Netflix Christmas Movies 2026: Complete Schedule and Full Cast List

Netflix is putting a bodyguard, a basset hound, a struggling pastor, and a Christmas time loop on your holiday watchlist. The streamer has unveiled four new original Christmas movies for 2026, and the lineup is anything but one-size-fits-all. Dennis Quaid, Mary Steenburgen, Leighton Meester, Jared Padalecki, Maddie Ziegler, and Rob Lowe are among the familiar faces heading into festive territory.

From a family fighting to hold itself together to a romance complicated by celebrity security, here’s what’s coming, who’s starring, and when you can start watching.

Netflix’s 2026 Christmas Lineup Has More Than Romance Under the Tree

Holiday romance is certainly on the menu, but Netflix is spreading its seasonal bets across several genres. This year brings a family drama, a faith-based story from Tyler Perry, a bodyguard romance, and a comedy built around reliving Christmas until something finally clicks.

The schedule begins Wednesday, November 4, with three movies arriving on consecutive Wednesdays in November. The fourth lands on Wednesday, December 2, giving viewers one more festive premiere as the December countdown gets underway.

A Dog’s Perfect Christmas Arrives November 4

If your ideal holiday movie involves family complications and a dog who deserves top billing, A Dog’s Perfect Christmas belongs near the top of your list. Arriving Wednesday, November 4, the film comes from the bestselling author of A Dog’s Purpose and centers on a household struggling to stay together at Christmas.

At the heart of the story are a teenager, her grandfather, and his trusty basset hound. Together, they try to keep a family in crisis from falling apart. That premise points toward the more emotional side of seasonal viewing: less mistletoe matchmaking, more finding a way through difficult circumstances with the people who matter.

The cast includes Dennis Quaid, Milo Ventimiglia, and Mary Steenburgen, alongside Brooke Lena Johnson, Jennifer Tilly, Ethan Loomis, and Kathleen Rose Perkins. Thomas Haden Church provides the voice of Winstead, adding another recognizable name to an already substantial ensemble.

Netflix is opening its holiday run with a family drama rather than a straightforward romance. For viewers who like their Christmas stories with emotional stakes and a four-legged companion, this is the first date to circle.

Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas Arrives November 11

One week later, Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas shifts the focus to faith, family, and a community in need. The movie premieres Wednesday, November 11, and follows a struggling pastor who inherits his family’s church in a broken New York neighborhood.

Taking on that responsibility is only the beginning. He must confront doubt, temptation, and a sinister adversary while trying to save the church, his family, and the surrounding community before Christmas. The story centers on his need to rediscover both his faith and the power of prayer.

The ensemble is especially notable for its concentration of gospel and music talent. Fantasia Barrino, Tank, Shirley Caesar, and Fred Hammond star alongside The Clark Sisters, Smokie Norful, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Ann Nesby, Yolanda Adams, Hezekiah Walker, JaKalyn Carr, and Dax.

For anyone seeking a Christmas film that puts spiritual renewal at the center, this is the slate’s clearest match. The pastor is fighting for much more than his own fresh start.

Guarding Stars Arrives November 18

Here’s the pairing likely to catch the attention of longtime CW viewers: Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki lead Guarding Stars, arriving Wednesday, November 18. Meester is familiar to Gossip Girl fans, while Padalecki brings a following from Supernatural and Walker.

The setup puts Meester in the role of a no-nonsense bodyguard assigned to protect a charming action star, played by Padalecki, over the holidays. Naturally, keeping things strictly professional becomes complicated. Sparks fly, secrets unravel, and a security assignment develops into something considerably less predictable.

The supporting cast includes Noah LaLonde, Walker Hayes, Toby Sandeman, Rachael Ancheril, Shaun Johnston, Phil Brooks, Ava Max, and Andie MacDowell. That mix of television, film, and music names gives viewers plenty of familiar faces beyond the central couple.

Of the four announced movies, this is the most direct pick for anyone craving a holiday romance. The appeal is easy to understand: a guarded professional, a charismatic celebrity, and a job that keeps them together during the most sentimentally charged season of the year.

In a Holidaze Arrives December 2

Netflix closes its announced Christmas movie slate with a holiday that refuses to end. In a Holidaze premieres Wednesday, December 2, with Maddie Ziegler playing a directionless twenty-something whose romantic mistake sends her into a festive time loop.

Instead of moving on from the embarrassment, she must relive the same Christmas at her family’s cabin. To escape the cycle, she has to figure out what truly makes her happy, turning an apparently disastrous holiday into a chance for a much-needed personal reset.

Rob Lowe, Graham Phillips, Jackie Sandler, and Elias Kacavas co-star. The combination of a family cabin, romantic uncertainty, and repeated chances to get things right gives this comedy a different engine from the other films on the schedule.

If you prefer your Christmas entertainment with a high-concept twist, this is the one to bookmark. There’s an obvious comic appeal to being unable to escape an awkward holiday, but the premise also leaves room for a bigger question: what does the heroine actually want from her life?

The Netflix Christmas Release Dates to Save Now

With Netflix joining Hallmark Channel and Great American Family in rolling out seasonal offerings, holiday viewing calendars are filling up. This lineup is easy to track, though there’s a break between the November 18 premiere and the final release on December 2.

• November 4: A Dog’s Perfect Christmas
• November 11: Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas
• November 18: Guarding Stars
• December 2: In a Holidaze

The biggest draw may be the variety. Whether your holiday watchlist needs family emotion, faith, romantic sparks, or a second chance that keeps repeating, Netflix has a different option waiting. Now comes the real seasonal dilemma: which one gets watched first, and which one gets saved for a full Christmas movie night?