Mistletoe Murders is back for a third season on Hallmark Channel, and the cozy Christmas mystery series is bringing more murders, more secrets, and more of Emily Lane’s complicated past. The show returns on Thursday, November 5, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET, with new episodes airing weekly and streaming the next day on Hallmark+.
The season picks up after a major cliffhanger that left Emily’s former partner standing on her doorstep. Here is everything you need to know about the release schedule, the story so far, and the new faces joining Fletcher’s Grove.
The Full Season 3 Episode Schedule
Season 3 consists of six episodes that tell three two-part mysteries. New episodes air on Hallmark Channel on Thursday nights, with each episode arriving on Hallmark+ the following day. The full schedule is below.
- Episode 1 – “Don’t Fear the Wreather – Part 1”: Thursday, November 5 at 8 p.m. ET
- Episode 2 – “Don’t Fear the Wreather – Part 2”: Thursday, November 12 at 8 p.m. ET
- Episode 3 – “We Three Kims – Part 1”: Thursday, November 19 at 8 p.m. ET
- Episode 4 – “We Three Kims – Part 2”: Thursday, November 26 at 10 p.m. ET (special time)
- Episode 5 – “A Mystery on 34th Street – Part 1”: Thursday, December 3 at 8 p.m. ET
- Episode 6 – “A Mystery on 34th Street – Part 2”: Thursday, December 10 at 8 p.m. ET
Where to Watch and the Netflix Situation
Seasons 1 and 2 of Mistletoe Murders arrived on Netflix in the United States on November 1, 2026, just days before the season 3 premiere. The show quickly became one of the streamer’s most popular titles, introducing a new audience to Emily Lane’s story.
Season 3, however, will not be on Netflix at launch. The first two seasons were licensed to Netflix, but the streamer does not hold the rights to the new season yet. Viewers in the U.S. can watch new episodes live on Hallmark Channel or stream them the next day on Hallmark+, the network’s dedicated streaming service. For audiences outside the U.S., Hallmark+ is the primary option for streaming new episodes, while international availability for the first two seasons varies by region.
What Happened in the Season 2 Finale
The season 2 finale, titled “‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas – Part 2,” ended with Emily and Sam trapped in a walk-in freezer while chasing a killer. With nowhere to go, Emily finally told Sam part of the truth she had been hiding for two seasons.
Her real name is Grace. She was a gifted teenage hacker who went by the online handle Chimera. Her first love, Aaron, was part of the hacks with her. When Grace found evidence tying Aaron to terrorist funding networks, she shut down his computer. Police arrived, Aaron got away, and Grace was arrested. Federal agents later offered her a deal: help them track Aaron, who they believed was rebuilding Chimera. Grace went to work in intelligence, hunting the man she once trusted.
One operation went wrong, and the world decided Grace had died. Emily Lane, the Christmas shop owner, was the identity she built next.
“You need to love Emily Lane, and also, she needs to lie,” **Sarah Drew** told Lady Geeks Media about her character.
Sam asked Emily on a date after hearing her story. The morning after, he texted that he was coming over with coffee. When someone knocked on her door, Emily opened it expecting Sam. Instead, it was Aaron (played by Aaron Ashmore). His words closed the season: “Merry Christmas, Grace. You look pretty good for a dead woman”.
The New Season Picks Up With Aaron at the Door
Season 3 begins with Emily facing the return of the man who framed her and blew up her life. Sarah Drew has described the new episodes as Emily’s past crashing back in, forcing her to confront the mess she feels responsible for.
“It’s really all about her past crashing back in and her needing to solve this thing that she feels responsible for,” **Drew** told Soaps.com.
The first mystery of the season is “Don’t Fear the Wreather.” Emily and Sam investigate a local wreath maker accused of killing her husbands. The wreath maker is played by Catherine Bell, a familiar face to Hallmark viewers from Good Witch.
Bell appears in the first two episodes. Her character has a memorable line in the promo: “He called me the Grim Wreather, because to marry me is a death sentence”.
“This is not the ‘good witch’ you’re used to… I had so much fun stepping into the world of Mistletoe Murders for the first two episodes of Season 3,” **Bell** wrote on Instagram.
Holly Robinson Peete Joins as Dr. Russo
Another Hallmark favorite, Holly Robinson Peete, guest stars later in the season as Dr. Russo, a psychiatrist helping a patient in Fletcher’s Grove. Peete described her character to CinemaBlend as warm and friendly but also sharp enough to see through lies quickly.
“She has a sense about people where she can find out something about yourself that you don’t even know. So that’s like a superpower for her,” **Peete** said.
Dr. Russo picks up on things about Emily that even Emily has not yet faced, which creates tension in the story.
What to Know Before Watching Season 3
New viewers catching up on Netflix or Hallmark+ should know a few key facts about the show’s setup.
Emily Lane is not who she says she is. The Christmas shop owner has a background in hacking and intelligence work. Her real name is Grace, and she spent years hunting the man who betrayed her.
Sam Wilner knows part of the truth. The local detective learned Emily’s real name and her intelligence background in the season 2 finale. He asked her on a date, and their relationship is now tested by Aaron’s return.
Aaron is the central threat. Emily’s former partner and first love is the reason she went into hiding. His arrival in Fletcher’s Grove means her past is no longer a secret she can outrun.
The show mixes Christmas charm with murder. Sarah Drew calls it “Christmas noir,” a blend of holiday romance and darker mystery storytelling.
“We like to call it Christmas noir. We have a really cool way of shooting it that feels a little bit edgier and a little bit grittier than normal Hallmark fare,” **Drew** said.
Cast and Production Details
Sarah Drew stars as Emily Lane and also serves as an executive producer. Peter Mooney returns as Detective Sam Wilner. Ken Cuperus is the showrunner and executive producer, adapting the series from his Audible Original of the same name.
The series is produced by Lionsgate Canada and Headspinner Productions, with Lionsgate Television handling international distribution. Filming takes place in Toronto, where the cast and crew shoot holiday content during the summer months.
Sarah Drew has spoken about the show’s balance of genres, noting that both Christmas romances and murder mysteries follow a similar pattern: things start in disarray, go through twists, and end with everything resolved.
“At the end of the murder mystery, the bad guy is taken in, the good guys win, justice is served, right? So you know that walking into both of these genres that you’re going to see a whole journey, you’re going to get to feel a bunch of stuff, and at the end everything will be okay,” **Drew** explained.
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