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What’s better than a perfect pairing in a holiday rom-com? A perfect re-pairing, of course!
One year after Netflix’s Hot Frosty had everyone looking twice at the snowman in the town square, stars Lacey Chabert and Dustin Milligan have reunited for Maybe This Christmas, a five-episode microdrama for Maybelline (created by Ryan Reynolds’ entertainment company, Maximum Effort) about two flirty neighbors whose romance takes an unexpected turn.
“This holiday season, she’s concealing something — and he really loves hot cocoa,” teases a dramatic voiceover in the exclusive trailer above.
Moments later, Chabert chimes in: “Maybe this Christmas will be different. Maybe, just maybe, I can conceal who I really am.”
Courtesy of Maximum Effort
“Everyone knows I love telling holiday stories so much, it’s such a huge part of my life,” Chabert, 43, tells PEOPLE. “This is a fun little wink to the genre. It’s light and whimsical, and I love that it has a cheeky twist.”
For her, the chance to reunite with Milligan on this project to celebrate the Maybelline Instant Eraser Concealer — something she says she’s “used for years” — was a no-brainer.
“The chance to collaborate on a product that I actually love and then to do that with Dustin was really just a dream,” she says. “I had such a lovely time with him on Hot Frosty last year, and this was such a fun way to tell a holiday story in a new format and to get to be together for a day on set.”
“You don’t need me to say the words ‘Queen of Christmas,’ but I will, and I did,” Milligan, 40, tells PEOPLE. “Any opportunity where you get to reunite with somebody that you enjoyed working with and actually had an element of joy in the work process, it’s so rare. But then to have that paired with actually doing something and telling a story wherein you get to play with some of the narrative expectations to then land on that twist at the end, to me personally, just selfishly, that brings me even more joy.”
Courtesy of Maximum Effort
While he keeps his sweater on this time, Milligan raves about his experience on set and the freedom he was given to ad-lib during scenes, including a moment that was kept in the meet-cute scene.
“I do remember just being like, ‘I hope they use these because this is so ridiculous,'” Milligan says.
“It’s nice when you’re on a set that is so playful,” adds Chabert, who next stars in She’s Making a List, premiering Dec. 6 on Hallmark Channel. “We understood the assignment of this … and the more playful, the better.”
An appreciation for the product also helped, Chabert notes. “I’ve had the Instant Age Rewind Eraser in my makeup bag for years. I also love the mascaras. In particular, the Colossal one in the yellow tube. And the lip gloss is great too, The Lifter Gloss,” she says. “It’s nice when you get to collaborate and partner with a product that you genuinely love.”
Courtesy of Maximum Effort
She’s also not the only one of the two actors who uses the product.
“I have,” Milligan admits. “I’m so grateful to be here in 2025, being able to talk about it because when I first started acting, it was kind of like almost this thing. Everyone had to cover up little spots and stuff like that before an audition, and as a guy, that sometimes wasn’t always the thing that you wanted to necessarily be doing out in the open. Whereas now, I am popping all kinds of little bits and bobs of concealer, specifically from Maybelline before this ever came about, in order to sort of try to look as presentable as I can before an audition or a meeting or something like that. ‘Tis the season for all of us to enjoy a Maybelline product.”
So could another full-length film be in the future for Chabert and Milligan?
Courtesy of Maximum Effort
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“I would love that opportunity,” Chabert says. “I had so much fun on the movie with you, and if we have the chance, I’d be so thrilled and I really hope that is something that happens.”
“Likewise,” Milligan responds. “My wife [actress Amanda Crew] and I watch Hallmark movies all the time, and we’re such a fan of the form, but specifically Lacey and her ability to still make it engaging again and again and again, which is a real feat. That’s a real skill. And so to be able to kind of IRL get to experience that and work together — and then also have it be so easy — yeah, it’s such a joy. And any opportunity that we get. Maybe it’s going to be like Hot Frosty 2: Even Frostier, whatever it is.”
Watch all five episodes of Maybe This Christmas — “cheeky twist” and all — above.
