Longtime Hallmark star Benjamin Ayres is ready to be the host with the most. Ayres will be in Kansas City on November 30, 2024, to hobnob with celebs and fans for an all-day red carpet event that will air on Hallmark Channel before and during that night’s premiere of “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.”
It’s an opportunity he might have shied away from in years past. After hosting multiple events for Romance University, a rom-com fan community he started in late 2022, Ayres told EntertainmentNOW he feels prepared and pumped to interview lots of Hallmark stars, many of whom are old friends, as Hallmark Channel cuts into commercial breaks with reports from the red carpet.
Benjamin Ayres Says Skills He’s Developed Over Past 2 Years Helped Him Prepare for Premiere Day
In a promo that Hallmark posted on social media on November 26 and began airing on the network days earlier, the network confirmed that “Holiday Touchdown” stars Tyler Hynes and Hunter King will be among the celebrities Ayres catches up with on the red carpet. Stars who are in town for the first-ever Hallmark Christmas Experience weekend are also expected to attend.
For Ayres, being invited by Hallmark execs to host the premiere event feels like a meaningful acknowledgment of the hosting skills he’s built up over the last couple of years while growing Romance University.
The online initiative started as an off-the-cuff fundraiser, with proceeds from sweatshirts, hats and other items going to charity. As the community grew and wanted more chances to connect and help others, Ayres got skillful at hosting live online chats with fans and stars, and even emceeing in-person events in Canada. The fact Hallmark execs noticed and invited him to spearhead the red carpet coverage on November 30 feels “pretty cool” to Ayres.
“If I was asked two years ago to do this, it would have felt kind of overwhelming,” he told EntertainmentNOW. “Hosting, being on stages, being around lots of people takes a different muscle. Before, I wasn’t really comfortable being in front of a lot of people just as myself. As an actor, I get to hide behind somebody else’s dialogue and a character. But now I feel confident breaking that fourth wall, looking at everybody and chatting.”
“I got really used to it, and now I’m quite comfortable,” Ayres continued. “You know, the act of doing it over and over again and getting those opportunities really helped. So now I’m really looking forward to it!”
Ayres will have plenty of help on the red carpet, too. He said a whole crew of behind-the-scenes experts who’ve run events like the Oscars are producing the day-long event, during which he said he’ll appear on Hallmark Channel more than two dozen times to update fans.
But Ayres’ hosting gig doesn’t mean he’s giving up his day job any time soon. The actor has three holiday movies out in 2024; he played one of Erin Krakow’s potential boyfriends in “Santa Tell Me,” appears in the Hallmark+ movie “Happy Holidays from Cherry Lane” premiering on December 12, and co-stars in Hallmark Channel’s “The Santa Class” on December 14.
Red Carpet Updates Among Special Events Planned for Kickoff Weekend
Ayres’ red carpet hosting gig is part of a weekend full of special events in Kansas City, where Hallmark is headquartered, for the premiere of “Holiday Touchdown.” Hallmark developed the movie in partnership with the Chiefs organization, so the film promises cameos by famous faces linked to the Super Bowl champs including coach Andy Reid, Jason Kelce’s mom Donna Kelce, and multiple players. “Today Show” co-host Jenna Bush Hager also has a small role in the film.
In the hours leading up to the movie’s premiere on November 30, King and Hynes will join Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas for a tree lighting ceremony, per the Kansas City Star, and fans are encouraged to line up wearing Chiefs gear or Christmas sweaters so they can get a glimpse of all the stars walking the red carpet.
Hallmark hasn’t announced all of the stars expected, but those in town for the first Christmas Experience weekend include Erin Cahill, Jessy Schram, Jonathan Bennett, Kristoffer Polaha, Melissa Peterman, Wes Brown and Warren Christie.
The following day, the stars of “Holiday Touchdown,” including Hynes, King, Richard Riehle, Christine Ebersole, Diedrich Bader, Ed Begley Jr. and screenwriter Julie Sherman Wolfe will be on-hand for two special panel discussions on the making of the movie. Tickets to attend those panels cost $95 each.
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EXCLUSIVE: Why Benjamin Ayres is So Pumped for His First Hallmark Hosting Gig