Great American Family to unleash 18 new Christmas movies — see the schedule

Great American Family isn't taking very long to transform itself into a Christmas-movie factory. The cable network (which happens to be run by former Hallmark Channel chief Bill Abbott) announced on Thursday that it is churning out 18 Yuletide films in just the second year of its rebrand, trailing only holly jolly giants Hallmark and Lifetime in terms of holiday-flick volume.

The onslaught of fresh merriment will commence on Oct. 22 with the Black Friday-themed Destined at Christmas and feature at least one new movie per weekend through Dec. 18. Danica McKellar, Merritt Patterson, Jill Wagner, Daniel Lissing, and Cameron Mathison are among the stars returning from last year's slate (which consisted of 12 Yuletide films, or 13, if you count the two episodes of When Hope Calls that played as a movie).

Among the recognizable faces from Hallmark that Great American Family has recently lured away is Candace Cameron Bure. The actress headlines one film (Candace Cameron Bure Presents: A Christmas… Present) and serves as an executive producer of another (Christmas on Candy Cane Lane, which stars... her former Full House castmate Andrea Barber.) Meanwhile, Gladys Knight is one of the stars of I'm Glad It's Christmas, which is somehow not titled I'm Glad(ys) It's Christmas. Elsewhere, there are fake boyfriends, a drive-in in jeopardy, and exes reconnecting while stranded during a snowstorm. Here's the full schedule for Great American Family's Yuletide slate:

Destined at Christmas
Premieres: Oct. 22, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Shae Robins, Casey Elliott
Official description: "Kim and Theo meet amid Black Friday shopping madness but there's a definite spark between them. When a power outage causes some panic at a store, the couple gets separated. With Christmas coming, there should be plenty of distractions, but neither Kim nor Theo can forget the other. Both yearn to find each other but how with so little information to go on? It'll take a little Christmas magic and destiny to bring them back together."

Catering Christmas
Premieres: Oct. 29, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Merritt Patterson, Daniel Lissing
Official description: "A fledgling caterer, Molly Frost, is hired by Jean Harrison, the perfectionistic director of the renowned Harrison Foundation, to cater this year's annual Christmas Gala dinner. Things get complicated when Molly falls for Jean's nephew, Carson, 30s, a photographer with no desire to take over the family's foundation — until his aunt assigns him to the task of making sure the catered dinner goes perfectly."

A Royal Christmas on Ice
Premieres: Nov. 5, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Anna Marie Dobbins, Jonathan Stoddard
Official description: "Looking to escape his royal life, a dashing prince comes to the United States to start a business in a small town in upstate New York and winds up falling for a former Olympic ice skater."

Love at the Christmas Contest (working title)
Premieres: Nov. 6, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Samantha Cope, Ross Jirgl
Official description: "For as long as she can remember, Angie's favorite part of Christmas has been the Christmas Eve tree lighting in town square. But this Christmas, her first without her mom, Angie doesn't feel much like celebrating... until she learns her mom had always dreamed of winning the annual tree decorating contest and seeing her tree lit up in town square. Angie realizes winning the contest and decorating the town's tree is the perfect way to honor her mom. What Angie isn't expecting is her high school sweetheart David and his adorable daughter Gabby to enter the contest, too."

A Merry Christmas Wish
Premieres: Nov. 12, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Jill Wagner, Cameron Mathison
Official description: "An NYC advertising executive returns to her hometown to sell the family farm, but instead reconnects with her childhood friend and gets involved with organizing the yearly Winter Wonderland, which takes place on the property."

Christmas Sweethearts
Premieres: Nov. 13, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Breanne Hill, Colton Little
Official description: "When a woman returns home to find her ex in a relationship, she enlists her best friend to act as her fake boyfriend for the holidays."

Christmas At Pine Valley
Premieres: Nov. 19, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Kristina Cole, Andrew Biernat
Official description: "Natalie writes a blog that leads people to accidentally believe that her farm is family-owned and run when it is in fact a collection of friends who are chosen family. Reporter, Josh, is intrigued by the family's story, traveling to the farm to write an article. When Josh begins interviewing 'the family,' they maintain the story fearing the truth will cause them to lose everything during the busiest time of the year."

My Favorite Christmas Tree
Premieres: Nov. 20, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Emma Johnson, Giles Panton
Official description: "Kyla is a skilled genealogy researcher who's made a thriving business of putting together family trees. When she comes across new information regarding her mother's mysterious extended family, Kyla and her sister travel to the charming town of Conifer, hoping to piece together their ancestry. The search leads Kyla to a generations-old Christmas tree farm, its stubborn, handsome owner – and potentially, love."

Christmas at the Drive-In
Premieres: Nov. 25, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Danica McKellar, Neal Bledsoe
Official description: "A property lawyer works to prove that her town's drive-in theater, a local institution is not closed down at the holidays, finding romance with the very person who is trying to sell the property."

I'm Glad It's Christmas
Premieres: Nov. 26, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Jessica Lowndes, Paul Greene, Gladys Knight
Official description: "An aspiring Broadway singer is convinced to participate in a small-scale production for her local Christmas celebration. Along the way, she finds hope and unexpected mentorship towards her dream career. But will her professional success come at the cost of her chance at love?"

Candace Cameron Bure Presents: A Christmas…Present
Premieres: Nov. 27, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Candace Cameron Bure, Marc Blucas
Official description: "Maggie and Eric are busy parents of teenagers who embark on a trip to the home of Maggie's widowed brother to celebrate Christmas. Everyone has different expectations of the perfect holiday. Through a series of transformative events, Maggie learns to embrace the season."

Christmas on Candy Cane Lane
Premieres: Dec. 3, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Andrea Barber, Dan Payne
Official description: "Ivy struggles with the long shadow cast by her late mother, Muriel, the darling of Icicle Falls; head of the Candy Cane Lane Lights Extravaganza, owner of The Christmas Haus, and a former TV star known adoringly as the 'Christmas Maven.' This Christmas, a series of comical and mysterious events bring the town together in a masterstroke of perfection only the 'Christmas Maven' herself could appreciate."

B&B Merry
Premieres: Dec 4, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Jen Lilley, Jesse Hutch
Official description: "Renowned luxury travel blogger, Tracey Moore, is invited to a Christmastime getaway in exchange for a review of a small-town B&B. Despite her initial reservations, she finds herself wanting to help the property… and falling for the owner's handsome son, Graham, who helps her to learn that every experience can be five-star when shared with kindred spirits."

Aisle Be Home for Christmas
Premieres: Dec 9, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Jennifer Freeman, Garrett Watson
Official description: "Two exes finally reconnect when a snowstorm leaves them stranded in a superstore (without cell service or Wi-Fi) just before Christmas."

A Prince for the Holidays (working title)
Premieres: Dec. 10, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Cindy Busby, Jilon VanOver
Official description: "Madison, an aspiring musician, jokingly tells her overbearing family that she is dating the prince of a small European nation. The joke goes too far as her friend and co-worker Sebastian is roped into impersonating the prince while visiting her family in New Jersey. Little does Madison know that Sebastian happens to be hiding a royal secret."

A Belgian Chocolate Christmas
Premieres: Dec. 11, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Jaclyn Hales, Zane Stephens
Official description: "A photographer takes her best friend's place at a Belgian culinary school at the holidays and connects with the chocolatier leading the class. As romance begins to bloom, the only problem is a case of mistaken identity."

Crafting Christmas
Premieres: Dec. 17, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Jillian Murray, Joseph Cannata
Official description: "Over the week leading up to Christmas, Charlotte tries to capture her own unique style in the local art scene while also helping her mother run the family restaurant. Disheartened and struggling to find time for her art, Charlotte throws out her latest painting, only to discover that it has been anonymously submitted to the Christmas art festival. It turns out that Wyatt, a visiting artist, stumbled upon her discarded work and is now using the festival's exposure to find its mysterious creator who has stolen his heart with her craft."

The Art of Christmas
Premieres: Dec. 18, 8 p.m. ET
Cast: Brigitte Kingsley, Joe Towne
Official description: "After her latest gallery exhibition literally goes up in flames, struggling artist Liv James accepts a teaching job at a local elementary school to make ends meet. Through this reluctant career move she discovers her true self, a new sense of purpose and a surprising romance."

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