NEED TO KNOW
Hallmark Channel favorites Meghan Ory and Benjamin Ayres are set to costar in A Christmas Angel Match later this year
The movie, which also features Husky puppies, is part of the network’s 16th annual Countdown to Christmas
Ory wrote the film as well
What could be better than Christmas cheer and puppies?
Yeah, not much, which is why PEOPLE is excited to reveal that Once Upon a Time and Chesapeake Shores alum Meghan Ory and Saving Hope star Benjamin Ayres have teamed up for Hallmark Channel’s A Christmas Angel Match — and they’ll also be working with a bunch of adorable Husky puppies.
“They were like 12 weeks old, and they were really little,” Ory tells PEOPLE of the pups. “They were so cute! And one of the people on the crew in catering bought one of them, so we even matched a puppy with a home.”
In the film, which will premiere as part of the network’s 16th annual Countdown to Christmas, Ory and Ayres play Christmas angels Monica and Michael, who are tasked with bringing soulmates together.
Hallmark Channel
According to the official synopsis, these angels typically work alone, but “when the Christmas Connection Department faces the threat of downsizing, Monica and Michael are unexpectedly paired to ensure Daisy and Patrick fall in love before Christmas. The partnership isn’t without its challenges: Monica is a by-the-book traditionalist who follows every heavenly rule, while Michael embraces spontaneity and delights in earthly joys like hot chocolate, snowball fights, and holiday dancing. Their clashing styles — and the undeniable spark growing between them — complicate their mission.
“As Christmas Eve draws near, Monica and Michael worry their differences will keep them from completing their mission in time. But just when it seems all hope is lost, a surprising turn of events changes everything — leading to a Christmas connection no one saw coming.”
Ory, 43, wrote the film based on her love for match-making and her family’s theories on guardian angels. “Funny enough, it was my husband, John Reardon, who thought combining those two things plus a dash of Christmas would make a great movie,” Ory said.
The actress also admits she didn’t immediately tell people she’d written the film. In fact, she used her mother’s name as a nom de plume.
“It feels very personal,” she admits. “I have been writing for a long time, and I feel shy about it for some reason. But when people found out over the course of filming that I had written it, they all encouraged me to talk about it.”
The movie is directed by Christie Will Wolf, who also helmed Ory and Reardon’s 2024 Hallmark movie Believe in Christmas.
“This is the third time I’ve had the gift of collaborating with @officialmeghanory — as lead actress, and as my producing partner,” Wolf wrote on Instagram. “We speak in shorthand, consistently have the same thought, and spin ideas like records — nonstop and always in rhythm. Making movies is hard. We’re both moms. Being away from our kids isn’t easy. But the kind of storytelling we’re stepping into now… the tier we’re pushing toward… that makes the sacrifice mean something. And being with her while doing it makes all the difference.”
Ayres, 48, did triple Hallmark Christmas movie duty in 2024, starring in The Santa Class with Kimberley Sustad, Santa Tell Me with Erin Krakow and Happy Holidays from Cherry Lane with Erica Durance.
A Christmas Angel Match will premiere later this year on Hallmark Channel as part of Countdown to Christmas.
