Hallmark‘s latest Christmas in July film, “Love Under the Mistletoe,” premieres on Saturday, July 25, at 7 p.m. Central/8 p.m. Eastern, with encores airing throughout the year. The movie stars Jen Lilley and Nick Bateman. Read on to learn all the behind-the-scenes details, including where the movie was filmed and stories from cast and crew.
‘Love Under the Mistletoe’ Was Filmed in Canada & Already Aired on Hulu
“Love Under the Mistletoe” is actually not a new Christmas movie — it was recently acquired by Hallmark for the Christmas in July season. So if it looks familiar to you, there’s a good reason why!
The movie was originally called “Operation Mistletoe,” and it premiered for Christmas in late 2024 on Hulu (among other streaming services.) It was originally filmed in the North Bay, Ontario, Canada, region from July 31 to August 17, 2024, IATSE reported.
According to a news post by SOO Today, HP Productions received $500,000 funding from NOHFC to film the movie in and around North Bay.
According to Tonboriday, some of the North Bay filming locations included the North Bay Railway Station and Main Street in downtown North Bay. A filming notice also notes that the municipality of Powassan was also a filming location.
Melanie Leishman, who stars in the movie, shared a post about the film when it was first released. She wrote, in part: “Here I am looking incredibly festive as Olivia on set of Operation Mistletoe, now available on Hulu in the US and playing tonight on CTV Life in Canada. It was a blast to team up with director Brad Walsh again, and work with our dear cast to create a little holiday cheer.”
Back in December 2024, a Hallmark fan shared a post in a Christmas movie Facebook group about accidentally running into the movie when it aired on the CW channel. One Christmas movie fan replied, “Cute movie! I watched it recently, also!”
Meet the Cast
Hallmark synopsis reads: “Grace and her former high school crush, Ryan, work together to revive the beloved charity fundraiser and seem to constantly find themselves under strategically placed mistletoe.”
A longer synopsis reads: “Interior designer Grace (Lilley) runs a business with her best friend and her brother in the quaint town of Ivy Glen but is too busy for a real relationship.  Ryan (Bateman), a successful New York City financial advisor and Grace’s former high school crush, returns home planning to sell his grandmother’s historic St. Nicholas House.  The mayor convinces him to revive the beloved Ribbons & Bows charity fundraiser and brings Grace on board to help.  Working side by side to pull the event together, the former couple reminisces and feelings they once shared slowly resurface.  But will this yuletide reunion lead to love under the mistletoe?”
Jen Lilley stars as Grace. Lilley was a queen of Hallmark for many years before she briefly moved to Great American Family, in movies such as “Paris Christmas Waltz” (a successor to Hallmark’s “Christmas Waltz.”) But now she’s starting to appear in Hallmark films again! She’s also well known for her roles on “General Hospital” and “Days of Our Lives.” Her Hallmark films include hits like “A Little Daytime Drama,” “Snowkissed,” “USS Christmas,” “Love Unleashed,” “Mingle All the Way,” and more.
Nick Bateman stars as Ryan. He’s an actor, producer, and writer currently starring on Great American Family’s “When Hope Calls,” the spinoff of Hallmark’s “When Calls the Heart.” He’s been in Hallmark movies before this, like “A Brush with Love,” A Wedding Wonderland,” and more.
Also starring, according to IMDb, are:
- Melanie Leishman as Olivia
- Steve Belford as Jack
- Lisa Michelle Cornelius as Mayor Sami
- Rene Escobar Jr. as Quinn
