HALLMARK CHANNEL'S "COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS" IS BIGGER THAN EVER!

JOEY LAWRENCE, EMILY HAMPSHIRE AND FIVE-TIME GOLDEN GLOBE(R) NOMINEE MARILU HENNER STAR IN "HITCHED FOR THE HOLIDAYS," A HALLMARK CHANNEL ORIGINAL MOVIE WORLD PREMIERE HOLIDAY 2012

Christmas and Hanukkah force two New Yorkers to find a date during the holiday season and pose as a happy couple to fool their meddling families, friends and co-workers. The World Premiere of "Hitched for the Holidays," a Hallmark Channel Original Movie premiering Holiday 2012, stars five-time Golden Globe(R) nominee Marilu Henner ("Taxi"), Joey Lawrence ("Melissa and Joey") and Emily Hampshire ("Ruby Gloom"). Linda Darlow ("Da Vinci's Inquest"), Serge Houde ("50/50") and L. Harvey Gold ("Endgame") co-star in the romantic comedy. Hallmark Channel's "Countdown to Christmas" is the biggest holiday destination on television, premiering more original holiday programs than any other network.

When commitment-phobe Rob Marino (Lawrence) breaks up with his girlfriend before Thanksgiving, he is criticized by his big Italian family about his inability to keep a relationship through the holidays. Wanting to prove them wrong and fulfill his dying grandmother's (Paula Shaw, "Mr. Young") wish to see him happy in love, Rob goes online and finds Julie (Hampshire), another single New Yorker who's meddling Jewish mom (Henner), has driven her to seek a temporary boyfriend. Rob and Julie agree to pose as a couple through the holidays to get their families off their backs. But things get complicated when Rob's Catholic clan and Julie's Jewish family get involved. With Christmas coming and Hanukkah around the corner, they double their efforts to keep the charade going, only to discover their fake feelings may be a little too real.

"Hitched for the Holidays" is a Hitching Road Production. Michael Moran, Allen Lewis and Michael M. Scott are the executive producers. Harvey Kahn is the producer. Michael M. Scott directed from a script by Gary Goldstein.

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming available in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to a national audience of over 87 million subscribers. The top-tier program service is distributed through approximately 5,500 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel is the nation's leading destination for quality family programming with an ambitious slate of original TV movies and specials, as well as some of television's most beloved sitcoms and series, including The Golden Girls, Frasier, Little House on the Prairie, and The Waltons. Since 2010, Hallmark Channel has also been home to original daytime lifestyle programming and is debuting two new daily series, Home & Family and Marie, on October 1, 2012. Hallmark Channel's sibling network is Hallmark Movie Channel, also available in HD and SD, which focuses on family-friendly movies with a mix of classic theatrical films, presentations from the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame library, original Hallmark Channel movies and special events.