The Nights Before Christmas, the new Hallmark Channel Christmas movie starring Tyler Hynes and Laci J. Mailey, premieres tonight, Saturday, November 14, at 8 p.m. ET during week five of Countdown to Christmas 2026, and it streams tomorrow on Hallmark+. Christmas Eve is the best night of the year, and in this time loop movie, Marty gets to keep living it. This is one fans have been waiting for, and it is the middle movie of week five, after My Christmas Cowboy on Friday and before Mistletoe and Mimosas on Sunday. Hynes, who is also an executive producer, is even hosting a free fan screening at noon today at Vancouver’s Park Theatre, which appears in the movie.
What Happens in The Nights Before Christmas?
Hynes plays Marty, whose life is in a bit of a rut. One Christmas Eve, he wishes he had more time, and thanks to some holiday magic, he wakes up the next morning to find it is Christmas Eve again. After the confusion wears off, Marty settles into his new normal and starts to notice the sights, sounds and people of New York City he used to walk right past. He uses all that extra time to learn a new instrument, pick up new languages and read every single book. Then he meets Chloe, played by Mailey, a journalist who just lost her job and is having a rough day, and he falls hard. The catch is that when the morning of December 24 comes around again, she has no idea who he is. As the Christmas Eves keep repeating, Marty sets out to win her over and figure out what it will take to finally reach Christmas Day, hopefully with Chloe by his side.
As a person who loves Christmas Eve, the idea of more Christmas Eve was a big yes for me, and Marty seems to love it too. He spends many, many Christmas Eves learning, doing and meeting people. He learns languages and art, makes friends, studies and sees movies. He is thriving, and he does not seem to be in any hurry to stop the loop. What would you do if you had endless days to do whatever you want? It is great, until he meets Chloe. Chloe is the catalyst that finally makes him want Christmas Day to come.
Tyler Hynes continues to show his range. His jovial, carefree fun as he goes from Christmas Eve to Christmas Eve is classic Hynes, and we all know and love that about him. But the dramatic parts are where he really thrives. Laci J. Mailey brings a softness to Chloe. She starts out sad, and we watch her not only fall for Marty over and over and over again but also accept his time loop and want to be with him. This role reminds me of when I first became a fan of hers, during her time as Jess on Chesapeake Shores.
Russell Hainline wrote The Nights Before Christmas brilliantly, and he knows how to blend romance and comedy. He is the writer behind Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper!, The Santa Summit and all three Three Wise Men movies, and he also gave us the Netflix movie Hot Frosty. Lucie Guest directed, and she gets the fun and the emotion perfectly balanced. This is not the first time Guest and Hainline have worked together. They teamed up before on The Santa Class.
How to Watch The Nights Before Christmas
The Nights Before Christmas premieres Saturday, November 14, at 8 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. CT on Hallmark Channel, and it streams Sunday, November 15, on Hallmark+. Hallmark Channel also has encores on Sunday, November 15, at 6 p.m. ET, Friday, November 20, at 10 p.m. ET and Tuesday, November 24, at 8 p.m. ET. Find every review in our Countdown to Christmas 2026 hub
