1944. World War II. Denver. Livy Dunne has essentially been thrown out of her home by her stern father, Rev. Dunne, because she’s pregnant and unmarried. She’s banished to rural Colorado, to go through an arranged marriage to a lonely farmer, so her child will have a “father.” When she arrives in tiny Wilson, Colorado, Livy and her “betrothed,” gentle but strong Ray Singleton, are wary around each other. Worldly Livy is bored by Ray and the hardscrabble life he leads --despite his inherent goodness and wisdom. As the months pass Lily learns more about this calm, practical, self-effacing farmer and his sister Martha – “a queen among women” – and her family. Slowly almost imperceptibly, Livy realizes she may have found “home,” quite accidentally. For his part, Ray becomes a regular visitor at the town library, reading the classics so he can converse intelligently with his educated wife. Livy befriends two Japanese-American girls who have been interned with their parents at a nearby camp; Florence and Rose are smart and beautiful. They end up teaching Livy a valuable lesson about life and love. Livy has her baby, elects to stay with Ray, and as she tells her sister-in-law, “I’ve learned more about love in my six months with this family than in the 25 in my father’s home.” Starring Keri Russell, Skeet Ulrich and Mare Winningham.
Always struggling in life and love, Hillary Burns (Bonnie Somerville) constantly feels the pressure to marry from her demanding mother, Meredith (Shelley Long). Finally, this holiday season, she thinks she finally has it right. Hillary assures her meddling mother that her handsome new fiancé is coming to the Burns’ family home for Thanksgiving weekend to finally meet her crazy clan. But when the workaholic lawyer suddenly breaks up with her, Hillary has to scramble to find a replacement or risk facing her mother’s wrath. After posting an ad online, she hires David (Jordan Bridges), an out-of-work actor to pose as her fiancé in front of her mom, her dad (Sam McMurray) and her snobbish sister Trish (Haylie Duff). Soon, her fake engagement starts to feel real when she begins falling for David. Can Hillary find a way to turn this replacement into the real deal? Or will her overbearing mother find out the truth before the holiday is through?
After receiving a medical diagnosis before the holidays, Heather Krueger discovers she is in urgent need of a life-saving liver transplant. Facing incredible odds against finding a donor, she’s shocked when a stranger, Chris Dempsey, volunteers to donate half his liver to her. As Heather and Chris get to know one another and their families before and after the transplant, they form a deep connection and begin to wonder if the closeness they feel goes beyond the special connection between organ donor and recipient. The two must decide if Chris’s selfless act is the beginning of a beautiful, true love story. Starring Aimee Teegarden, Brett Dalton, and Lolita Davidovich.
