Need your lovesick fix? Stream ‘Mistletoe in Montana’ for free now
Ah, Lifetime. The channel has been a reliable source of made-for-TV movies for years, putting out film after film for our enjoyment. And that is no different during the Christmas season, where they release more original flicks with holiday romance & festivities galore.
And of all the new jovial Christmas specials, we’re looking forward to one in particular: Mistletoe In Montana, a holiday film with a southern flair. What’s this movie all about? When is it airing? Let’s look into it, and also discuss the program block it will be featured on.
“It’s A Wonderful Lifetime” airing history
Lifetime has always been making movies for television, but in 2012, they decided to make their holiday flicks more official. They introduced the “It’s A Wonderful Lifetime” program block, and released new Christmas features from October to December. It must have been a success because the program block has continued to air annually since then.
This year, we have more than a few holiday movies coming to us on Lifetime—almost thirty, in fact! But let’s zoom in on Mistletoe In Montana, and see what that film has to offer us.
What is Mistletoe In Montana?
Mistletoe In Montana brings us to Paradise Ranch, “where city slickers get to be cowboys & cowgirls.” The ranch’s owner, Merry, is introduced to a single father, Mark, when he brings his two kids to the ranch during the Christmas season. “Adventure is on the menu, the holiday spirit is everywhere, and love is in the air.”
From that vague description, we can at least deduce that this is a romance movie, and Merry & Mark will undoubtedly fall in love throughout the course of the film. But will they like each other from the start, or have disagreements before they fall into each other’s arms? That we’ll have to wait to find out.
Duane Henry stars as Mark in this film. He started his career in Britain, where he grew up, but moved to America in 2013. Things started to pick up for Henry in 2016, when he got to play Clayton Reeves in NCIS and became a regular on the show in the fourteenth season. However, after the creator of his character, and the showrunner of NCIS, Gary Glasberg, died, Clayton Reeves was killed at the end of the fifteenth season.
Melissa Joan Hart plays Merry. This actress got her big break in the 1990s, when she landed the starring role in Clarissa Explains It All. After that, she got another lead role in Sabrina The Teenage Witch, and then again in Melissa & Joey. She’s had a variety of roles over the years, from live-action acting to voice work.
More about the film
Mistletoe In Montana is produced by Hartbreak Films, a production company owned by the mother-daughter pairing of Paula Hart and — you guessed it — Melissa Joan Hart. Their website states that they founded Hartbreak in 1993 because, “there wasn’t any real programming that the whole family could watch,” so they decided to, “produce both projects for Melissa to star in and projects that they can produce.”
Paula Hart went as far as acquiring the rights to the Sabrina The Teenage Witch comic book so that her daughter could star in the series, and produced Melissa & Joey so that she could do the same thing again.
Mistletoe In Montana is their latest creation, another “family-friendly” feat for them to produce and for Melissa Joan Hart to lead. One look at Hartbreak Production’s “Projects” page shows us that this is a pattern: films like The Santa Con have also been made under their wing, with Melissa Joan Hart at the helm (sometimes as the director).
Now with all that in mind, it can be easy to get cynical about these types of movies. But despite all of this, we can still enjoy Mistletoe In Montana and have fun with this new flick. So when will it air?
When can we watch Mistletoe In Montana?
Mistletoe In Montana is set to premiere on Friday, December 17th, 2021, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time & 7 p.m. Central Time. We’re looking forward to seeing this new movie. So let’s all curl up with some hot chocolate and relax in front of the television on December 17th.
