Christmas On Call
Writers: Jennifer Barrow, Chris Sey
Director: Jeff Beesley
Cast: Sara Canning, Ser'Darius Blain, Tamara Almeida, Reena Jolly, Erik Athavale
Sara Canning (Holiday Road) plays Hannah, an ER doctor who just landed in Philadelphia. She's been so busy at work that she hasn't even had time to finish unpacking, let alone put up Christmas decorations. Ser'Darius Blain (Will Trent) plays EMT Wes, a Philly native who's plugged into the community and the town's holiday traditions. Hannah's looking for someone to make Philadelphia a little less lonely and, well, she just might've found him in Wes.
Also spending Christmas on call are officers Danielle (Five Gold Rings' Reena Jolly) and Sanjay (The Santa Summit's Erik Athavale). They had a brief romantic encounter last New Year's Eve — and then nada since. So there won't be any tension at all now that these two have to spend the most romantic time of the year (at least in the Hallmarkiverse) in a squad car together. Will close quarters lead to sparks? Or will sparks only fly between the disgruntled neighbors that keep calling the cops on each other?
Home For the Holidays: Christmas On Call is a Philadelphia movie through and through — even though it was filmed in Winnipeg. (Yes, Canada!) Still, local Philly traditions are shouted out, Hannah getting her first Philly cheesesteak is a major plot moment, there's the obligatory Rocky reference, and the (fictional) firehouse hosts an annual open house to raise money for the (very real) Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. And as if that weren't Philly enough, Donna Kelce makes her second appearance in a 2024 Hallmark movie — repping an Eagles jersey in honor of her son, Jason. (If you want to complete the set of commemorative Kelce Hallmark movies, check out Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.)
'Twas the Night Before This Movie: It never gets old hearing a character assert their job title to someone who already knows it. Hannah to her dad: "That's Doctor Hannah Banana, thank you very much."
They Brought Presence: Erik Athavale really is the secret weapon in every Hallmark movie he pops up in. He's got such an affable presence and delivers exposition and one-liners — the two most important pieces of dialogue in the Hallmark canon — with expertise. Also gotta give it to Tamara Almeida for bringing the endearing earnestness to her role as new EMT Julia. I'm rooting for you, Julia!
Ho Ho Ho: It's a visual joke that won't play here, but: "His name is on the ladder" was an A+ gag.
As Advertised: A holiday movie focused on the interconnected, hectic lives of first responders? It could only be called Christmas On Call. Or, considering it follows multiple civil servants in one metro area, one EP swap could've made this Dick Wolf Presents: Christmas With the Philly Med/Fire/PD.
Let's start with the good news: I applaud Hallmark and everyone involved for making a movie that is this outside the norm structurally and, to a degree, tonally. The ambition on display — depicting three different high-stakes, fast-paced occupations in a city setting — makes Christmas On Call way more than just another entry on Donna Kelce's rapidly expanding IMDb profile.
I particularly appreciated the depiction of Philadelphia (by way of Winnipeg) as a welcoming city, where neighbors cook you dinner because they know you're working late and the cheesesteak place knows you by name. More than a couple of Hallmark movies this year have reverted back to treating cities like The Forbidden Zone. Christmas On Call, at the very least, proves that Hallmark's holiday magic can be translated to towns of any size!
The bad news: With so much going for it, Christmas On Call ultimately falls short of expectations. The idea of a first-responders holiday movie is fantastic, but the characters' occupations mostly amount to telling, not showing. A lot of the movie is the standard Hallmark getting-to-know-you walk-and-talks, which is a bit of a bummer, considering so much of the movie feels groundbreaking. I'm not expecting ER over here, but... I have rewatched all 15 seasons of ER this year, so it's actually hard to avoid comparisons.
Now the important question: Where will Donna Kelce pop up next?!
