It’s not easy to break into Hallmark Channel’s hunkdom, a universe of handsome actors who seem to effortlessly balance being both hot and adorable, arresting but approachable, strong and vulnerable, mature and playful. Beloved Hallmark hunks like Tyler Hynes, Andrew Walker, and Kevin McGarry can expertly shift from a sexy smolder to a goofy joke in a split second, endearing them to millions of Hallmark fans year after year.
But it can take time to earn Hallmarkies’ stamp of approval; a pretty face is not enough to win them over, as “One Tree Hill” alum Robert Buckley can attest. Despite his ongoing presence on the network, appearing in seven Hallmark rom-coms since 2020 and 18 episodes of its former family drama “Chesapeake Shores,” the dad of two seemed to consistently hover just beyond Hallmark’s inner circle of core talent and Hallmark hunk status. That all changed in 2025 and he couldn’t be more thrilled.
Robert Buckley Was Nervous to Meet Longtime Hallmark Hunks But Danced His Way Into Everyone’s Hearts
If there were an official royal court of Hallmark Channel, we’re quite sure Buckley would have been coronated in 2025 with his own gold crown. He began the year starring opposite Hallmark queen Lacey Chabert in “An Unexpected Valentine” and charmed our socks off with his behind-the-scenes nicknames for her on social media. Buckley ended the year starring in and executive producing one of our favorite holiday movies of the year (if not ever), “Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper!” with the perfectly cast Kimberley Sustad.
But what truly sealed the deal was Buckley’s inclusion at the 2025 Hallmark Christmas Experience — his first-ever Hallmark event — where he had attendees laughing and swooning over his quick wit, adorable dance moves (see above), and admiration for his fellow actors, many of whom have since told EntertainmentNow how much they loved spending time with him there.
When informed of this, Buckley beamed, “I love hearing that. It makes me feel great. I was curious what I was walking into because I am relatively new to the Hallmark world, and everyone that weekend was like a Hallmark veteran, very well known. It felt a bit like changing high schools your senior year. Like, ‘I really hope they’re nice. Also, to be completely transparent, I hope they like me!'”
Clearly aware he was hanging out with members of the unofficial Homecoming Court of Hallmark, Buckley admitted, “It was not a small thing. Like, I’m meeting Tyler (Hynes) for the first time — Hallmark’s Elvis-slash-Brad Pitt-slash-George Clooney. I was so pleasantly surprised with how warm and welcoming everyone was.”
EntertainmentNowBuckley’s no stranger to having rabid fans, thanks in part to an abundance of shirtless scenes in shows like “One Tree Hill” and “Lipstick Jungle.” But connecting with countless Hallmark lovers was a new thrill.
He said, “I occasionally will meet someone in public who (says), ‘Oh, I like your Hallmark stuff.’ But to actually go to an event like this, to really connect with the fans and hear from the fans? It was so special.”
Robert Buckley Says He Loved All the Funny Moments With His Fellow Hallmark Stars
Buckley was in his element at the Hallmark Christmas Experience — bantering with Sustad and equally quick-witted Paul Campbell, hamming it up during improv skits, and mocking his inclusion on the “Hallmark Hunks” panel alongside Hynes, Walker, Campbell, and BJ Britt.
“That’s one of the things I liked about that weekend, is that it was very playful,” he told EntertainmentNow. “That’s my strike zone — silliness. That is my brand. And so it was very lovely to see that that was well received over the weekend, because that’s how I like to play.”
HallmarkDuring one of the panels, after he complimented Sustad on her comedic chops, she gushed about how great he was to work with and get to know on the set of “Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper!”
After telling him he’s a true “ninja of comedy,” she said he’s also the “nicest,” turning to the audience to say, “Ted Cooper’s a real person. It’s him.”
As the crowd applauded and whistled for Buckley, Sustad continued, “That loveable, adorable, handsome, funny, charming (guy) — all of those things that’s wrapped up in that movie that you liked — that is him. That is who he is!”
2026 Goals: Robert Buckley’s Open to a ‘Ted Cooper’ Sequel
Buckley, who also produced Hallmark’s beloved “Christmas House” movies in 2020 and 2021, has heard the growing calls for a “Ted Cooper” sequel and told EntertainmentNow he’d love to revisit the character if the right story presents itself, especially after talking to so many fans in person about how much they loved the movie.
When the movie was released in October, he recalled “getting a small taste of the feedback, and it was lovely to see that people seem to be enjoying it, but truly, it all changed for me when I got to go to the Kansas City experience. I could actually speak with fans face-to-face and it just landed differently. And then I did Christmas Con two weekends later, and just the sheer amount of people who wanted to talk about Ted Cooper meant so much to me because, like, that one’s my baby.”
Of making a sequel, Buckley said, “I would absolutely love to get the band back together, but only if we had a really cool story to tell. Because I’m so happy with how ‘Merry Christmas Ted Cooper’ turned out that I would be so disappointed if we didn’t match, if not exceed, that.”
As for what Buckley’s looking forward to in 2026, he told EntertainmentNow, “I want to continue to play. I mean, if I had it my way, I would definitely do a couple more Hallmark events, because that was an absolute blast. I had so much fun.”
“And then I have a couple projects of my own that I’m developing and and trying to get going,” he continued, “because I’m finding, thanks to Hallmark, I’ve had the opportunity to be a producer and I love it. I’m so grateful for that opportunity because I discovered this whole other aspect to the industry that I really enjoy. So now I’m starting to kind of get my producer legs underneath and try to continue to branch out in that direction. So I hope it’s just a lot of continued work as an actor and a producer.”
“Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper!” is available to stream via Hallmark+, as are Buckley’s previous Hallmark movies including 2024’s “Blind Date Book Club” and “‘Twas the Date Before Christmas.”
