Hallmark Big City Movies

Work and neighbourhood life keep these stories moving through the city.

City skyline at dusk viewed through an apartment window

New York

The Secret Ingredient

Kelly travels to New York for a baking show and runs into her ex-fiancé.

Explore the film
  1. 1
    Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise

    Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise

    2015 · 86 min★ 7.3
    Small TownA choice between past and futureStory setting: Other

    Jesse investigates the grim works of a serial killer in Boston and becomes concerned with a wayward teen in Paradise.

  2. 2
    Mystery 101: Dead Talk

    Mystery 101: Dead Talk

    2019 · 86 min★ 7.3
    Story setting: SchoolSecond-chance romance

    A Seattle-set entry in the Mystery 101 series, and a real city mystery for a change. Jill Wagner plays a literature professor giving a talk on whodunits when a tech mogul launching a crime-solving AI turns up dead. Kristoffer Polaha is her detective partner. The case has a darker edge than typical Hallmark, with blackmail and a betrayal close to home. At 7.3 it is a sturdy cozy mystery. I will not name the culprit; the fun is watching the professor and the cop work it out. Tease, do not spoil.

  3. 3
    Love on the Air

    Love on the Air

    2015 · 84 min★ 6.9
    Business at stakeStory setting: TV/Radio StationRivals become romantic leads

    Competing radio personalities in Chicago find common ground when they have to work together.

  4. 4
    Paris, Wine & Romance

    Paris, Wine & Romance

    2019 · 84 min★ 6.8
    InternationalStory setting: WineryRivals become romantic leads

    Isabella, the owner of her family's Oregon winery, takes a big leap and enters a prestigious wine competition in Paris. There she meets her biggest competitor, Jacques, from one of the world's foremost winemaking families.

  5. 5
    The Secret Ingredient

    The Secret Ingredient

    2020 · 82 min★ 6.8
    Small TownA choice between past and futureValentine's Day setting

    Small-town baker Kelly gets a big surprise when she is invited to compete on a Valentine's Day baking show in New York City - and an even bigger surprise when she runs into her ex-fiancé.

  6. 6
    Her Pen Pal

    Her Pen Pal

    2021 · 86 min★ 6.7
    InternationalA choice between past and futureStory setting: Castle

    Event planner Victoria can't wait to attend and plan her best friend's wedding in Paris. But when she finds out her ex is bringing a date, Victoria reconnects with her French childhood pen pal.

  7. 7
    Christmas at the Plaza

    Christmas at the Plaza

    2019 · 84 min★ 6.5
    A choice between past and futureChristmas settingStory setting: Other

    In New York City, historian Jessica is hired to create a Christmas exhibition at the Plaza Hotel. Working with decorator Nick keeps the landmark and the city setting close to the story's center.

  8. 8
    A Nutcracker Christmas

    A Nutcracker Christmas

    2016 · 86 min★ 6.5
    A choice between past and futureChristmas settingStory setting: Theater

    When her niece is cast in The Philadelphia Ballet's production of the Nutcracker, a jaded ex-ballerina is forced to come to terms with the life and love she left behind.

  9. 9
    Finding Christmas

    Finding Christmas

    2013 · 87 min★ 6.4
    Career versus family prioritiesChristmas settingStory setting: Office

    Sean, who runs a New York City advertising agency, and Owen, a small-town handyman and musician, swap residences for the holidays. Mia, who works for Sean, helps Owen get settled into his new apartment while Ryan, sent by Owen to fix a broken heater, helps Sean find the charm of living in a small town. Owen, a fish-out-of-water in the big city, tries to flirt with Halo, an aspiring model/actress/singer who lives in the apartment building. One night after Mia has shown Owen around town, Halo sees him entering the elevator wearing clothes borrowed from Sean's closet. Thinking he's rich, Halo flirts back and sets up a date. Mia, however, warns him that she just thinks he has money because he's living in Sean's apartment and wearing Sean's clothes. On the day of the big date, Owen realizes who he really is and what he really wants in life. Meanwhile, Sean is falling in love with the local veterinarian, who happens to be harboring a big secret--or two. He's surprised when his ex-fiancee' appears on his doorstep, ready to accept his marriage proposal and move back to New York with him. This complicates Sean's blossoming relationship with the small-town girl who has told him that her career as a veterinarian relies on her staying where she is, and to simply enjoy their love while it lasts. On Christmas Eve, Sean invites Owen to come back for a special dinner, where a surprise awaits all of them.

  10. 10
    Love Locks

    Love Locks

    2017 · 95 min★ 6.4
    A choice between past and futureValentine's Day settingStory setting: Inn/B&B

    Twenty years after she was last in Paris, a woman returns to the City of Light, where she reconnects with her college boyfriend and first love.

  11. 11
    Managing Manhattan

    Managing Manhattan

    2016 · 84 min★ 6.4
    Story setting: Other

    The star manager of a small-town clothing store is suddenly promoted to run a company's flagship store--in Manhattan. To make it in the big city, she must combine her newly-acquired New York City street-smarts with a dash of homespun charm.

  12. 12
    Once Upon a Holiday

    Once Upon a Holiday

    2015 · 84 min★ 6.2
    Christmas settingStory setting: OtherRoyalty in the story

    When a princess escapes her entourage to explore New York City over Christmas, she meets a man who shows the beautiful stranger his side of the city.

  13. 13
    Fashionably Yours

    Fashionably Yours

    2020 · 84 min★ 6.2
    Career versus family prioritiesStory setting: Office

    After years organizing fashion in the city, Lauren decides to move home. In exchange for her organizing services, mover Rob makes it his mission to help her see the beauty of Seattle.

  14. 14
    Mistletoe Over Manhattan

    Mistletoe Over Manhattan

    2011 · 88 min★ 6.1
    Career versus family prioritiesChristmas settingSanta is Real

    After sensing her husband is losing his Christmas spirit, Mrs. Claus travels to a place where she knows the spirit of Christmas still exists: New York City.

  15. 15
    It's Christmas, Carol!

    It's Christmas, Carol!

    2012 · 87 min★ 5.8
    Career versus family prioritiesChristmas settingGhosts/Spirits

    On Christmas Eve in Chicago, heartless publishing-exec tyrant Carol is haunted by her dead ex-boss--who is the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future.

  16. 16
    Smooch

    Smooch

    2011 · 102 min★ 5.8
    Valentine's Day settingStory setting: Coffee ShopParent lead

    SMOOCH is a modern retelling of the classic Frog Prince tale with a romantic comedy twist. A rakishly handsome English Royal comes to America for an arranged marriage, and ends up being mugged in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and left with amnesia. A precocious 11-year-girl, who can't bring herself to dissect a frog in science class, goes to the park with the intent of setting it free, and through a serendipitous misunderstanding thinks she turned the frog into a man after kissing the frog's boo-boo away with a kind smooch. She brings him home and soon realizes the only way she can keep him is to have the man impersonate a Royal Nanny and convince her beautiful widowed mother to hire him. With the clock ticking and his royal family searching for him, the man - whose memory eventually returns to him - falls hard for the girl's mom, and it seems like a Valentines Day dream come true until he's found by his family and is forced to finally stop being a bit of a toady... and become a real man. In the end, the little girl, the guy, and the gal, all discover that even in today's crazy world, happy ever after is possible.

  17. 17
    Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch

    An American psychologist, hired to coach a fashion designer, helps a guarded French detective unravel a list of fashionable suspects after a murder happens backstage of a Paris fashion show.

  18. 18
    Jolly Good Christmas

    Jolly Good Christmas

    2022 · 84 min
    Career versus family prioritiesChristmas settingStory setting: Office

    David (Kemp) is an American architect who recently moved to London for a prime opportunity in a prestigious firm. With just three days before Christmas, he must still purchase a gift for his girlfriend, who also happens to be the boss' ...

  19. 19
    A Holiday Spectacular

    A Holiday Spectacular

    2022 · 85 min
    Christmas settingStory setting: Theater

    Set in 1958, follows Maggie who sneaks up to New York City to make her secret dream come true: dancing live on stage in the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, putting her high-society wedding plans on hold.

  20. 20
    A Very Venice Romance

    A Very Venice Romance

    2023 · 83 min
    InternationalBusiness at stakeStory setting: Cooking School

    Amy's work trip to Venice doesn't end when the chef she hopes to recruit says no. She enrols in his cooking course to make her case.

  21. 21
    Tipline Mysteries: Dial 1 for Murder

    Tipline Mysteries: Dial 1 for Murder

    2024 · 84 min
    Story setting: OtherRivals become romantic leads

    A cryptic call about a planned jewelry heist draws a Detroit Free Press tipline operator, Maddie Moore, into a dangerous homicide case alongside a newly promoted detective. Starring Holland Roden and Chris McNally.

  22. 22
    Savoring Paris

    Savoring Paris

    2024 · 84 min
    July 4th settingStory setting: RestaurantRivals become romantic leads

    Disillusioned with her life, Ella embarks on a soul-searching journey to Paris where she navigates love, self-discovery and cheese in the enchanting backdrop of The City of Love.

  23. 23
    Hanukkah on the Rocks

    Hanukkah on the Rocks

    2024 · 84 min
    Career versus family prioritiesHanukkah settingStory setting: Restaurant

    A recently unemployed lawyer Tory embarks on a journey to find Hanukkah candles, leading her to a Chicago bar where she transforms the holiday spirit, and finds the courage to pursue a new path in life.

  24. 24
    Christmas on Call

    Christmas on Call

    2024 · 84 min
    Career versus family prioritiesChristmas settingStory setting: Hospital

    In the lead-up to Christmas, emergency room doctor Hannah Michaels juggles her demanding job and a budding romance with EMT Wes Sullivan in Philadelphia.

  25. 25
    An Unexpected Valentine

    An Unexpected Valentine

    2025 · 84 min
    Business at stakeValentine's Day settingStory setting: Other

    A chance encounter on Valentine's Day brings Hannah and Finn together as they race through New York City to return a lost engagement ring and save one couple's special day.

  26. 26
    To Philly with Love

    A teacher and an archivist decode Revolutionary War-era love letters, taking them on a thrilling journey through Philadelphia where they uncover history-and discover a love story of their own.

  27. 27
    Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't

    Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't

    2005 · 89 min
    UrbanStory setting: Los Angeles, California

    The Declaration Of Independence is stolen while on display in a Los Angeles bank. The NSA, with the assistance of a puzzle solver (Code Name: Jane Doe), becomes involved in the mystery.

  28. 28
    A Knight to Remember

    A statue of an English knight arrives in Chicago for an art exhibit. While cleaning the statue, museum conservator Emily impulsively kisses the statue, bringing him to life.

About this list

28 movies · Updated 2026-09-26

A large city must be a meaningful setting for the action, not just a character's origin or destination. Eligible films follow saved IMDb rating.

These stories move through busy streets, workplaces and neighbourhoods. The city affects the characters' choices, whether they are following a case or building a relationship. It is more than an address in the opening scene.

How we research film facts

Frequently asked questions

Are Hallmark movies usually set in small towns?

This guide selects urban-set catalogue entries, including postal mysteries and romances. It does not compare every Hallmark setting, so it cannot establish how often the full catalogue uses small towns.

Where can I watch Hallmark big city movies?

Open a film's HallmarkDB record for its provider links, then check the provider's catalogue in your country. A historical premiere or a place in this list does not establish present streaming availability.