Well, we gotta pass the time until Countdown to Christmas somehow, right?
While the Hallmark Channel's iconic seasonal programming event is launching early than ever this year—Oct. 22, more than a week before Halloween—that doesn't mean they just ignored autumn. No, no, no. Since Sept. 11, the network has debuted a new movie every Saturday night as part of their Fall Harvest, a lineup usually filled with more pumpkins than your local patch and leaves so colorful they would make Vermont in October jealous. And this season, stars like American Idol alum Lauren Alaina, Friday Night Lights' Scott Porter and Fuller House hunk Juan Pablo DiPace got in on the cozy fun—all paired with some of the channel's most reliable leads.
But does that mean the movies were any good? And, more importantly, did they actually provide the fall feels we've come to love and expect from Hallmark's assortment of autumnal outings? Wrapped in our coziest of sweaters with a pumpkin spice-flavored beverage in hand, we set out to determine which was the best of the batch.
Here's our ranking of Hallmark's six Fall Harvest movies, from I guess I'll rake the leaves to full-on PSL while snuggled up on the back of a hayride…
Starring: Tyler Hynes and Lauren Alaina
Description: "Country music fan Callie is determined to continue her late grandfather's legacy. While TV director Luke is in town, he teaches her that sometimes it's best to look forward instead of back."
Our Take: This one had so…much…going…on. And not all of it landed—LOL to that subplot about recreating the late grandfather's secret BBQ sauce! But we were pleasantly surprised by Lauren Alaina, who was quite adorable in her Hallmark debut, and she had a nice, natural chemistry with Hallmark stalwart and go-to country lead Tyler Hynes. But any points the movie scored for showing off the American Idol alum's swoonworthy voice were deducted and then some by having Hynes' Luke all but cheat on his famous girlfriend the whole time! Is this not the Hallmark Channel?!
Starring: Katie Findlay and Wyatt Nash
Description: "Workaholic lawyer Maggie is having marriage issues. She wishes for a do-over and awakens 15 years in the past. Will Maggie choose college boyfriend Rick or will she stay with husband Josh?"
Our Take: OK, this is NOT a fall movie. It's set in the summer! They spend a day in the water on a lake! Tank tops are worn! Where art thou, our cozy sweaters and pumpkin spice lattes? Are we—the basic b--ches who spend our Saturday nights watching TV movies—asking for too much?
But our biggest grip with Love Strikes Twice was that the two male leads looked like twins and we were not sure which guy to root for. In fact, we didn't really root for either of them because the chemistry was as non-existent as any fall feels. Womp womp. At least Katie Findlay made one heck of a debut as a Hallmark leading lady and we're crossing our fingers that we'll see her front more movies in the very near future.
Starring: Nikki DeLoach and Scott Porter
Description: "A writer goes back to the family ranch to write an article about her passion for horses and discovers what ended her marriage and why she stopped riding horses."
Our Take: DeLoach is, hands down, one of our favorite Hallmark leading ladies. So we admit that any movie she is in we are going to grade on a curve. But pair her with a Friday Night Lights fan-favorite and you've got more charm than a box of magically delicious Lucky Charms. Did the horse riding scenes make us giggle? Sure. But focusing on a divorced couple coming back together felt new for the conservative channel.
Starring: Laura Osnes and Juan Pablo Di Pace
Description: "Aspiring Master Sommelier Jenna returns to her family vineyard to study and is intrigued by the natural methods of the handsome new, Argentinian winemaker, Marcelo."
Our Take: Give us wine and we'll have a pretty darn good time! We like to partake in what we call nature's nectar and we actually learned quite a bit about the intense sommelier process in Raise a Glass to Love, so we'll raise a glass to that and we'll put money on this possibly becoming a film franchise á la the In The Vineyard collection. Oh, and while we're at it, let's toast to Hallmark newcomer Juan Pablo Di Pace's irresistible accent.
Starring: Taylor Cole and William Levy
Description: "Based on the Hallmark Publishing novel by New York Times Bestselling author Caridad Pineiro comes a story about rival quinceañeras, glorious Cuban cooking, friendship, family ties...and romance."
Our Take: We admit, we were skeptical of this one, mostly because a story of dueling chefs in Miami just didn't scream, you know, autumnal vibes. We weren't wrong, but we also weren't right, because this rom-com was far better than we thought it would be. Like mint and habanero peppers in the story, quinceañeras and Hallmark actually kind of worked?! Oh, and we will also be starting a campaign to get William Levy in one Hallmark movie per season because we have eyeballs and ears.
Starring: Erinn Westbrook and Brooks Darnell
Description: "When a love advice author and a dating columnist cross paths, attraction blooms into more. Using strategies from their own playbooks, is it possible they've both met their match—each other."
Our Take: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days meets You've Got Mail with a dash of Hitch. Yeah, it's pretty much our dream Hallmark movie and Advice to Love more than makes up for the lack of any fall feels with some high-quality sparks between its leads. And any rom-com fan will tell you the essential third wheel for any couple is banter and baby they had it! (But still...can't we get a leaf to peep these days?!)
Oh, and we must give a special shout-out to Matthew James Dowden, who co-stars as "the other guy" in this movie and in Raise a Glass to Love. Always a bridesmaid...