When Hallmark’s surprise hit reality competition “Finding Mr. Christmas” returns for the 2025 holiday season, host and co-creator Jonathan Bennett says it’ll come with a major plot twist.
On May 31, 2025, attendees of the ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas, got a sneak peek at the show’s second season and inside stories from a panel that included Bennett, his co-producer Ben Roy, lead judge Melissa Peterman, and season one contestants Jonathan Wells and Blake Kelley.
During their panel discussion, Bennett teased a “surprise element we didn’t have before,” according to Laughing Place, adding, “Even the contestants didn’t see it coming.”
Spoiler Alert: If you don’t want to know who won the first season of “Finding Mr. Christmas,” please stop reading here.
Jonathan Bennett Teases ‘Messy, Insane’ Scene in New Season of ‘Finding Mr. Christmas’
“Finding Mr. Christmas” — Hallmark’s first-ever unscripted competition, aimed at finding the next Hallmark hunk — premiered on Hallmark+ in 2024. The winner, model Ezra Moreland, landed a starring role opposite Jessica Lowndes in “Happy Howlidays,” which premiered in late December.
The second season, which already wrapped filming in Utah, will premiere on Hallmark Channel during its 16th annual Countdown to Christmas programming, the network announced in April. Hallmark officially released the first trailer for the second season on May 31, but only revealed the backs of the men competing — all dressed in Christmas sweaters, naturally.
According to Laughing Place, the new season features “bigger challenges, bigger personalities,” and a “chaotic scene” that Bennett described as “messy and insane,” adding that viewers are “not going to believe this is Hallmark.”
The first season featured an unplanned plot twist when contestant Daxton Bloomquist suddenly left the competition after suffering a detached retina. Kelley said at the ATX Festival that his departure illustrated how close the contestants became during their 12-day shoot, per Laughing Place, noting that the 10 prior contestants still have a group text thread and plan in-person reunions.
“We love to compete,” he said, “but we hate to see someone leave for reasons outside the competition.”
Wells agreed, “You were worried about going home, sure, but you were just as worried about a brother going home.”
Melissa Peterman Says Winners of ‘Finding Mr. Christmas’ Have Special ‘It Factor’
HallmarkWhile the second season of “Finding Mr. Christmas” will have plenty of physical, emotional and acting challenges for the new contestants, Peterman said there’s a winning ingredient that helps certain contestants rise to the top.
“They have a twinkle in their eye, a sense of humor,” she said during the panel discussion, per Laughing Place, and then joked, “You want to watch them mow the lawn shirtless, but you also want to have a meaningful conversation with them.”
Noting that Bennett has that special sauce that makes him a star, Peterman said, “You either have that ‘it factor’ or you don’t. Jonathan walked into a room, and the air just shifted. That’s not something you can teach.”
The contestants also had to meet certain requirements, according to casting materials from Super Delicious, the production company behind the series. For starters, they had to be aspiring actors, ages 25-42 with “charming good looks and a twinkle in your eye.”
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Hallmark Reality Show ‘Finding Mr. Christmas’ Returning With Major Plot Twist