The Christmas Cup
Merry Thanksgiving Weekend has been firing on all cylinders, so naturally we had to ask: can The Christmas Cup hang with the big hitters? This one follows Staff Sergeant Kelly Brandt, home on leave with a knee injury and a heart still tangled in what her future might look like. But instead of resting, Kelly’s drafted into leading her hometown team in the annual Christmas Cup – a competition that’s equal parts festive, chaotic, and oddly high-stakes. Along the way, she learns there’s more than one way to serve a community, even if it’s not the way she imagined. Let’s break down where this movie scores – and where it maybe… airballs.
The Christmas Cup premiered on Sunday, November 30th, on Hallmark Channel as part of MerryThanksgivingWeekend (and is available to stream on Hallmark+.)
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About The Christmas Cup
- This was directed by Robin Dunne. This is his 17th directing credit and his second Hallmark movie. His previous Hallmark title was Entertaining Christmas in 2018. Most of his other work looks and feels Hallmark-adjacent but aired on different networks.
- The teleplay is by Stewart Gold, Mark Haapala, Emily Moss Wilson, and Jason-Shane Scott. Yes, four writers on this one.
- Emily Moss Wilson has 9 writing credits, including My Southern Family Christmas, plus several similar-style movies for other networks.
- Jason-Shane Scott has 15 writing credits – mostly thrillers like Secrets of a Celebrity Nanny, Deadly Daughter Switch, and Engaged to a Psycho.
- Stewart Gold has three previous writing credits. This is his first for Hallmark.
- Mark Haapala has seven writing credits. Also his first Hallmark project.
- Rhiannon Fish stars as Kelly. She has 34 acting credits and recently appeared in two episodes of The Chicken Sisters. She also starred in A Machu Picchu Proposal and Polar Opposites this year.
- Benjamin Rosenbaum plays Quinn. He has 10 acting credits and is well-known to When Calls the Heart fans as Mike Hickam, with nearly 100 episodes under his belt.
- Natasha Burnett plays Bree. She has 24 acting credits and is also from the WCTH universe, where she plays Minnie. She’s appeared in Hallmark titles like Legend of the Lost Locket and Sweet Revenge: A Hannah Swensen Mystery.
- Michael Teigen plays Mickey. He has 103 acting credits and has been in a long list of Hallmark movies including Game of Love, Roadhouse Romance, and Dater’s Handbook.
- Harlow Robbins plays Kip. This is her first acting credit.
- And for the When Calls the Heart fans, there were also cameo appearances from Andrea Brooks, Pascale Hutton, and Kavan Smith.
- This one is an All Canadian Entertainment production, with casting by Judy Lee – not one of Hallmark’s regular casting directors.
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