Phylicia Rashad, Patti Murin, and More Theater Actors in Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas Lineup

Hallmark Channel will air 40 new movies as part of its annual Countdown to Christmas, starting on October 20. Nine of those movies will air on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ Miracles of Christmas.

As in years past, there are theater veterans in the casts. Patti Murin (Frozen, Lysistrata Jones) stars in Mystic Christmas on Saturday, October 28 at 8 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel. The movie, about a rehabilitation center and aquarium worker who reconnects with the owner of the pizza shop in Mystic, Connecticut, also stars Jessy Schram, Chandler Massey, and William R. Moses.

Catch Me If You Claus, airing on the Hallmark Channel on Thursday November 23 at 8 p.m. ET stars The Normal Heart‘s Luke Macfarlane and Italia Ricci. It’s about an aspiring news anchor who catches a home intruder claiming to be Santa’s son.

Tony winner Phylicia Rashad (A Raisin in the Sun, Skeleton Crew) will appear in Heaven Down Here on Thursday, December 14 at 8 p.m. ET on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. The movie is inspired by the Mickey Guyton song and is about four people who find themselves stranded in a local diner during a Christmas Eve snowstorm. The movie also stars Krystal Joy Brown, who is currently on Broadway in the revival of Merrily We Roll Along, Tina Lifford, Juan Riedinger, and Richard Harmon.

Christmas on Cherry Lane, airing at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 9 on Hallmark Channel, centers on three couples at different parts of their lives. The cast includes Vincent Rodriguez III (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Anything Goes national tour) and Jonathan Bennett (Mean Girls).

Click here for the complete lineup of movies.