'Tis the season to be jolly, and Netflix really gave us a lot to be jolly about this year! Beginning with the first week of November, the streamer has released one new original Christmas romantic comedy per week, beginning with Meet Me Next Christmas at the beginning of the month and concluding with Our Little Secret, which was released ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Each of the four movies boast big stars that we all know and love, including Christina Milian, Lacey Chabert, Chad Michael Murray, and Lindsay Lohan. But there are so many more amazing cast members in all of the movies that make them a lovable, magical experience that tops the top 10 most popular movies ranking on Netflix. Speaking of rankings, which of this year's offerings was best?
In celebration of the culmination of the most festive month of the year on Netflix, we're ranking all four of Netflix's 2024 Christmas romantic comedies — Meet Me Next Christmas, Hot Frosty, The Merry Gentlemen, and Our Little Secret — from worst to best. Where did your favorite fall in our ranking? Find out below, and make sure not to miss any of these charming rom-coms!
The Merry Gentlemen brought some unconventional spice to the Christmas movie genre that viewers definitely loved. In the movie, Britt Robertson plays Ashley Davis, a Broadway dancer who finds herself back in her hometown for the holidays as she helps her parents save their local venue. She devises a plan to throw an all-male dance revue, which involves the men taking off their shirts on stage. Along the way, Ashley falls for one of the hunky dancers, Luke (Chad Michael Murray).
Obviously, The Merry Gentlemen doesn't disappoint in the romance and eye candy department. There's lots of that to go around, and the story, written by Marla Sokoloff (Full House's Gia!) features emotional layers beyond the central romance between Ashley and Luke. However, the romance between those two characters shows the movie's weaknesses, namely the lack of chemistry between the two leads that's necessary to make a romantic comedy really work.
While some viewers might disagree, Britt Robertson and Chad Michael Murray aren't quite the slam-dunk rom-com pairing. Individually, both are excellent actors, not to mention both alums from The CW. But there's an age gap of nine years between them that's rather conspicuous. Overall, the movie does exactly what it needs to do, which is make us all swoon and feel merry, but The Merry Gentlemen could have been even better with the right casting of Robertson's male lead.
3. Hot Frosty
Hallmark Channel Christmas movie queen Lacey Chabert made her Netflix original movie debut in the Christmas romantic comedy Hot Frosty. Does everyone understand how big of a get that is?! It's not as if Chabert's fully defecting over to Netflix, but the fact that she's branching out and exploring other platforms where she can tell stories is so huge and a major win for her fans. It's even better then that her first entry in the Netflix Christmas Cinematic Universe was a homerun.
Chabert stars in Hot Frosty as Kathy, a widow who has been feeling the grief of her husband's loss for two years. She's neglected various aspects of her life, including fixing the heating unit in her house, something her husband would have done. When Kathy puts her scarf on a handsome snowman in her town's snowman contest, he comes to life in the form of Jack (Dustin Milligan). Soon, Kathy takes Jack in and the pair begin to fall for each other, but their connection ends if he melts.
Hot Frosty has so much to love, from the fantastical aspect of the storyline to the bulletproof cast of real comedy pros: The Office's Craig Robinson, Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Joe Lo Truglio, and Mike & Molly's Katy Mixon Greer. It's funny, it's super joyful, and it's just an unexpected treat in Netflix's growing roster of holiday content. Hopefully, the success of Hot Frosty leads to many more collaborations between the streaming service and Lacey Chabert.
The first Christmas romantic comedy that got the party started on Netflix in 2024 was Meet Me Next Christmas, and it's a movie that really set the tone — and the bar high — for the month's following offerings. Christina Milian returned to the streamer after starring in two previous rom-coms on Netflix: 2019's Falling Inn Love and 2021's Resort to Love. She's the latest star that's released a winning trio of original Netflix movies, with many more surely to come.
Meet Me Next Christmas stars Milian as Layla, who's on a mission to reconnect with the man she believes is the man of the dreams. In order to make this reconnection, Layla does everything she can to score a ticket to Pentatonix's sold-out Christmas Eve concert in New York City. Like in most romantic comedies, what Layla thought would happen didn't happen. She doesn't end up with James, the so-called "man of her dreams," but rather Teddy, the concierge who helped her find the ticket.
Even though it's predictable (you can't dock points for that with a romantic comedy, it's a given!), Meet Me Next Christmas has something special. Milian's expectedly great in the leading role and shares wonderful chemistry with her leading men. The added aspect of all the music from Pentatonix and the magic of New York City creates a timeless atmosphere. There's no doubt that this one will become an annual must-rewatch classic for many, many viewers.
1. Our Little Secret
As a millennial who came of age during Lindsay Lohan's Disney dominance, watching her comeback has been nothing short of heartening. She's back at the top of her game and with Our Little Secret, she fulfills her movie deal with Netflix, having already released the hit rom-coms Falling for Christmas and Irish Wish. With her latest title, which comes ahead of her big screen return in 2025 with Freakier Friday, she's officially back in her groove as the movie star she's always been.
In Our Little Secret, a classic rom-com mishap setup takes shape as Avery (Lindsay Lohan) joins her new boyfriend Cameron (Jon Rudnitsky) with his family for Christmas. However, to her horror, she learns that Cameron's sister Cassie (Katie Baker) is dating Logan (Ian Harding), who happens to be her ex-boyfriend... and almost fiancé. In the shock of the awkwardness, Avery makes Logan to swear to keep their past a secret, but of course, the truth inevitably comes out in a big way.
Like Hot Frosty, Netflix assembled a solid comedy cast for Our Little Secret, calling on the talents of Kristin Chenoweth (perfectly cast as Cameron's disapproving mother and Avery's foil), Dan Bucatinsky, Chris Parnell, and Tim Meadows, who reunites with his Mean Girls costar. Again, it's a simple rom-com but so, so easy to watch and love, earning the crown for Netflix's best original Christmas romantic comedy of the year.
Let's see what 2025 will bring!