hallmark movies have been in production for a few weeks now, so it was anticipated we’d get a preview special closer to the kickoff of the holiday programming on October 23rd, and if what I stumbled across on the Hallmark website is correct…we will be.

According to Hallmark’s website, Candace Cameron Bure will host the 2020 Countdown to Christmas Preview Special, a one-hour preview of Hallmark Channel’s upcoming Countdown to Christmas holiday movies on Saturday, October 17th at 11pm/10c.

2020 Miracles of Christmas Preview Special, a first look at the upcoming Miracles of Christmas original holiday movies on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, will air the following evening on Sunday, October 18th at 11pm/10c. The host is currently listed as TBA (To Be Announced).

(Update: 9/22/20) — The 2020 Miracles of Christmas Preview Special will be hosted by Jen Lilley and Trevor Donovan as they have an upcoming Christmas movie together!

It could end up being like last year where Candace hosted both specials — time will tell — but it’s nice to see a little bit of our festive routine back. I’ll keep you posted on further details.

Stay merry!