This year’s Countdown to Christmas is well underway, with Hallmark Channel delivering more than 30 Christmas movies throughout the annual programming event that continues to the end of December.
Coming up next is a holiday rom-com with a western theme, starring Hallmark fan favorites Luke Macfarlane and Amy Acker, who head the cast of “My Christmas Cowboy.”
‘My Christmas Cowboy’
“Meg (Acker) set aside her newscaster aspirations after a disastrous audition experience in college and has been happy as a news producer in her small town of Fern, Texas,” reads the Hallmark Channel synopsis of “My Christmas Cowboy.”
“Billy Kane (Macfarlane), her former college crush and audition partner, is a well-known celebrity host in Hollywood on the brink of losing his career after an on-camera gaffe,” she synopsis continues.
“At the advice of his publicist, Billy begrudgingly returns to Texas to lay low and spend the holidays with his sister (Canning) and her family. When Meg and Billy cross paths he’s happy to see her but her feelings are on the frostier side — she’s still upset he took advantage of her failed audition to get the gig himself. Meg finds herself seeing Billy more than she’d like since his nephew Graham (Isaiah Haegert) is in the horse therapy program her dad runs at their ranch,” the synopsis notes.
“With their annual Reindeer Roundup holiday event coming up Meg’s dad gets sidelined after an injury. Her dad enlists Billy to serve as its host, much to Meg’s chagrin. With the Reindeer Roundup just days away, Meg teaches Billy basic riding and roping skills to get him ready for his hosting duties. In the process, they slowly reconnect and Meg sees there’s more to him than Hollywood glitz. As their connection grows, each of them helps give the other the courage to step outside their comfort zones and find new joy — and possibly love — in unexpected ways,” the synopsis concludes.
‘Cowboy’ Chemistry
In a recent interview with Niagara Frontier Publications, Acker gushed about the the experience of acting alongside Macfarlane.
“I just really loved working with him as a person. He was moving to New York, and we have been spending the last year in New York, so we kind of instantly bonded. I was giving him nanny references and all sorts of logistical things,” she said.
“I felt like I just had instant chemistry with him, and I really adore him in real life. I’ve already made him go on several dinner dates with me since we got home. So, I think he’s stuck with me from now on,” Acker continued.
Amy Acker Co-Wrote the Script
Acker is not only the star of the film, she’s also co-writer of the screenplay.
“I wanted to do a Texas story. I’ve always wanted to. My dream is to be in some sort of western at some point, and I was like, well, ‘Let’s write a Texas Christmas movie.’ My friend, Emma (Bates), who I write with, was also originally from Texas, so we wanted to write a character,” shared the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” alum.
According to Acker, starring in Hallmark Channel movies is a dream job that ticks all the boxes for her — especially when she has a hand in creating the stories she tells onscreen.
“It’s so much fun to do these movies where you just get to have fun and be romantic and work with these wonderful, talented, very attractive male actors,” Acker explained. “We kind of just wrote it like, ‘What would be the most fun thing we could get to do?'”
“My Christmas Cowboy” airs Friday, November 13 on Hallmark Channel.
Sneak Peek at Amy Acker & Luke Macfarlane in Hallmark’s ‘My Christmas Cowboy’