Danica McKellar and Benjamin Ayres star in "You, Me, And The Christmas Trees."
Danica McKellar and Benjamin Ayres star in "You, Me, And The Christmas Trees."

The merriest time of year is finally here on Hallmark Channel, starting with the premiere of the first new film of the 2021 Countdown to Christmas event--“You, Me & The Christmas Trees.” The film, which stars Danica McKellar, Benjamin Ayres and Jason Hervey, premieres Friday night.

Hallmark is certainly getting this year’s event off to a strong start with the film, which not only allows two of its stars—Hervey and McKellar—to reunite (both starred on “The Wonder Years” in their early careers), but it is giving fans one of the programming event’s most recognizable stars.

McKellar has become one of the staple faces of Hallmark programming, especially around the holidays. In recent years, films have included “Wedding Bells,” “My Christmas Dream,” “Campfire Kiss,” “Coming Home for Christmas,” “Very, Very Valentine,” “Love In Design,” “Love and Sunshine,” “Christmas at Dollywood” and “Christmas She Wrote.” She has also starred in “Christmas At Grand Valley” and the “Matchmaker Mysteries” movies on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

Of course, Ayres, best known for his role as Dr. Zachary Miller on “Saving Hope,” likely isn’t a stranger to Hallmark fans either, as he previously starred in the films “Love by Chance” and “Falling for Vermont,” as well as the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries films “A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas” and “Cranberry Christmas.”

So what can fans expect from the first big film of the 2021 season?

“Olivia (McKellar) is Connecticut’s resident expert on evergreens,” a synopsis for the film reads. “Days before Christmas, she gets a plea for help from jack (Ayres), a Christmas tree farmer in need of her skills to figure out what mystery illness is causing their trees to die out and ruining their business, which has been his family’s legacy for 100 years.”

Because Olivia isn’t looking forward to going home for the holidays following some romantic setbacks, she agrees to make a detour to the farm in Avon to take a look--and when she realizes she will need more time to figure out the cause of the problem, leading to an extended stay in town. As she stays, she starts to spend more time with Jack, and romance also begins to bloom.

“With time to kill while she waits for test results for the trees, Olivia joins Jack and his friends at the holiday festivities around town and finds their traditions a welcome change to the reserved holidays she grew up with,” the synopsis reads. “As they spend more time together, they begin to fall for each other and Jack helps Olivia reconnect to Christmas, her parents and herself.”

However, romance won’t be the only thing that blooms, as Olivia may also find a way to help Jack as well.

“In the end, her tenacity pays off and Olivia not only devises a way to preserve Jack’s tress but she discovers the shocking truth about why his firs were fizzling—much to the dismay of Dwayne (Hervey), a rival local tree farmer,” the synopsis teases.

“You, Me & The Christmas Trees” airs Friday, Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. EDT on Hallmark Channel.

You Me and the Christmas Trees

Photo: Crown Media LLC/Ryan Plummer