When war veteran Terry Pulaski's dog Duke becomes ill, Terry seeks anonymous help from a nearby veterinary clinic. It soon becomes a community's quest to reunite Terry with his beloved dog. Stars Steven Weber and Sarah Smyth.
Desiree Banner (Brooke White) may own her own record company but she has struggled to find her perfect melody since leaving the band she once headlined with her brothers Mitchell (Christian Campbell) and Johnny (Michael Barbuto). Her departure from the band, The Banner Project, led her into a marriage that was doomed to fail and deeply damaged her relationship with Mitchell, whom she has avoided for the past ten years. Nevertheless, when Desiree’s mother, Rosalind (Mercedes Ruehl), suffers a heart attack, Desiree and Mitchell rush home and join their brother Johnny to be by her side. Shortly after Desiree arrives in her hometown of Pinewood Hills, she learns that the town will face bankruptcy if it can’t make a bond repayment by the July 4th Holiday. Confined to bed and hating every minute of it, Rosalind, who also happens to be Mayor of Pinewood Hills, has secretly hatched a plan to repay the town’s debt.
To the folks in Conway, South Carolina, Duncan Mayor (Andy Garcia) is a very cranky guy. To his wife Suzy (Mary-Louise Parker), he's a doting pussycat. But Suzy is just home from the hospital and cared for 24/7 by nurse Natalie (Mandy Moore), whom Duncan tries his best to ignore. Duncan decides the best medicine Suzy could possibly have – and a Christmas present she'll never forget - is a ride on a real Ferris wheel set up in their own back yard. Why a Ferris wheel? Because it was while riding one many moons ago that Duncan asked Suzy to marry him.
A lonely, down-on-her-luck waitress meets a handsome, quirky jewelry store clerk and thinks that maybe, finally, she’s met Mr. Right. The more Molly (Alexis Bledel) gets to know Gus (Zachary Levi), the more she’s intrigued by him.
While coming to terms with his dad's recent passing in a tractor accident, 13-year-old George McCray (Gage Munroe) is living with his grandparents on their Kansas farm. George misses his mom, Jill (Josie Bissett), who has moved to Minnesota to deal with her grief, but there is the promise of their reunion at Christmas. George feels needed on the farm as he helps his grateful grandfather Bo (James Brolin) with daily chores and comforts his grandmother Cora (Barbara Gordon). He has also made friends with Mary Ann (Helen Colliander) and became attached to Tucker, the smart and friendly dog the McCrays take in when his troubled owner Frank Thorne (Ron Lea) lands in jail.
Twenty-five-year-old Jennifer Mills (Anna Chlumsky) lives her life without commitment, relieved her boyfriend isn’t even close to putting a ring on her finger. Not at all like her older sister, Mandy (Chelah Horsdal), who married young and settled into family life, Jennifer loves being carefree. But her mother, Kathryn (Susan Hogan), sees Jennifer’s wild ways as a fear of settling down, and hatches a secret plan to take her from playful to parent in just three weeks. When Mandy and her husband plan a three-week European vacation without their three kids, Kathryn convinces Jennifer to help watch them until she can get into town.
Mitch Albom (Bradley Whitford) has a pretty great life. He lives in Detroit and is happily married, he's an award-winning sportswriter, a must-read newspaper columnist, a screenwriter, a radio and television broadcaster. Then two men come into his life, and he realizes something's missing. The two men are Rabbi Albert Lewis (Martin Landau), who presides over a thriving synagogue in a comfortable New Jersey suburb, and pastor Henry Covington (Laurence Fishburne), a recovering drug user and dealer, who preaches to the poor and homeless in a crumbling Detroit inner-city church. Moving between their worlds – Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and privileged – Albom witnesses first-hand how these two very different men – the feisty, funny rabbi and the intrepid inner-city pastor -- not only live life, but celebrate life. What do rabbi and reverend have in common? Albom comes to realize they both take profound comfort in believing that there's a divine spark in all of us, and that one person – or in this case, two – can make a big difference in others' lives, as long as they have a little faith.
Professor Evan Farnsworth (Jason Gedrick) is a widower who works tirelessly at a prestigious boarding school in Maine, dedicating all his time to helping his students believe in themselves. Accepting a job to teach the students left behind during Christmas vacation, including talented scholarship student Juliet (Emmalyn Estrada), nerdy outcast Albert (Amitai Marmorstein) and privileged bad boy Drew (Richard Harmon), Farnsworth quickly faces a challenge when Drew gets into trouble. Upset his wealthy parents ditched him for a Paris skiing vacation, he takes his anger out on the neighboring town’s ancient Wishing Tree, a bare tree decorated with handwritten notes containing the townspeople’s greatest holiday wishes. A much loved tradition, it doubles as a fundraiser for needy families, depending on donations from eager wish-makers.
Bailey Daley (Erika Christensen) is a hapless young bride who has run away from the altar with not one, but three dogs she adopted from past relationships. Running into a small diner one rainy evening in a soaked wedding dress with her dogs at her feet, Bailey launches into the story of her strange predicament to the restaurant owners, Louie (Michael Kopsa) and Nikki (Joyce DeWitt). She explains that she hasn't been able to find the right love, always longing for the more loyal, stable companionship she finds in her ex-boyfriends' canine companions. Against the knowing advice of her mother Dina (Teryl Rothery) and best friend Amber (Emily Holmes), Bailey tries to transform herself into the perfect fit for each new guy she meets. As each relationship ends, Bailey adopts her ex's dogs, but remains hopelessly single. Will a twist of fate that stormy night lead her to realize that true puppy love happens only after one stops searching for it? Starring Erika Christensen, Teryl Rothery, and Joyce DeWitt.
