Hallmark Holiday Movie Hunk Jonathan Bennett to Head Up New Rom-Com Trilogy

"Mean Girls" OG star Jonathan Bennett continues to rule at Hallmark, where he's set to star in an upcoming trilogy of original movies. "The Groomsmen" films will unfold around the world, TV Insider reported.

But that doesn't mean he's lost the Yuletide spirit. The "Christmas on Cherry Lane" alum has also come up with, and will host, the holiday-themed reality competition series "Finding Mr. Christmas," the report detailed.

"The first set of romantic comedy movies told from the male perspective follows the lives and romances of three longtime best friends who stand next to each other on the biggest days of their lives," Variety said.

The entertainment news outlet relayed that among the three "groomsmen" are B.J. Britt, playing Pete, described by the channel as a "kind-hearted pediatrician with a penchant for planning." Also starring is Tyler Hynes as Jackson, profiled by Hallmark+ as being a "stylish and charming social media agent."

Then there's Bennett's part. He plays Danny, a "baseball coach with a heart of gold," according to the channel.

"And these are not just your usual Hallmark-cozy nups," TV Insider noted. "The best buds' weddings take them across the world to the spectacular vistas of Greece, Italy, and Bulgaria and the production values are through the roof as they deal with complex relationships, love interests, and family members with all the heart, humor, and charm fans have come to expect from the brand."

Bennett's other big project is titled "Finding Mr. Christmas," TV Insider reported. The reality show "plays like a cross between 'Big Brother,' 'RuPaul's Drag Race,' and a casting call as 10 diverse and insultingly attractive male contestants vie to be crowned Hallmark's next male superstar."

The show boasts "Christmas-themed challenges, as well as scene work with familiar faces from the Hallmark cinematic universe," the report added, dropping word that another Hallmark holiday movie star will serve as a judge.

"The winner gets a starring role in one of the 2024 season's Christmas movies," TV Insider noted of the show, which completed production earlier this year.

"For a lot of us, and for myself included, the holidays can be hard," Bennett told Today earlier this year. "Hallmark is a place that so many people can turn to and feel that they're part of something, because they are."

Talking about how he's starred in eight Hallmark movies so far, Bennett wisecracked, "What's it like to be a Hallmark Avenger?" Answering his own question, he said: "The Hallmark universe is the most special universe to be a part of."

Bennett went on to explain why. "The stories we tell matter to people because the holidays and Christmas are for everyone," he reflected. "We make sure that our stories and our characters reflect the people that watch our movies."

For many fans, though, Bennett will forever be primarily associated with Aaron Samuels, a character he originated in the original Tina Fey-written "Mean Girls" from 2004. The character was straight, but now the out gay actor finds he can portray either straight or queer characters, and it's all to the good of his career.

Bennett told Today "that playing LGBTQ+ characters in romance movies [is] a 'relief.'"

"For so long, I lived in the closet and was a closeted teen heartthrob, which is what we were told to be in the early 2000s," Bennett reflected – quite a contrast to being able to play one half of a committed gay couple in "Christmas on Cherry Lane" in 2023. Just a year earlier he also starred as the groundbreaking gay lead in the Hallmark Channel movie "The Holiday Sitter."

Have a look at the upcoming "Groomsmen" trilogy below.