Hilarie Burton Morgan
Jolie Guidry
Overview
It’s Jolie’s first time going back home to Louisiana since her devastating break-up with Foster Burke. Seeing him is inevitable as their parents run the town’s annual Christmas Market together, but when she discovers Foster is bringing home a new girlfriend, Jolie cannot bear the thought of going home alone and seeing them together. Her best friend Naomi suggests that Jolie bring her flaky brother, Jack, home for Christmas as he has no plans this year. Jolie, a professional web designer, is hesitant; so, Naomi, a lawyer, creates a Christmas contract to give them both something they want—a buffer for those awkward moments around Jolie’s ex and a website to help sell Jack’s upcoming novel. Unbeknownst to them, the Christmas contract proves to be so much more than what they signed up for.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
5 min readThe Holiday Rom-Com as Emotional Contingency Plan
I’ve always had a soft spot for Christmas movies that treat the holiday like a pressure cooker—where the tinsel and twinkling lights don’t just set the mood, but crank up the heat on whatever unresolved mess the characters have been avoiding all year. The Christmas Contract (2018) is one of those films. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel, nor does it pretend to be anything other than what it is: a cozy, slightly messy holiday romance that understands the particular agony of going home for Christmas when your heart is still bruised. What makes it worth talking about, though, isn’t the plot—it’s the way it turns a familiar premise into a quiet study of how we use other people as emotional shields, and what happens when those shields start to feel like something else entirely.
The setup is pure rom-com comfort food: Jolie (Hilarie Burton Morgan), a web designer with the kind of polished professionalism that screams "I’ve moved on," is dreading her first Christmas back in her Louisiana hometown after a brutal breakup with Foster (Robert Buckley), her high school sweetheart. The problem? Their parents run the town’s annual Christmas Market together, which means seeing him is inevitable.
Worse, Foster is bringing a new girlfriend. Enter Jack (Jason London), Jolie’s best friend’s flaky brother, who agrees to play her fake boyfriend for the holidays in exchange for Jolie designing a website to sell his novel. It’s a Christmas contract—literally, they sign a piece of paper outlining the terms—and like all good holiday romances, the contract is less about the rules and more about the loopholes.
What’s interesting about The Christmas Contract is how little it relies on the usual rom-com shenanigans. There are no grand gestures, no last-minute airport dashes, no over-the-top misunderstandings that could be resolved with a single honest conversation. Instead, the film lingers in the awkward, in-between moments—the way Jolie’s shoulders tense when Foster walks into a room, the way Jack’s easygoing charm feels like a balm she didn’t know she needed.
Audience Opinions
Broad evidence
Audience 6.3/10
"A lighthearted holiday romance with charming leads but a thin plot and underwhelming execution."
Viewers appreciate the chemistry between the lead actors and the cozy holiday atmosphere, making it a pleasant watch for fans of festive romances. However, the story feels predictable, the contract premise is underutilized, and some characters lack depth, latestnetflix.com contends, leaving audiences wanting more substance.
What viewers praise
- Charming lead performances Hilarie Burton Morgan and Robert Buckley bring warmth and chemistry to their roles, making their characters engaging.
- Cozy holiday vibe The festive setting and small-town Louisiana atmosphere create a comforting, seasonal mood.
- Lighthearted fun The movie delivers a feel-good, low-stakes romance that works as casual holiday viewing.
Common complaints
- Predictable plot The story follows familiar holiday romance tropes without adding much originality or surprise.
- Underdeveloped premise The titular 'Christmas contract' is barely explored, making the concept feel gimmicky and unnecessary.
- Weak supporting cast Side characters, including the ex-boyfriend and new girlfriend, lack depth and feel one-dimensional.
- Lack of authenticity The absence of Louisiana accents and cultural details detracts from the setting’s believability.
Recommended for
Holiday romance fans Lighthearted movie lovers Fans of Hilarie Burton Morgan Casual festive viewing Small-town romance enthusiasts
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsHilarie Burton wanted Lifetime's American Horror Story. With tinsel.
She told Page Six she was already lobbying for round two before the first one even aired. "I'm trying to convince Lifetime to let us keep doing this. It's essentially what American Horror Story does, but with Christmas movies. It's the same actors, just all switched around." The network had a simpler sell. Four One Tree Hill kids, a fake-date plot, Thanksgiving night. Burton made it sound like a booking, latestnetflix.com argues, not a reunion stunt. 
The stunt leaked first. In June 2018 Antwon Tanner posted Instagram photos from what he called a "new project" with the hashtag #christmas2018. Deadline said the posts vanished, then Lifetime confirmed the movie. Hilarie Burton, Robert Buckley, Danneel Ackles, Tanner, and a musical cameo from Tyler Hilton. Filming had already started in Louisiana. Cassie Doyle wrote it. Monika Mitchell directed for Active Entertainment. Ken Badish and Daniel Lewis exec produced. 
Burton later told Entertainment Tonight the wait had been five years. "Rob Buckley and I had been trying to do a Christmas movie together for five years and there was so many many people that were like, 'Oh, the reunion? I don't know...'" Lifetime finally said yes because the fanbase would show up. Ackles noted she barely shared scenes with Tanner on the original series. In this one they play a married couple. Burton joked she wanted to be "the Judd Apatow of Christmas movies" and keep swapping parts with friends. Tanner called the three-week shoot "a paid vacation."
The contract is fake. The reunion was not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcS3QR5VzUQ
Burton plays Jolie Guidry, a web designer going home to Louisiana after a breakup with Foster, played by Hunter Burke. Ackles's lawyer Naomi drafts a Christmas contract so her novelist brother Jack, Buckley, can buffer the ex and get a website for his book. Cheryl Ladd and her daughter Jordan Ladd play family. Bruce Boxleitner is the dad. Jason London turns up. Hilton performs an original, "Don't Feel Like Christmas," in a scene he told ET felt like a Tree Hill flashback. They asked him to write a song, then asked him to sing it on camera while the old gang sat in the crowd. , ,
The movie premiered Thursday, November 22, 2018, at 8 p.m. on Lifetime as part of It's a Wonderful Lifetime. At 10 p.m. the network ran an hour-long special, 'Tis the Season: A One Tree Hill Cast Reunion, hosted by Paul Johansson, with Stephen Colletti in the mix. Burton told ET they were already plotting who to recruit for the next year. "You're stuck with us for life." ,
She also used the press tour to dump on a holiday-movie type she was tired of playing. "The female was always written as such a shrew," she told Page Six. Overworked mother, or city girl too wrapped up in herself to see love. Jolie, she said, was the part she wanted instead.
Netflix later parked the 88-minute TV-PG romance in the catalog. Four Tree Hill kids treated a Christmas contract like a yearly reservation. Lifetime finally stopped flinching at the word reunion.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.