Benjamin Ayres fans, rejoice! Hallmark’s latest sweet treat for the holidays is a double dose of new movies starring the actor, just two weeks after Ayres hosted the “Holiday Touchdown” red carpet event in Kansas City.
Ayres got to go back in time as part of the ensemble cast in “Happy Holidays From Cherry Lane,” the second of three “Cherry Lane” sequel movies, which premiered via Hallmark+ on December 12, 2024. He also co-stars with Kimberley Sustad in Hallmark Channel’s “The Santa Class,” premiering on December 14.
“It’s been wild,” the dad of two told EntertainmentNOW of his busier-than-ever holiday season, which also included a significant cameo in the Erin Krakow and Daniel Lissing rom-com “Santa Tell Me,” noting how grateful he is to be such a big part of Hallmark’s Christmas lineup.
Benjamin Ayres Explains Why ‘Happy Holidays From Cherry Lane’ is Such a ‘Special’ Movie
In “Happy Holidays From Cherry Lane,” Ayres was particularly excited to reunite with Erica Durance, his co-star in 2022’s “Color My World With Love.”
“It was awesome for us to get to be together,” Ayres told EntertainmentNOW. “It’s the same producers that did ‘Color My World,’ so when they reached out, they were like, ‘You know, we would love it if it was the two of you.’ I think that was really smart, you know, just a beautiful way to bring us back together.”
The original “Christmas on Cherry Lane” movie gave viewers an unexpected twist, following three different families living in the same house over a 50-year span. The same premise is followed in the three sequels streaming this season on Hallmark+. While the original was filmed in an actual house, Ayres told EntertainmentNOW that Hallmark built a full set for the innovative project.
One of the duos featured in the original movie, a couple played by Catherine Bell and James Denton, returns in “Happy Holidays From Cherry Lane,” giving viewers a chance to see how they first met, per IMDb. Meanwhile, Julie Gonzalo and Ryan Rottman’s love story is set in 2015, while Ayres and Durance play Eli and Penny — a married couple in 1963 who have to take in Eli’s dad, played by Serge Houde, after he breaks his hip.
“The movie is quite special,” Ayres told EntertainmentNOW. “Rick Garmin wrote it and I called him just to talk a little bit about the storyline, because it’s the first time I’ve had the opportunity to work on something where it’s essentially about a father and a son who don’t see eye to eye.”
Ayres explained, “The son, Eli, is more of an artist and author who’s more cerebral and a father that works with his hands and thinks I’m a bit of a sissy. The two are kind of combative. Eli’s mom was the one who kind of held everyone together, kept the traditions alive. But since she passed, it’s been challenging for the two of them.”
“Happy Holidays From Cherry Lane” is now streaming on Hallmark+.
Filming ‘The Santa Class’ Was a Bonding Experience, Benjamin Ayres Says
Meanwhile, Ayres’ second premiere of the weekend, “The Santa Class,” is a classic comedy he had a blast filming. Sustad plays Kate North, “the owner of a struggling Santa School,” per Hallmark’s synopsis. Ayres plays one of her instructors, Dan, who “must help an amnesia-stricken Santa Claus regain his memories to save Christmas and hopefully her school as well.”
Ayres celebrated that the movie was written by Russell Hainline, who’s having an insanely successful season given that he wrote Lacey Chabert’s hit Netflix rom-com “Hot Frosty” and co-wrote Hallmark’s smash sequel “Three Wiser Men and a Boy.”
“He really goes for it with his comedy,” Ayres said. “I love the concept — it’s essentially a school for Santas that want to learn to be the best Santa. But in that movie, we actually find the real Santa on the side of the road with amnesia. Like, he got into an accident with his sleigh and reindeer. Maybe Christmas will be saved, maybe there’s a love story — and it’s truly one of the best ensemble casts I’ve ever worked with. Great actors who are so funny.”
Ayres said the cast got a unique chance to bond during the first week of filming on Vancouver’s Sunshine Coast, explaining, “It’s like a whole other spirit — you’re kind of at camp, for real. We took the ferry there, we shot at this YMCA camp, and it was just this wonderful experience because we were all there. It was like, ‘Let’s all go out for dinner tonight at the restaurant, let’s all go down to the pub.’ And then we went back to the city.”
As teased in trailers for the movie, longtime Hallmark star Paul Campbell — and Sustad’s Hallmark screenwriting partner — is a surprise cast member, in a role that Ayres said is “so funny and clever.”
Though Ayres and Sustad knew each other from various Hallmark events, it was their first movie together and he said they quickly bonded.
“Kim and I had a lot of fun,” he said. “You know, she’s a great actor and just a wonderful human. She’d invite me to (her family’s) place for dinner on Saturday nights. It was just so great to connect like that.”
“The Santa Class” premieres on Hallmark Channel on December 14 at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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EXCLUSIVE: Benjamin Ayres Juggles 2 ‘Special’ Christmas Premieres in 1 Weekend