Picture Credits: Netflix
Netflix’s Christmas movie lineup for 2026 is nearly locked in. Back in August, the streamer quietly slipped four holiday features into its Fall 2026 movie slate, and over the past few weeks, every one of them has received a release date, first-look images, and (in most cases) a trailer. Here’s everything you need to know about the new Christmas movies coming to Netflix this November and December.
Updated October 15th, 2026: Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas now has a release date, Swedish rom-com The Christmas Switch has joined the lineup, and we’ve added trailers, first looks, character details, and more for every movie on the slate. We’ve also added a bonus pick for families: Gabby’s Dollhouse: Makers and Bakers Holiday.
Netflix officially kicked off its holiday marketing push on October 11th with a teaser covering its four big English-language films, and the releases will arrive in a tidy weekly run through November before one final December entry. Add in a Swedish rom-com and a festive family competition series, and here’s the schedule at a glance:
- November 4th: A Dog’s Perfect Christmas
- November 11th: Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas
- November 12th: The Christmas Switch
- November 18th: Guarding Stars
- December 2nd: In a Holidaze
- December 9th (US): Gabby’s Dollhouse: Makers and Bakers Holiday
As always, keep this page bookmarked, as we expect more holiday announcements (and maybe even acquisitions) to trickle in over the coming weeks. We’re focused on the new movies here, but we’ve included one festive series for families and a round-up of licensed Christmas titles at the end.
A Dog’s Perfect Christmas
Coming to Netflix: Wednesday, November 4th, 2026
Director: Cathryn Michon
Writers: W. Bruce Cameron and Cathryn Michon
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Milo Ventimiglia, Brooke Lena Johnson, Mary Steenburgen, Jennifer Tilly, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Ethan Loomis, and Thomas Haden Church (voice)
Picture Credit: Netflix
Netflix is kicking off the holiday season early this year with a title guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings of animal lovers. Based on W. Bruce Cameron’s 2020 novel (Cameron is the bestselling author behind A Dog’s Purpose), this holiday drama reunites much of the creative team behind that franchise, with Cathryn Michon directing from a script she co-wrote with Cameron.
The story is narrated by Winstead, a wise old basset hound voiced by Thomas Haden Church. Two Christmases after losing his wife, grandfather Sander Goss (Dennis Quaid) has become a grump and is constantly butting heads with his teenage granddaughter, Ello (Brooke Lena Johnson). When Ello’s mother falls ill and is placed in an induced coma, the family is thrown into chaos, and it may take the arrival of a lively corgi puppy named Ruby to pull everyone back together. Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us) plays Hunter, and Mary Steenburgen plays Claire, who catches Sander’s eye.
The first full trailer arrived on October 12th, and it leans hard into the tearjerker territory you’d expect, complete with Winstead yanking a tablecloth off the dinner table to get his family’s attention. The good news for anyone still traumatized by A Dog’s Purpose: Michon has confirmed that no dogs die in this one.
Quaid continues his stellar run on Netflix following Blue Miracle and this year’s War Machine, though he’s playing a different character from the one he played in A Dog’s Purpose and A Dog’s Journey. Fun fact: three corgi puppies, named Harry, William, and Charles, shared the role of Ruby.
Unfortunately, if you were hoping to revisit those earlier Cameron adaptations ahead of the new movie, both A Dog’s Purpose and A Dog’s Journey left Netflix in the United States at the end of September.
Read more: A Dog’s Perfect Christmas: cast, trailer, first looks, and everything we know
Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas
Coming to Netflix: Wednesday, November 11th, 2026
Director/Writer: Tyler Perry
Cast: Durrell “Tank” Babbs, Fantasia Barrino Taylor, Fred Hammond, Ann Nesby, Shirley Caesar, Smokie Norful, Yolanda Adams, Hezekiah Walker, Jekalyn Carr, CeCe Winans, The Clark Sisters, Chanté Moore, Ricco Ross, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Le’Andria Johnson, John Gray, Carl Lentz, Mason Douglas, Lauren Chanel, and Eric Wiltz
Picture Credit: Netflix
Tyler Perry’s prolific output at Netflix continues, and his holiday movie has now moved from a vague “TBA” to a firm November 11th date, landing right in the middle of the November run. It follows Doing Life, which hit Netflix on October 2nd, and September’s long-awaited Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Again?
Tank stars as Isaac, a struggling pastor who inherits his family’s church in a troubled New York neighborhood, with Fantasia Barrino playing his wife, Rebecca. As Isaac battles doubt, temptation, and a sinister adversary over the holidays, he has to rediscover his faith to save his church, his family, and his community.
This is very much a music-first movie. Gospel giant Kirk Franklin is on board as a music producer, and Perry has assembled an Avengers-level ensemble of gospel and R&B legends, including Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond, Shirley Caesar, CeCe Winans, and The Clark Sisters. Perry has said it was important to him to fill the film with some of the greatest gospel artists alive, so expect plenty of musical performances.
Netflix has released a batch of first-look images, but there’s no full trailer yet. We’ll add it here as soon as it drops.
Read more: Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas: full cast, release date, and first look
The Christmas Switch
Coming to Netflix: Thursday, November 12th, 2026
Director: Adam Pålsson
Writers: Christin Magdu and Mikael Syrén
Cast: Felice Jankell, Happy Jankell, Christian Fandango Sundgren, Anastasios Soulis, Celie Sparre, Dag Malmberg, Maria Kulle, and Bahar Pars
Picture Credit: Netflix
Not every Netflix Christmas movie this year comes from Hollywood. Sweden is getting in on the festive fun with The Christmas Switch (made under the working title Christmas in St. Anna), a twin-swap rom-com with casting that’s hard to resist: its two leads are real-life twin sisters.
Felice Jankell and Happy Jankell play Mathilda and Freddie Stjärne, sisters with wildly different personalities who are forced to swap lives in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Out of their comfort zones, both end up rethinking their life choices and finding love where they least expected it. Christian Fandango Sundgren (Barracuda Queens, A Nearly Normal Family) plays Oliver, who appears to be Mathilda’s love interest, while Anastasios Soulis plays Jonas.
The film is adapted from Eleonor Sager’s audiobook Christmas in St. Anna, and Sager produces through Breakable Films. It also marks the feature directorial debut of actor Adam Pålsson, who Netflix viewers will recognize as the lead of Young Wallander.
If you’ve worked your way through The Princess Switch trilogy more times than you’d care to admit, this one should be right up your street. The trailer arrived alongside the release date announcement:
Read more: The Christmas Switch: release date, cast, and first look
Guarding Stars
Coming to Netflix: Wednesday, November 18th, 2026
Director: Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum
Writers: Grant Scharbo, Richard Keith, and Erin Cardillo
Cast: Leighton Meester, Jared Padalecki, Andie MacDowell, Noah LaLonde, Walker Hayes, CM Punk, Toby Sandeman, Siobhan Williams, Rachael Ancheril, and Ava Max
Picture Credit: Netflix
This new movie brings to life Katherine Center’s massive 2022 bestselling novel, The Bodyguard, albeit Netflix opted to rename the film adaptation to Guarding Stars to dodge any potential confusion with the 1992 Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston classic. Whether it’s a better title, we’ll leave that to you… I’m still not convinced.
Directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum (who previously helmed the monster Netflix hit Purple Hearts), this holiday rom-com follows Hannah Brooks (Leighton Meester), a strait-laced executive protection agent still reeling from a breakup and the death of her mother. She gets an unusual assignment: guarding Jack Stapleton (Jared Padalecki), Hollywood’s most famous action star, who is being targeted by a stalker. When Jack retreats to his family’s ranch for the holidays, he insists Hannah pose as his girlfriend so his ailing mother doesn’t find out about the threat. Naturally, as they fake a romance over Christmas, real sparks begin to fly and secrets unravel.
Book fans should note a couple of changes: the novel’s Texas setting has been swapped for a ranch in Montana, and the story now takes place over Christmas rather than Thanksgiving.
The official trailer has now landed, alongside a batch of first-look images, including Padalecki sharing scenes with Andie MacDowell and Noah LaLonde.
The supporting cast is an incredibly fun mix, bringing together Hollywood staples like MacDowell with country music star Walker Hayes, My Life With the Walter Boys star LaLonde, pop star Ava Max, and even WWE star CM Punk, who plays Doghouse. This one has all the makings of a massive seasonal hit when it drops just before Thanksgiving.
Read more: Guarding Stars: first look, trailer, and full cast
In a Holidaze
Coming to Netflix: Wednesday, December 2nd, 2026
Director: Tiffany Paulsen
Writers: Tiffany Paulsen, Christina Hobbs, and Lauren Billings
Cast: Maddie Ziegler, Graham Phillips, Elias Kacavas, Rob Lowe, Patton Oswalt, Jackie Sandler, Andrea Anders, Gil Bellows, and Meredith Salenger
Picture Credit: Netflix
What is a Netflix Christmas lineup without a good old-fashioned holiday rom-com? In a Holidaze closes out the slate in early December, utilizing a classic genre trope: the holiday time loop.
Adapted from the bestselling 2020 novel by Christina Lauren (the pen name of writing duo Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings), the film stars Maddie Ziegler as Maelyn “Mae” Jones, a directionless twentysomething who lives with her parents and hates her dead-end job. After making a massive romantic mistake during what’s set to be her family’s last Christmas at their beloved snowy Utah cabin, Mae begs the universe to show her what will make her happy, and promptly wakes up on the plane heading back to the start of the holiday. She keeps reliving the same Christmas until she figures it out. Graham Phillips plays Andrew, with Elias Kacavas also in the mix for the novel’s two-brothers love triangle.
Behind the camera is Tiffany Paulsen, who is certainly no stranger to the Netflix holiday universe; she previously directed the 2020 Emma Roberts hit Holidate. The supporting cast is packed with recognizable faces, including comedy legend Patton Oswalt, Happy Madison regular Jackie Sandler, and Rob Lowe, who returns to the Netflix Christmas universe after leading 2019’s Holiday in the Wild. The film was shot in Vancouver and Whistler earlier this year.
Netflix has revealed a poster, and the film featured in the October holiday teaser, but there’s no standalone trailer yet. Given the December release, expect one in early November.
Read more: In a Holidaze: December 2026 release, cast, and what else we know
Bonus for Families: Gabby’s Dollhouse: Makers and Bakers Holiday
Coming to Netflix: Wednesday, December 9th, 2026 (US)
Format: Reality competition series
Showrunner: Claire Kosloff
Guests: Aidy Bryant, Melissa Villaseñor, Justin Willman, and Celestina Harris
It’s not a movie, but we couldn’t leave this one out for anyone with little ones at home. Netflix’s massive preschool hit Gabby’s Dollhouse, which was the No. 4 series on Netflix across the second half of 2025 with roughly 108 million views, is getting a festive reality competition spin-off.
Makers and Bakers Holiday follows talented young baker-and-maker duos as they compete in whimsical baking and crafting challenges that bring the Dollhouse to life. Think Nailed It! meets the Gabby Cats, aimed squarely at families. When Netflix first ordered the series, it said Laila Lockhart Kraner, who plays Gabby, would host.
The holiday edition comes with a fun roster of guests, including SNL alums Aidy Bryant and Melissa Villaseñor, plus Justin Willman (Magic for Humans), who knows his way around a baking contest after years hosting Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. The show comes from DreamWorks Animation and B17 Entertainment, part of Sony Pictures Television, with Rhett Bachner and Brien Meagher executive producing.
Netflix has only confirmed a US release so far, and there’s no trailer yet. Expect one in late November.
Licensed Christmas Movies & Shows Coming to Netflix
It’s not all Netflix Originals. The streamer is also topping up its festive library. Here’s what’s coming to the United States so far:
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024)
Coming to Netflix: November 1st*
Runtime: 1hr 38m | Rating: PG
Judy Greer leads this big-screen adaptation of Barbara Robinson’s beloved 1972 children’s book, in which the town’s most notorious troublemakers, the Herdman kids, take over the local church’s annual Christmas pageant. It’s a warm, funny family pick that should feel right at home on Netflix.
Christmas with the Coopers (2015)
Coming to Netflix: November 1st*
Runtime: 1hr 46m | Rating: PG-13
Also known as Love the Coopers, this ensemble comedy follows four generations of a family coming together for one chaotic Christmas Eve. The stacked cast includes Diane Keaton, John Goodman, Olivia Wilde, Amanda Seyfried, Ed Helms, and Alan Arkin.
Mistletoe Murders (Seasons 1-2)
Coming to Netflix: November 1st*
Rating: TV-PG
For something a little cozier with a whodunit twist, the first two seasons of this festive mystery series are on the way. Sarah Drew stars as Emily Lee, the owner of a Christmas shop in a small Vermont town who keeps getting pulled into murder investigations.
The Great British Baking Show: Holidays (2025 Specials)
Coming to Netflix: Before Christmas (US)
The tent wouldn’t be complete without its festive specials, and the 2025 batch from Channel 4 is set to land on Netflix in the US ahead of Christmas. The headliner is a Peep Show reunion that first aired in the UK on Christmas Day 2025, with David Mitchell, Olivia Colman, Isy Suttie, Matt King, and Sophie Winkleman competing for Festive Star Baker (sadly, no Robert Webb). Expect hangable biscuit decorations, a Christmas turkey pie technical, and showstopper cakes recreating classic Peep Show moments.
It’s joined by The Great New Year Bake Off, which brings back a group of fan-favorite former contestants. As always, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith judge, with Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond hosting.
*Release dates for licensed titles are subject to change, and availability may vary by region.
Which of these new Christmas movies are you most looking forward to watching on Netflix in 2026? Let us know in the comments down below!