Finding Mr. Christmas, a comedy-reality competition show where men audition for the next lead role, has returned for its second season as of October 27, 2025, under the direction of Eliza Hayes Maher and Hallmark. With its first season released on October 31, 2024, it has quickly been embraced by fans of both the holidays and reality television.
Hallmark has always been famous for its festive spirit, but in recent years, it has become synonymous with bizarre plots that tend to have one common factor– a seemingly perfect man who embodies the Christmas spirit. May he be a lumberjack, dog shelter owner, inn owner, baker, musician, or volunteer, Hallmark always guarantees that their lead meets the ideal image, thus birthing the concept of Finding Mr. Christmas.
Throughout both seasons, audiences follow a cast of ten aspiring actors who are all competing for the coveted role of the male romantic lead in the next Hallmark movie. To obtain their big break, each contestant must compete with another, toe to mistletoe, in two types of challenges: the Festive Face Off, a lighthearted challenge that grants the winner an advantage for the following challenge, and the Star Quality Challenge, in which their acting chops are put to the test. At the end of the Star Quality Challenge in each episode, one contestant is sent away until only the true Mr. Christmas remains.
The first season was a great introduction to the concept of a cozy competition with a high-quality cast from across the United States, Canada, and Australia. Some of the most notable contestants would be the now Instagram-famous fireman and model Isaac Ramirez (@isaacbramirez) and Elijah Malcomb, the actor who portrayed both John Laurens and Phillip Hamilton in the first national tour of Hamilton. Other notable contestants included Hayden Maher , a children’s entertainer from Australia who stole hearts with his puppy photoshoot, the confident Gage Robinson, who was eliminated for failing a secret moral test, and more.
Each episode of season one offered a unique variety of challenges, with one of the most notable being the Star Quality Challenge, in which contestants had to complete a photoshoot with a puppy. It has quickly become the iconic moment of the first season as each man posed with their pup, some with more success than others. With laughter, litters, and light flirts, it left the audience with a distinct impression of what each contestant had to offer.
Despite the fierce competition in the final three, including Malcomb and Maher, it was eventually Ezra Moreland , a veteran of the United States Navy, who secured the win, as well as the lead role in the recently released Hallmark movie, Happy Howlidays. The movie features Moreland as a dog shelter owner who charms the female lead through christmas spirit and simple puppy love.
Season 2 has only upped the ante with more challenges and ten more contestants with increasingly impressive backgrounds. Aside from the usual actors and models who were featured in last season, this new wave of competition leaned towards ex-athletes with two of the most notable being Jacob Schum, a former punter for the Cleveland Browns in the NFL, and Craig Geoghan, an ex-football player turned actor
Throughout the second season competition, the challenges remain upbeat and full of holiday spirit. The most significant was one of the Star Quality challenges, where contestants acted out a scene while skiing down a snowy mountain slope with the female lead of their dreams.
While it can be all too easy to laugh at the convolutedness of Hallmark’s usual storylines, there is a truth to be told in the message of Finding Mr. Christmas. As the tensions of the world grow, cheesy Christmas movies serve as a nostalgic and peaceful escape from the chaos, where audiences can gather with their families to enjoy a wholesome romance.
