Hallmark has been doing justice to Hanukkah romance movies in recent years. It all started with the 2022 delight that was “Hanukkah on Rye,” a deeply Jewish American tale of the two children of competing Jewish deli legacies falling in love. It continued in 2023 with the incredible time loop movie “Round and Round,” which was just a fabulous movie, period.
This year, the channel known for its slate of Christmas movies is premiering not one but two new Hanukkah movies. Well, one is more of a Jewish Christmas movie, but it features a Hanukkah celebration and gives a “Nobody Wants This” star a Jewish character who gets her happy ending, while the other is a Jewish delight featuring a very familiar and nostalgic face.
So for those of you hoping to stream Hallmark’s Jewish offerings this month, here’s what you need to know:
“Leah’s Perfect Gift”
What it’s about: This movie is based on a romance novella by author Catherine Beck and it follows a Jewish woman named Leah Meyer who spends Christmas for the first time with her boyfriend’s uptight family. Leah is played by Emily Arlook, who we know as Rebecca, Rabbi Noah Roklov’s mythological ex in “Nobody Wants This” (aka the hot rabbi show) and here she takes on a larger-than-life Jewish woman who gets her happy ending (it’s a Hallmark movie, after all!). The movie does have a legit Hanukkah celebration with latkes frying and Hanukkah aprons. The swoony Evan Roderick plays Graham, Leah’s dreamy WASP-y boyfriend, while Hallmark queen Barbara Niven plays his mother who has a very particular vision when it comes to Christmas, one that Leah struggles to keep up with.
When to watch on Hallmark: It premieres Sunday, December 8 at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) on the Hallmark channel. You can catch it again at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, December 9, and at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, December 13, after “Hanukkah on the Rocks” for a fun little Hanukkah marathon. It’s also airing on Thursday December 19 at 6 p.m. ET, on Tuesday December 24 at midnight ET and on Saturday, December 28 at 8 a.m. ET.
When and where can you stream it: You can stream the movie after it airs on Hallmark+, Philo, Frndly TV and fuboTV. You can pay extra to watch Hallmark content on DirecTV and Sling.
“Hanukkah on the Rocks”
What it’s about: This movie, from the same writer as the delightful deli Hanukkah romance “Hanukkah on Rye,” has an exciting Jewish cast and also takes place at a dining establishment, or rather, a drinking establishment: a bar that has a Hanukkah-themed menu for the holiday. It stars “Degrassi” and “Virgin River” actress Stacey Farber as Tory, who gets laid off from her big corporate job and finds solace at a local Chicago bar, where she is charmed by regular Sam, played by legendary host Marc Summers — perhaps the best zayde in Hallmark TV history — and his grandson, a nice Jewish doctor visiting for the holidays named Jay, played by the very handsome and Jewish Darren Kagasof of “The Secret Life of The American Teenager.”
When to watch on Hallmark: It premieres Friday, December 13 at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) — I do think it’s a bit of an oversight that this movie is premiering on Shabbat. You can catch it again at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 14 (Shabbat again??). It’s also airing on Sunday, December 22 at noon ET and on Thurdsay, December 26 at 10 p.m. ET (a perfect second night of Hanukkah treat!).
When and where can you stream it: You can stream the movie after it airs on Hallmark+, Peacock, Philo, Frndly TV (on demand for 72 hours, or DVR it) and fuboTV. You can pay extra to watch Hallmark content on DirecTV and Sling.
