If you’ve flipped on a TV between Thanksgiving and New Year’s anytime in the last decade, you’ve definitely seen those dimples. Mario Lopez has basically become the human equivalent of a peppermint latte. He’s everywhere. While most people still associate him with A.C. Slater or his nightly gig on Access Hollywood, the reality is that the Christmas movie with Mario Lopez has become its own specific, highly successful sub-genre of holiday television.
It's a thing. A real thing.
Honestly, it wasn’t always like this. He didn’t just wake up one day as the face of Great American Family or Lifetime’s "It’s a Wonderful Lifetime" lineup. It was a slow burn that started with a few guest spots and eventually turned into a multi-picture empire. Today, he’s not just acting in these; he’s executive producing them and, more often than not, dragging his entire family into the cast.
The Great American Shift: Mario’s New Holiday Home
In early 2024, the holiday movie landscape shifted. Big time. Mario Lopez signed a massive multi-picture, multi-year deal with Great American Media. This was a huge "get" for the network, which has been aggressively courting talent like Candace Cameron Bure and Danica McKellar.
His first big swing under this new banner was My Grown-Up Christmas Wish, which hit screens in late 2024. In it, he plays Mayor Brian Ortega. The plot is peak holiday cheese: Brian finds his childhood Christmas wish list, and the wishes start coming true. But here’s the kicker—he stars alongside his real-life wife, Courtney Lopez. Even their son, Dominic, gets in on the action, playing the younger version of Mario's character in flashbacks.
It works because it feels authentic. Or as authentic as a "magical wish list" movie can feel. People like seeing a real family on screen. It’s a smart move.
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Looking Ahead: The 2025 and 2026 Slate
If you think he's slowing down, you’re wrong. For the 2025 season, Great American Family has already teased The Christmas Spark. It’s a bit of a departure. Mario plays a corporate lawyer who gets passed over for a promotion and decides to join his small town’s fire department.
He ends up competing with a fallen hero’s son and—spoiler alert—falling for the kid’s widowed mom, played by Sarah Cobrin.
Then there’s Chasing Christmas (often subtitled Mission: Merry Christmas), where he takes a bit of a backseat in a co-starring role, but his son Dominic shows up again. The industry buzz for 2026 suggests Lopez is looking to develop a "holiday multiverse" where characters from different movies might actually cross over. It sounds ambitious, maybe even a little crazy for a cable Christmas movie, but if anyone can sell a shared cinematic universe of tinsel and cocoa, it’s him.
The Lifetime Era: Where the Legend Began
Before the big move to Great American Family, Mario was the undisputed heavyweight champion of Lifetime’s holiday slate. You can still find these on streaming, and they’re arguably some of his best work in the genre.
Holiday in Santa Fe (2021)
This one is a fan favorite for a reason. It actually celebrates Mario's Mexican heritage, focusing on a family business called Casa de Milagro that makes traditional ornaments. Mario plays Tony Ortega. When a corporate executive (Emeraude Toubia) shows up to buy the company, sparks fly. It’s got heart, it’s got great food, and it doesn't feel like a cookie-cutter New England town movie.
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Feliz NaviDAD (2020)
Directed by none other than Melissa Joan Hart, this movie features Mario as a single dad and high school principal who moonlights as a delivery driver. He’s lost the holiday spirit because his wife passed away during Christmas years prior. His daughter, Noel (Paulina Chavez), plays matchmaker via a dating app. It’s a tear-jerker, but it’s solid.
Steppin’ Into the Holiday (2022)
This was Mario’s "I can still dance" movie. He plays Billy Holiday, a former Broadway star who gets fired and heads home to help a local dance studio. He stars with Jana Kramer, and yes, there is a lot of choreography. It’s high energy and probably the closest we’ll get to a Saved by the Bell dance-off in a Christmas setting.
Why Do People Keep Watching?
Let’s be real: these movies aren't winning Oscars. But that’s not why we watch a Christmas movie with Mario Lopez. We watch because they’re comfortable.
There’s a specific nuance he brings. He’s not playing a brooding lead; he’s playing the guy you want to have a beer with at the neighborhood block party. He’s accessible. He’s also one of the few actors who has successfully integrated his real family into his professional brand without it feeling exploitative.
- The Family Factor: Seeing Courtney, Gia, and Dominic Lopez pop up in his movies makes it feel like a home movie with a Hollywood budget.
- The Consistency: You know what you’re getting. A happy ending, a few jokes about his age or his fitness, and a lot of festive sweaters.
- The Culture: He has pushed for more Latino representation in a genre that was, for a long time, very "white Christmas."
What Most People Get Wrong
A common misconception is that Mario just shows up, says his lines, and cashes a check. Actually, he’s heavily involved in the development of these stories. In interviews, he’s mentioned that he often comes up with the initial premises himself. He wants these films to be "throwbacks" to the classic family movies of the 80s and 90s.
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He knows the audience. He knows they want nostalgia.
Practical Next Steps for Your Binge-Watch
If you're looking to dive into the Mario Lopez Christmas cinematic universe, don't just pick one at random. Start with Holiday in Santa Fe for the cultural depth, then move to My Grown-Up Christmas Wish to see the family dynamic in action.
If you're using a streaming service like Philo, Frndly TV, or Hulu + Live TV, you can usually find his entire back catalog under a "Holiday" or "Mario Lopez" search. Most of the Great American Family movies are now hitting their app, Great American Pure Flix, shortly after they air on cable.
Check the 2025/2026 TV schedules early in October. That’s when the "Christmas wars" between Hallmark, Lifetime, and Great American Family really kick off, and Mario is usually the opening act.