Nearly three years after Jessica Lowndes left Hallmark Channel for a multi-picture deal at Great American Family, the actress returns to the network in “Happy Howlidays” on December 21, 2024, in what may be her most unique role to date.
Not only did the “Christmas at Pemberley Manor” alum have the tricky task of working with dogs for the new flick, but her co-star was Ezra Moreland, the winner of Hallmark’s reality competition “Finding Mr. Christmas,” in his first-ever acting role.
But if that mix made for any awkward or clunky interactions on set, it’s far from evident to fans. In fact, Lowndes, 36, and Moreland, 31, seem so connected in behind-the-scenes videos that many fans suspect and hope their onscreen chemistry may be blossoming into an off-camera relationship.
‘Happy Howlidays’ Star Jessica Lowndes Says Ezra Moreland is ‘One of the Best Humans’ She Knows
“Happy Howlidays” wrapped filming in Vancouver in September, so Lowndes and Moreland had to keep his “Finding Mr. Christmas” win and movie role under wraps for months. But since the reality show’s finale premiered on December 12, they’ve posted multiple videos of themselves working together on-set, and hanging together to do press interviews ahead of the premiere.
In the first video that Lowndes shared on December 13, the two looked cozy together on an outdoor bench, wrapping up their first day of filming. In the caption, she wrote of Moreland, “I can confidently say he’s one of the best humans I’ve ever worked with and has one of the kindest hearts.”
Fans couldn’t help but notice the pair’s connection right off the bat, including someone who wrote, “The chemistry is lookin 🔥😍🤭” while someone else wrote, “Yall are soulmates 😍 you’re beautiful together”
“He literally looks at you like you’re gold,” another person added.
Others even brought up marriage, including someone who chimed in, “I thought you got engaged to him for a second 😂”
Another wrote, “So…. When are you two getting married? Just saying”
Similar comments rolled in from fans on a December 16 video of them “running lines together,” including from someone who asked, “R they dating”
On yet another post two days before the movie, which featured Lowndes and Moreland giggling together on their second day of filming, one fan wrote, “You two have great chemistry 😍 Ezra is such a natural ✨️ If you two aren’t dating in real life by now- something is wrong in the universe 🔥🔥🔥”
Ezra Moreland & Jessica Lowndes Got to Know Each Other Before Filming Began
By the time Lowndes and Moreland began filming “Happy Howlidays,” Moreland had taken two months of acting lessons, he told Entertainment Weekly, and the two had spent time getting to know each other. During a Facebook Live on December 20, sitting together while Bennett joined them on a split screen from afar, they shared that they spent two weeks becoming friends as they rehearsed — something most Hallmark duos don’t get to do.
“You guys have insane chemistry in this movie,” Bennett told them. “I know you went up to, like, Whistler or somewhere before the movie started and go to, like, connect and just get to know each other. Because I knew it was going to be a lot for Ezra to walk in, never having don a movie or acted before.”
“We did a big boat day with the producers up there,” Lowndes recalled. “I think that was actually really cool because we were just getting to know each other, and having heart-to-hearts, and talking about our lives.”
The trio also laughed about a scene in which a rain-drenched Ezra switches into a dry shirt, giving viewers — and Lowndes — a clear view of his chiseled abs.
“That was the worst scene ever,” Lowndes joked, noting that she thought that Moreland’s uber-fit appearance was so perfect it must have been AI-generated. “I don’t know why you guys would do that to me. It was like, ‘He is disgusting!'”
Calling his physique “insane,” Lowndes laughed, “I didn’t know what to do. I was like, ‘Alright, it’s a great day in the office.”
Whether Lowndes and Moreland are simply friends or something more remains to be seen, but viewers can check out the chemistry themselves by watching Hallmark Channel’s “Happy Howlidays” premiere on December 21 at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
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Why Fans Think ‘Happy Howlidays’ Stars May Be Dating in Real Life: ‘Y’all Are Soulmates’