Royal Tea

… our annual holiday watch beginsChinggay and Patty make a return to the Hallmark Channel in time for this year’s Countdown to Christmas. The first couple of movies weren’t bad and it was a welcome relief to see many familiar faces back on the screen (hello, Victor Webster). We’re still waiting to be gobsmacked by a holiday movie—good thing we have many more to get through this season. It’s good to be back on BMIH!Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story (Lyndsy Fonseca, Robert Buckley)Forgotten Holiday (Janel Parrish, Daniel Lissing)‘Tis the Season for Set-Ups (Amanda Schull, Victor Webster, Barbara Niven)Mr. & Mrs. Christmas (Pascale Hutton, Brendan Penny)Winter Wonderlanes (Ashley Newbrough, Franco Lo Presti)Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pietro Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our music and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Paola Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our cover art. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@butmakeithallmark

… a depressing Countdown to ChristmasChinggay and Patty do a speed round of the last few weeks of Countdown to Christmas—spoiler alert, none of the movies were hits and some of them were depressing downers (we see you, Oy to the World!). In order to save time, we go straight into our Top 8 Christmas movies of the year and land on a well-rounded mix that will give everyone a little bit of Hallmark holiday magic (thanks to our favorite director, Claire Niederpruem). Thanks for staying with us through Season 6 of But Make It Hallmark!A Grand Ole Opry ChristmasNikki Deloach and Kristoffer PolahaMerry Christmas Ted, Cooper!Robert Buckley and Kimberley SustadThree Wisest MenAndrew Walker, Tyler Hynes, Paul CampbellHoliday Touchdown: A Bills Love StoryHolland Roden and Matthew DaddarioChristmas at the Catnip CafeErin Cahill and Paul CampbellChristmas on DutyJanel Parrish and Parker YoungWe Met in DecemberAutumn Reeser and Niall MatterA Keller Christmas VacationJonathan Bennett, Brandon Routh, and Eden SherThanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pietro Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our music and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Paola Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our cover art. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@butmakeithallmark

… was there ever any doubt we’d love a Polaha movie?Chinggay and Patty get a little bit of everything—naughty/bad movies, standard/mid manicure movies, and Hallmark hall of famers. There were more veterans than usual this Thanksgiving week (Rachel, Nikki, Autumn, Erin, Niall, Brendan, Paul, Kris, and BMIH’s best director ever Claire Niederpruem) and some new-ish faces who we definitely want to see again (Holland and Laci!). We play HCU madlibs as we try to figure out how Hallmark finagled these plots by recycling old movies. Don’t miss the top three—they’ll give you a little bit of everything in the best way.A Grand Ole Opry ChristmasNikki Deloach and Kristoffer PolahaHoliday Touchdown: A Bills Love StoryHolland Roden and Matthew DaddarioChristmas at the Catnip CafeErin Cahill and Paul CampbellWe Met in DecemberAutumn Reeser and Niall MatterThe More the MerrierRachel Boston and Brendan PennyMelt My Heart This ChristmasLaura Vandervoort and Stephen HuszarAn Alpine HolidayAshley Williams, Laci J. Mailey, and Julien SamaniThe Snow Must Go OnHeather Hemmens and Corey CottThe Christmas CupRhiannon Fish and Ben RosenbaumThanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pietro Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our music and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Paola Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our cover art. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@butmakeithallmark

… we’re back from our hiatusChinggay and Patty are in town again to revive their favorite Christmas tradition—watching and ranking all the movies. The first nine of 2026 are a hodgepodge of mostly nice list flicks with very few naughties and misses. It’s good to see the usual suspects back on screen (welcome back to Countdown to Christmas, Brandon Routh). With fewer movies on offer this season, the stakes are higher, and our top movies mean so much more!Merry Christmas Ted, Cooper!Robert Buckley and Kimberley SustadThree Wisest MenAndrew Walker, Tyler Hynes, Paul CampbellChristmas On DutyJanel Parrish and Parker YoungA Keller Christmas VacationJonathan Bennett, Brandon Routh, and Eden SherA Royal Montana ChristmasFiona Gubelmann and Warren ChristieChristmas Above the CloudsErin Krakow and Tyler HynesA Christmas Angel MatchMeghan Ory and Benjamin AyresTidings for the SeasonTamera Mowry-Housley and B.J. BrittThanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pietro Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our music and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Paola Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our cover art. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@butmakeithallmark

… who’s taking the crown?Chinggay and Patty are finally in the same city to record the pod and talk Hallmark royalty. It was slim picking for March with only three royal movies. Spoiler alert: none of them were bad, but BMIH faves Andrew Walker and Mallory Jepsen reigned supreme this season. We’re introduced to actor Charlie Carrick, who we definitely want to see back on our screens. As usual, a Claire Niederpruem movie rules our hearts this month.Royal-ishNichole Sakura, William MoseleyThe Reluctant RoyalAndrew Walker, Emilie de RavinThe Royal WeMallory Jansen, Charlie CarrickThanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pietro Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our music and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Paola Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our cover art. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@butmakeithallmark

… giddy all through FebruaryChinggay and Patty dive into the month of love with a lineup that was full of twists. Our tried and true regulars unexpectedly lost their usual #1 spot (sorry Lacey and Robert), but it was a three-way tie for the top for RLC, SMF, Janel Parrish, and past fave actors from Holiday Hotline and Ride. In this month’s FMK, both ex-husbands kick the bucket. Bonus: We score another IRL connection to the HCU.An Unexpected ValentineLacey Chabert, Robert BuckleyThe Wish SwapEmily Tennant, Jake FoyReturn to OfficeJanel Parrish, Scott Michael FosterSisterhood Inc.Rachael Leigh Cook, Daniella Monet, Leonidas GulaptisThanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pietro Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our music and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Paola Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our cover art. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@butmakeithallmark

… a happy Hallmark New Year to all! Chinggay and Patty start the 6th (!) season of the pod with two movies that were “good enough” and two movies that were pitch perfect. The true winners this month are the comeback kids—Laci and Julie, and David Elsendoorn and JPDP, Juan Pablo di Pace. Belgium got us giddy and giggling; Argentina had us falling in love; and Winter Escape had us planning our personal hypothetical meet-the-fam moments for our F***MarryKill husbands. Polar Opposites Rhiannon Fish, Markian Tarasiuk Love of the Irish Shenae Grimes-Beech, Stephen Hagan, Moira Kelly The Perfect Setting Laci J. Mailey, David Elsendoorn My Argentine Heart Julie Gonzalo, Juan Pablo di Pace Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pietro Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our music and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Paola Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our cover art. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@butmakeithallmark

… our top 12 tradition is back Chinggay and Patty continue the annual tradition of ranking the best Countdown to Christmas and Miracles of Christmas movies of the year. 2024 was the year of the Nice List and the year of the Dan Jeannotte Redemption Award. We loved so many offerings this year that 20 (out of 40) made it into the Nice List. Also a year of forgiveness and redemption—where so many leads we abhorred, refused to pay attention to, and just plain disliked managed to get in our good graces and win us over. What a year for BMIH! We’ll see you again for our 6th season in 2025. Three Wiser Men and a Boy (Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes, Andrew Walker, Margaret Colin) Sugarplummed (Maggie Lawson, Janel Parrish) Hanukkah on the Rocks (Stacey Farber, Darren Kagassoff, Marc Summer) The Christmas Charade (Rachel Skarsten, Corey Sevier) Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story (Hunter King, Tyler Hynes) A Novel Noel (Julie Gonzalo, Brendan Penny) Jingle Bell Run (Ashley Williams, Andrew Walker) The Santa Class (Kimberly Sustad, Benjamin Ayres) A ‘90s Christmas (Eva Bourne, Chandler Massey, Katherine Barrell) The Finnish Line (Kim Matula, Beau Mirchoff, Nichole Sakura) Trivia at St. Nick’s (Tammin Sursok, Brant Daugherty) The Christmas Quest (Lacey Chabert, Kristoffer Polaha) Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pietro Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our music and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Paola Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our cover art. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@butmakeithallmark

… after 10 weeks, we’ve made it through all the movies Chinggay and Patty, gluttons of punishment that they are, participate in Hallmark+’s Cherry Lane trilogy and wildly regret it. They finish the season with one last Countdown to Christmas movie with newfound empathy for Jessica Lowndes, and the final Miracles of Christmas offering where it is established that in the HCU, you can trade in a Christmas stocking for a house. Happy Holidays from Cherry Lane (Benjamin Ayres, Catherine Bell, James Denton, Erica Durance, Julie Gonzalo, Ryan Rottman) Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane (John Brotherton, Erin Cahill, Brooke D’Orsay, Chelsea Hobbs, Ben Hollingsworth and Sam Page) Season’s Greetings from Cherry Lane (Jonathan Bennett, Annabelle Borke, Corey Cott, Sarah Dugdale, Shannon Kook and Vincent Rodriguez II) Happy Howlidays (Jessica Lowndes, Ezra Moreland) Trading Up Christmas (Italia Ricci, Michael Xavier) Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠⁠Pietro Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our music and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Paola Lazatin⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our cover art. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@butmakeithallmark

… in which Dan Jeannotte does not receive the Dan Jeannotte Redemption Award Chinggay and Patty didn’t think this week would fare well since multiple recipients of the K in our F*** Marry Kill segment showed up as lead actors. However, Dan Jeannotte, Brooke d’Orsay, and most-number-of-appearances-in-this-season awardee Benjamin Ayres all get passing marks (read: we didn’t hate them). Hanukkah moves forward with its multiple year grand slam with Stacey Farber in Hanukkah on the Rocks. Plus there was no doubt that Kimberly Sustad would come out as top of the class with her excellent performance in the Santa Class. All I Need for Christmas (Mallory Jansen, Dan Jeanotte) Follow Yonder Star (Brooke d’Orsay, John Brotherton) Hanukkah on the Rocks (Stacey Farber, Darren Kagassoff, Marc Summer) The Santa Class (Kimberly Sustad, Benjamin Ayres) Thanks to ⁠⁠⁠Pietro Lazatin⁠⁠⁠ for our music and ⁠⁠⁠Paola Lazatin⁠⁠⁠ for our cover art. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@butmakeithallmark