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A fan-favorite When Calls the Heart actor is starring in a new Christmas movie for Great American Family. Daniel Lissing, who played Jack Thornton for five seasons on the Hallmark Channel series, will appear in Christmas Keepsake this November. 

Daniel Lissing stars in ‘Christmas Keepsake’ 

In Christmas Keepsake, Lissing plays a father who bonds with his daughter – and stumbles upon an unexpected romance – while tracking down the original owner of a Christmas time capsule. Jillian Murphy co-stars in the movie, which premieres Saturday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. ET on Great American Family. It’s one of 20 new movies airing on the channel as part of its annual “Great American Christmas” programming event.

Christmas Keepsake isn’t Lissing’s first movie for squeaky-clean Hallmark rival Great American Family. In 2022, he starred alongside Merritt Patterson in Catering Christmas, and in 2021, he played the lead in A Christmas Star. (The latter movie is now streaming for free with ads on Amazon’s Freevee.) The Australian actor also reprised his role as Mountie Jack in a brief – but emotional – cameo in the network’s 2021 When Hope Calls Christmas special. 

‘When Calls the Heart’ actor Lori Loughlin also stars in a new Great American Family Christmas movie 

Smiling Lori Loughlin in profile in 2022
Lori Loughlin attends DesignCare 2022 Gala to benefit the HollyRod Foundation on June 18, 2022 in Los Angeles, California | Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for HollyRod Foundation
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Lissing isn’t the only former When Calls the Heart star who will appear in a Great American Family Christmas movie in 2023. Lori Loughlin, who played Abigail Stanton on the show until she was fired in 2019, stars in A Christmas Blessing. 

The Full House alum plays a TV chef named Mandy Gilmore who quits her show to travel the globe, with the goal of dining in every Michelin-starred restaurant in the world. But before she jets off to Paris, she stops in Milwaukee to deliver the deed to her late Aunt Susie’s food pantry to its new owner, Adam Carraway (James Tupper). It should be a straightforward transaction, but then a volunteer named Otto (Jesse Hutch) reminds Mandy of her aunt’s love of feeding people. That inspires her to organize one more holiday feast for those who need it most. 

A Christmas Blessing airs Sunday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. ET. 

How to watch Great American Christmas movies

Eager to check out the new holiday movies from When Calls the Heart alums? Great American Family is included in many cable packages. It is also part of several live TV streaming packages, including Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, Fubo TV, Philo, and Frndly TV. You can check availability on the network’s website or text CHRISTMAS to 877-999-1225. 

New Great American Family movies aren’t typically available to stream. However, a selection of the network’s older Christmas flicks (such as Candace Cameron Bure’s A Christmas Present) and other original films are available on the Great American Pure Flix app. 

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