Viewers of Hallmark Channel‘s annual Countdown to Christmas lineup of Christmas movies are being inundated with holiday rom-coms this year, with more than 30 new movies making their debuts.
The next to arrive is “Who’s Coming for Christmas?” a new holiday film starring Rhiannon Fish and Jake Foy, which premieres on Friday, October 30.
A Start in Soaps
For Fish, who’s become a staple on Hallmark Channel, this latest film represents another high point in a journey that began back on 2020, when she appeared in her first Hallmark production.
As she recalled in an interview with Australia’s Nine.com, she’d experienced early success when she landed a high-profile role on hit Aussie soap opera “Neighbors” in 2003, and was then cast in rival soap “Home and Away,” where she spent another three years.
At that point, she realized the only way she could take her career to the next level was to move to Los Angeles, which she did in 2014.
“There was no debate, that’s what you had to do,” she explained. “So I did, and then was immediately very, very lonely.”
Not only was she away from friends and loved ones, she struggled in the cutthroat world of Hollywood.
“The grind of auditioning and being told ‘no’, sometimes up to three, four times a day, and ‘no’ for reasons that can be very hurtful, it knocked me down,” she confessed.
A Hallmark Channel Breakthrough
“And I then, quote-unquote, ‘Took a break.’ It’s not like I was offered anything, so I wasn’t taking a break from anything, but I did. I stepped back from the industry, I told my managers at the time, ‘I need to heal some stuff in myself, I think. ‘”
Feeling despondent, she went to Canada, where she was born, to stay with relatives.
It was at that point that she decided to audition for a “very, very small part” in 2020 Hallmark Channel rom-com “You’re Bacon Me Crazy” — and landed the part.
That led to more Hallmark movies, eventually in starring roles, and she remains grateful for the opportunity she was given. ‘
“I really, finally, for the first time in a long time feel like I’ve found my stride and that I’m in a pocket that feels really good both to me personally and professionally,” Fish said of where she finds herself at the moment.
A Home at Hallmark
According to Fish, she’s continually astounded by the devoted fandom that Hallmark Channel generates.
“I met hospice nurses and people that are doing jobs that I could never in my wildest dreams fathom,” she said. “They’ll say, ‘Thank you for what you guys do,’ and it’s like, the fact that we get to do anything that on any level serves you — these people that are doing quite literally the Lord’s work — what a gift!” she said.
That’s one reason why she considers Hallmark Channel to be her home.
“I want to dig my heels in and continue to grow with the network,” she said. “This is the best job in the world, really.”
“Who’s Coming for Christmas?” premieres Friday, October 30 at 8 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel.
Rhiannon Fish Reflects on Her Hallmark Journey Ahead of New Christmas Movie