Cup of Soul's 2026 Christmas Movie Guide: Holiday Movies Starring Black and Brown Talent
Our holiday film guide covered what's in theaters. This one is for the couch: the made-for-TV Christmas movies, the cozy rom-coms and the family stories, starring Black and brown talent.
For years, finding ourselves in the Christmas movie lineup meant scrolling past a lot of snow-covered small towns that didn't look like ours. That's changed. This season Brandy, Tia Mowry, Tamera Mowry-Housley, Vivica A. Fox, Holly Robinson Peete and Corinne Foxx all have new holiday movies, and Lifetime is even sending a romance to Mexico.
Here's what's coming, in order, so you can plan your holiday nights. All times are Eastern.
November
Holiday Unplugged (Hallmark, Sat., Nov. 7, 8 p.m.). Argentine actor Juan Pablo Di Pace co-stars with Nikki DeLoach. A widowed art teacher bans screens for Christmas after her late husband's videos go missing, and recruits two men to help find them.
Mistletoe and Mimosas (Hallmark, Sun., Nov. 15, 8 p.m.). Tamera Mowry-Housley inherits her uncle's Christmas-themed bar and ends up in a holiday competition with a trendy club's manager (Kristoffer Polaha) that turns into something more.
Our Holiday Playbook (Hallmark, Fri., Nov. 20, 8 p.m.). Charles Michael Davis plays a former football star turned teacher who poses as Taylor Cole's boyfriend for her family's Christmas flag football game, in exchange for her help with his family's bake-off.
Three Generations, One Christmas (Great American Family, Sat., Nov. 21). Mario Lopez stars alongside Tony Danza, and Dominic and Courtney Lopez also appear.
Christmas Everyday: Married and Bright (Lifetime, Sat., Nov. 28, 8 p.m.). The one I'm most looking forward to. Brandy is back as Fancy in the sequel to last year's Christmas Everyday. Now she's planning a Christmas wedding while trying to save her Chicago boutique, and an ex's return pushes her fiancé away. Debbi Morgan, Robert C. Riley, Lamman Rucker and Gregory Alan Williams co-star.
A Christmas Showdown 2 (OWN, Sat., Nov. 28, 9 p.m.). OWN brings back last year's The Christmas Showdown for a second round.
Checking Inn for Christmas (Lifetime, Sat., Nov. 28, 10 p.m.). Vivica A. Fox and Jackée Harry co-star in this romance about a journalist who falls for the holiday resort owner she's been assigned to profile.
A Firefighter's Christmas Calendar (Lifetime, Sun., Nov. 29, 8 p.m.). Kyana Teresa and Holly Deveaux star as a rookie firefighter and a photographer who team up on a firefighter calendar to save a toy drive.
December
The Snowflake Effect (Hallmark, Fri., Dec. 4, 8 p.m.). Heather Hemmens plays a corporate attorney who takes on everyone else's bad luck after a magical snowflake changes hands at a gift exchange. Mark Ghanimé co-stars as the gift-shop clerk who helps her get it back.
Christmas from the Heart (Lifetime, Sat., Dec. 5, 8 p.m.). Tia Mowry plays a widow who travels to Lisbon to meet the man who received her late husband's heart, then falls for his brother (Henderson Wade). Bring tissues.
Tapping into Christmas (OWN, Sat., Dec. 5, 9 p.m.). Corinne Foxx leads OWN's tap-dancing holiday movie.
The Toymaker's Christmas Romance (Lifetime, Sat., Dec. 5, 10 p.m.). Chantel Riley plays a toy executive facing a corporate takeover who gets a holiday reset with help from some Christmas spirits and a toy designer.
Mistletoe in Mexico (Lifetime, Sat., Dec. 12, 8 p.m.). Chilean star Cristián de la Fuente plays a tech CEO who wrestles Lucha Libre on the side and charms a widowed professor (Joely Fisher) who came to Mexico for a family wedding.
Hearts All Aglow (Hallmark, Fri., Dec. 18, 8 p.m.). Mishael Morgan and B.J. Britt play a music historian and a New York attorney whose separate missions at a Christmas gala bring them together over one night. Holly Robinson Peete co-stars.
Plus: Holly Robinson Peete's Christmas Mysteries
Season 3 of Hallmark's Mistletoe Murders premieres Thursday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m., with Holly Robinson Peete back alongside Sarah Drew and Peter Mooney for three new Christmas mysteries.
On the Big Screen
If you want a Christmas story in a theater, Ebenezer (Paramount, Nov. 13) is Ti West's gothic take on A Christmas Carol. Johnny Depp plays Scrooge, and Severance Emmy winner Tramell Tillman plays the Ghost of Christmas Present. For everything else in theaters this season, see our 2026 Holiday Film Guide.
I'll keep adding to this list as more networks and streamers announce their holiday movies. Which one is going on your watch list first? Let me know.
Merry Christmas from Cup of Soul. I'm Kathia Woods.
