Kristoffer Polaha Looks Back on His Hallmark Rom-Coms, From ‘Dater’s Handbook’ to ‘Small Town Christmas’

Kristoffer Polaha has done several Hallmark movies over the years, going back to his first in 2016, Dater’s Handbook and his most recent being 2023’s A Winning Team. While talking with TV Insider about the latter, he shared that one with a June wedding is on his bucket list. Is anything else?

“I love the mystery audience, and I love that genre, so I would love to get to start asking the question ‘Whodunit?’ again with Hallmark, and who knows, maybe I will in some way or another,” he shared, noting that the last Mystery 101 did end with a loose thread. “I have a couple ideas, but I also really love trusting [SVP, Casting, Crown Media Family Networks] Penny Perry. She does such an amazing job. The network knows how to take care of their actors when you’re in that family. In my whole 23-year career, I’ve never felt a greater sense of collaboration and weirdly companionship with a network that I do with Hallmark and the people that work there. It’s a really wonderful place to work.”

He continued, “I think what happens is actors in other places, they have this sense of actor-ship, but Hallmark, you genuinely start truly feeling like a coworker. There are some people in front of the camera, but most of the people are behind it. But we’re all just coworkers, and we’re joining our hearts and minds and our youthful energy to telling great stories and they’re really doing a good job at it. … I don’t think I’ve turned down [a script from Hallmark] yet. I think every script I’ve read, been offered, I’ve said yes to because each one of them, either the character is so awesome and I’ve loved it or the story itself was something that I just couldn’t not say yes to.”

Polaha also has A Biltmore Christmas coming up for Hallmark’s 2023 Christmas lineup. “When I got that script, I read it, it was like, ‘Are you kidding me? Yes, absolutely,’” he said.

We invited Polaha to take a look at some of his Hallmark rom-coms and share what stands out about them. Scroll down to see what he had to say about Dater’s Handbook, We Wish You a Married Christmas, Rocky Mountain Christmas, and more, including that cameo in 2022’s Haul Out the Holly. As for who he’d like to make a cameo in one of his Hallmark movies? Besides the actor who “owes [him] one” after his, his pick is Brendan Fraser.