Teri Hatcher’s back, and this time she’s not battling interdimensional aliens or suburban housewives. Instead, she’s facing the decidedly more relatable challenge of impending financial ruin in Lifetime’s “How To Fall In Love By Christmas.” Hatcher plays Nora Winters, CEO of the struggling lifestyle brand PRISM, who’s apparently one disastrous holiday season away from losing it all. Her solution? Fake a Christmas romance to land a make-or-break partnership. Ah, the timeless tale of corporate desperation meeting manufactured love under the mistletoe.
The premise, admittedly, isn’t exactly groundbreaking. Nora must team up with the dating app Take To Heart, penning a column about finding love by Christmas in order to secure their crucial partnership. Enter Jack, played by Dan Payne, a photographer assigned to assist Nora with her column and presumably her staged Instagram-worthy dates. Because what’s a holiday rom-com without a handsome, conveniently single photographer to capture all the forced merriment?
While the synopsis reeks of familiar tropes — the high-powered career woman who “learns to love” again, the contrived meet-cutes, the inevitable snowball fight that somehow leads to a kiss — there’s a certain comfort in the predictable. And hey, Hatcher’s got that whole self-aware charm thing going for her. Maybe she can elevate this potential saccharine fest into something genuinely enjoyable.
“How To Fall In Love By Christmas” airs Sunday, December 8, 2024, at 8:00 PM on Lifetime.
