2020 Holiday TV Content We Are Way Too Excited For

Get in the holiday spirit with a list of some of the most exciting movies, specials and TV shows coming to Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix, Hulu and more.

By Lauren Piester, Jonathan Borge Oct 24, 2020 12:48 AMTags
Watch: Holiday Special: Celebrity Gifts, Traditions & More - Full Episode

The holidays are almost here!

Sure, we haven't even hit Halloween yet, but in 2020, time means nothing. It's the holidays when we say it's the holidays, and we say it's the holidays! Hallmark and Lifetime both agreed that today specifically (Friday, Oct. 23) is the official start of the holidays, since they both chose this day to launch their annual holiday movie slates. With as much as we've all been through this year, we deserve this. 

We deserve obvious romances where there's zero doubt that the main two characters are going to fall in love. We deserve music and cheer and baked goods and people turning out to be related to Santa. We need it. We crave it. We're ready for it. 

While there's hardly a holiday movie or special or series we're not interested in watching this year, we've rounded up a list of the ones that jingle our bells the most as we hurtle towards the end of the year. 

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2021 TV Premiere Dates

There are multiple LGBTQ+ romances to squeal over as well as many stars, from Emma Roberts to Kristen Stewart to Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn

So grab your 'nog, get some cookies in the oven and settle down for a nice long holiday season full of endless things to watch! 

Dash & Lily (Netflix)

Dash (Austin Abrams) and Lily (Midori Francis) are teens who connect through a notebook full of dares they create for each other, and they will no doubt be falling in love over the course of this holiday-themed Netflix series we've already fallen in love with

Premieres Nov. 10

Happiest Season (Hulu)

Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis play a lesbian couple named Abby and Harper who are ready to take it to the next level. But when Abby makes plans to propose at Christmas dinner, she quickly learns Harper has yet to come out to her very conservative parents. Classic already! The cast also includes Mary Steenburgen, Victor Garber, Alison Brie, Audrey Plaza and everyone's favorite David, Dan Levy.

Hulu, Nov. 25

Holidate (Netflix)

Though Emma Roberts has played witchy and blood-soaked characters in American Horror Story and Scream Queens, she's hanging up her scary hat for this one. She plays Sloane, an overworked and single woman who meets Jackson (Luke Bracey), also single. When they decide to be each other's no-commitment "holidate" for the season, rom-com antics ensue. Kristin Chenoweth is also in it, so yes, please. 

Premieres Oct. 28

Christmas Unwrapped (Lifetime)

Amber Stevens West plays investigative reporter Charity Jones and she's sent to get the scoop on a local millionaire (Marco Grazzini) who hands out Christmas presents to kids and claims they're from Santa. They're totally going to fall in love and it's going to be magical. 

Premieres Saturday, Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. 

The Christmas Chronicles Part 2 (Netflix)

The first movie was a delight and it just seems ridiculous that you could see Kurt Russell as Santa and Goldie Hawn as Mrs. Claus and not immediately be in. (Oliver Hudson, Goldie's son and Kurt's stepson, also played the dead dad in the first one, so it really is a family affair.) As usual, it's up to the kids to save Christmas. 

Premieres Nov. 25

Holly & Ivy (Hallmark)

Come for the great cast (Janel Parrish, Jeremy Jordan, Marisol Nichols) and stay for what are sure to be some sobs. When Melody (Parrish) learns that her neighbor Nina (Nichols) is dying, she promises she'll adopt Nina's daughters, Holly and Ivy. But before she can do that, she has to renovate her house with help her contractor, Adam (Jordan). Dying parents, cute kids, a house renovation and the very real possibility that Melody and Adam are totally gonna fall in love? We're all over it. 

Premieres Sunday, Nov. 1 at 10 p.m. 

Dolly Parton's Christmas On the Square (Netflix)

"Jolene" and "9 to 5" better watch out. Dolly Parton wrote 14 original songs for this movie musical, which means at least one of those jingles is bound to become a new fan favorite. Naturally, Parton plays an angel who swoops in to save the day after Christine Baranski's Regina Fuller tries to get an entire town evicted (geez). 

Premieres Nov. 22

The Princess Switch: Switched Again (Netflix)

She's back! Or should we say they're back, as Vanessa Hudgens is returning to double duty in the sequel to The Princess Switch. In Switched Again, Stacy (the non-princess) steps in to help out when Margaret (the princess) struggles to balance her Christmas coronation with her love life. But get this: there's a third one, and she might ruin everything. Inject this directly into our veins. 

Premieres November

Euphoria (HBO)

Euphoria is not a Christmas show but it is a show putting out a special Christmas episode this year, and for that we are endlessly grateful. 

Premieres Dec. 6

Holiday Home Makeover With Mr. Christmas (Netflix)

Everyone's going to be talking about Benjamin Bradley. As this show's title implies, it follows Bradley, a holiday fanatic and seasoned interior designer (he founded E & Co. Home Interiors) who transforms the homes of deserving people into Santa Claus-approved oases. And yes, his nickname is Mr. Christmas. It sounds like Queer Eye and The Home Edit's Yuletide baby. 

Premieres Nov. 18

Merry Liddle Christmas Wedding (Lifetime)

If you've never watched Destiny's Child perform "8 Days of Christmas," please do yourself a favor and enjoy this throwback. In the sequel to 2019's Merry Liddle Christmas, singer-actress Kelly Rowland steps back into the role of Jacquie Liddle as she and Tyler (Thomas Cadrot) plan their dream destination Christmas wedding. Where's the Beyonce-hosted viewing party at? 

Premieres Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. 

How To Ruin Christmas (Netflix)

It can be very hard to keep up with all the new TV shows Twitter is constantly buzzing about—especially around a busy time of year. The solution? Incredibly short ones. Shot amid the coronavirus pandemic, this three-part holiday series is part of Netflix's growing African Original Series. Busisiwe Lurayi plays Tumi Sello, a rebel who heads home for Christmas and somehow manages to totally ruin her sister's wedding. Since we can't visit South Africa IRL, this is the closest we'll get.

Premieres December

Christmas Ever After (Lifetime)

Broadway star Ali Stroker plays a popular romance novelist who struggles with writer's block as she spends her winter at her favorite bed & breakfast. She's cured when she meets the B&B's new owner, a guy named Matt (Daniel Di Tomasso) who looks an awful lot like the guy in her books. We'll bet you five dollars that they fall in love at the end. 

Premieres Sunday, Dec. 6

The Christmas Setup (Lifetime)

Momentously, this flick is Lifetime's first holiday movie to lead with an LGBTQ+ romance (finally!), so yes we will be watching. It follows Hugo and Patrick (played by real-life couple Ben Lewis and Blake Lee) who reconnect and begin to date after returning to Milwaukee for the holidays. When Hugo gets an opportunity to move to London for work, he's gotta decide whether to prioritize his career or do what's best for their budding relationship. Hopefully he makes both work and they will continue to fall in love! With Fran Drescher making an appearance, The Christmas Setup is gay rights exemplified.

Premieres Dec. 12 at 8 p.m.

The Christmas House (Hallmark)

Like Lifetime, Hallmark decided that 2020 was the year in which it finally greenlit one movie with LGBTQ+ main characters. Mean Girls alum Jonathan Bennett stars in The Christmas House, where he and Brad Harder play a gay couple looking to adopt their first child. Hopefully, many more queer-driven films will make up the traditionally conservative network's 2021 holiday lineup.

Premieres Nov. 22

Operation Christmas Drop (Netflix)

Kat Graham and Alexander Ludwig star in this Netflix movie about the real life Air Force tradition called Operation: Christmas Drop. Kat plays a congressional aide sent to shut the program down, Ludwig plays the pilot who runs the op, and they're definitely 100 percent going to fall in love with each other. 

Premieres Nov. 5

Feliz NaviDAD (Lifetime)

Mario Lopez takes on the role of David Morales, a high school principal and widower who gives online dating a shot thanks to the insistence of his 14-year-old daughter (Paulina Chavez) and his sister, Marissa (Marycarmen Lopez). You can probably guess what happens when a potential love interest named Sophie (AnnaLynne McCord) enters the picture. Melissa Joan Hart happens to be the director. And we're in simply because the movie title's play on words is too good to pass up. 

Premieres Nov. 21 at 8 p.m.

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (Netflix)

The delightful trailer for this put us in a great mood. It centers around the town of Cobbleton, where a toymaker named Jeronicus Jangle (Forest Whitaker) relies on his granddaughter (Madalen Mills) to bring back some magic after said toymaker's apprentice (Keegan-Michael Key) steals one of his greatest creations. Cute! But it's the cast and music that draws us in. With original songs from John Legend and performances by Usher, it also features Phylicia Rashad and Ricky Martin

Premieres Nov. 13