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Mean Girls alum Jonathan Bennett revealed each the details of Hallmark’s archetypal ever world show, Finding Mr. Christmas, successful an exclusive interrogation with E! News, sharing what makes a existent Hallmark Hunk
By Sasha Wayman Oct 28, 2024 1:00 PMTags
Jonathan Bennett Talks New Hallmark Christmas Movie
A Hallmark vacation flick that genuinely sleighs requires a fewer essentials: A small-town bursting with charm, a meet-cute and a made for TV hunk.
Hosted by Mean Girls alum Jonathan Bennett, Hallmark’s Finding Mr. Christmas— the network’s archetypal ever world series—gives a peek wrong the hunt for the latter, featuring 10 aspiring actors arsenic they vie successful a assortment of holiday-themed challenges. The victor not lone takes location the rubric of “Mr. Christmas,” but volition besides beryllium crowned Hallmark’s adjacent starring man.
While Hallmark has made a sanction for itself arsenic the Meccah of holiday-themed rom-coms, this world amusement catapults the beloved web into a caller era.
“I wanted radical to crook connected this amusement and go, ‘that's Hallmark?,’” Jonathan told E! News’ Francesca Amiker in an exclusive interview. “And I deliberation we did a large occupation of doing that.”
The thought for the amusement stemmed from re-evaluating however the network selects their starring heartthrobs.
“Everyone has travel to emotion and adore the Hallmark movies. They emotion each the tropes, and they emotion tuning successful due to the fact that they cognize what they're gonna get,” Jonathan explained. “So, I thought, ‘what amended mode to make a hunk than by gamifying the process of becoming a hallmark hunk?’ And truthful that's precisely what we did with Finding Mr. Christmas.”
Though the process of finding Hallmark’s adjacent hunk whitethorn beryllium unconventional, the contestants had a blast portion going head-to-head.
“I emotion to compete,” Finding Mr. Christmas contestant Elijah confessed to E!. “And I thought this was specified a chill and innovative mode to find a starring man, alternatively than your accepted audition process.”
The contestants besides cultivated a consciousness of brotherhood—something you won’t find connected your mean contention show.
“They walked successful arsenic 10 competitors, and they near a family,” Jonathan shared. "There are truthful galore world shows that person array flipping and portion throwing, and each the play is created on-screen. Well, we don't person immoderate play successful our show, and yet, we were capable to marque a amusement funny, entertaining, compelling, person precocious stakes and we were capable to bash that with kindness and heart, which is precisely what you expect from Hallmark channel.”
Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Hallmark Media
Since Jonathan has graced the tiny surface successful a whopping 9 Hallmark movies, helium knows what makes the cleanable starring man. And a existent hunk lies successful the benignant of idiosyncratic they are off-screen.
“They've got a large smile. They've got charm oozing retired of their ears. They've got a large consciousness of humor. They tin marque a gag retired of thing and uplift a country astatine immoderate moment. They are benignant people, and they besides person a immense heart,” Jonathan, 43, noted. “And that's not conscionable the characters they play. That's who these radical are, who each the Hallmark actors are successful existent life. So erstwhile uncovering the adjacent Hallmark starring man, those qualities are what we look for archetypal and foremost.”
Finding Mr. Christmas premieres Oct. 31 connected Hallmark+.
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