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    John MacCarthy headshot

    John MacCarthy

    Assistant Director,producer,director·Active 2017–2022
    View on IMDbView on TMDB

    Career at a glance

    20Hallmark films

    7 at Christmas

    Audience rating6.8 / 10

    across 20 rated films

    Weirdness4.0 / 10

    Mostly standard issue

    Best reviewed

    Mystery 101: Deadly History7.3

    Most recent

    Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by Murder2022

    Everything John has done for Hallmark, from The Christmas Cottage (2017) right through to Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by Murder (2022).

    John’s signature

    Across 20 films, John often leans into Christmas, frequently plays a librarian and is almost always set in small towns.

    • Christmas7 films
    • small towns15 films
    • a librarian5 films
    • mistaken identity5 films

    10 hours

    10 hours of Hallmark Christmas movies, and counting.

    Adds up across 7 festive titles.

    Known for

    Mystery 101 poster
    Mystery 1017.1

    Producer · 2019

    Weirdness 4/10

    Certified weirdThe Christmas Cottage poster
    The Christmas Cottage6.3

    Producer · 2017

    Weirdness 8/10

    Cross Country Christmas poster
    Cross Country Christmas6.6

    Producer · 2020

    Weirdness 2/10

    If I Only Had Christmas poster
    If I Only Had Christmas6.3

    Producer · 2020

    Weirdness 7/10

    Christmas Homecoming poster
    Christmas Homecoming6.5

    Producer · 2017

    Weirdness 6/10

    Jingle Around the Clock poster
    Jingle Around the Clock6.5

    Producer · 2018

    Weirdness 6/10

    On-screen partners

    Candace Cameron Bure headshot
    Frequent co-star

    John’s most frequent on-screen partner is Candace Cameron Bure, with 8 films together.

    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by Murder (2022)·
    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: How to Con a Con (2021)·
    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Til Death Do Us Part (2021)·
    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Honeymoon, Honeymurder (2021)·
    • The Christmas Contest (2021)·
    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek (2020)·
    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly (2020)·
    • If I Only Had Christmas (2020)
    • Peter Benson7
    • Cole Vigue6
    • Dylan Sloane6
    • Ellie Harvie6
    • Jill Wagner6

    Recurring roles

    John is a recurring face in Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, and 1 other franchise.

    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries6 films
    • Mystery 1016 films

    Where John fits in

    The corners of the Hallmark universe John keeps turning up in. Each one is a full ranked guide.

    • 🏘️Small-town movies
    • 🧁Baking & cooking movies
    • 🎄Christmas movies
    • ⭐Best Christmas movies
    • ❄️Winter movies
    • 💢Enemies to lovers

    All 20 movies

    Newest first

    2020s

    11 films
    • 2022Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by MurderProducer · Halloween7.1Weird 6/10
    • 2021Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Honeymoon, HoneymurderProducer · Small Town6.8Weird 2/10
    • 2021Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: How to Con a ConProducer · Wedding7.0Weird 3/10
    • 2021Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Til Death Do Us PartProducer · Small Town7.1Weird 2/10
    • 2021Mystery 101: Deadly HistoryProducer · Resort7.3Weird 3/10
    • 2021The Christmas ContestProducer · Christmas5.8Weird 6/10
    • 2020Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and SeekProducer · Small Town6.9Weird 2/10
    • 2020Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So DeadlyProducer · Small Town6.9Weird 2/10
    • 2020Cross Country ChristmasProducer · Christmas6.6Weird 2/10
    • 2020If I Only Had ChristmasProducer · Christmas6.3Weird 7/10
    • 2020Mystery 101: An Education in MurderProducer · Small Town7.3Weird 4/10

    2010s

    9 films
    • 2019A Feeling of HomeProducer · Small Town6.0Weird 4/10
    • 2019It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like ChristmasProducer · Christmas6.1Weird 5/10
    • 2019Mystery 101Producer · Small Town7.1Weird 4/10
    • 2019Mystery 101: Dead TalkProducer · Big City7.3Weird 2/10
    • 2019Mystery 101: Playing DeadProducer · Small Town7.0Weird 3/10
    • 2019Mystery 101: Words Can KillProducer · Small Town7.1Weird 4/10
    • 2018Jingle Around the ClockProducer · Christmas6.5Weird 6/10
    • 2017Christmas HomecomingProducer · Christmas6.5Weird 6/10
    • 2017The Christmas CottageProducer · Christmas6.3Weird 8/10

    John’s standouts

    • Mystery 101: Deadly History poster
      Highest ratedMystery 101: Deadly History (2021)

      Best-reviewed of the 20, at 7.3/10

      7.3
    • The Christmas Contest poster
      Most divisiveThe Christmas Contest (2021)

      Lowest-rated of the 20 — every filmography has one

      5.8
    • The Christmas Cottage poster
      WeirdestThe Christmas Cottage (2017)

      The strangest of the bunch — 8/10 on our weirdness scale

      6.3

    In pictures

    A quick look at John’s Hallmark run — headshot and the posters fans know best.

    • John MacCarthy headshotJohn MacCarthy
    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by Murder poster
    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Honeymoon, Honeymurder poster
    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: How to Con a Con poster
    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Til Death Do Us Part poster
    • Mystery 101: Deadly History poster
    • The Christmas Contest poster
    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek poster
    • Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly poster
    • Cross Country Christmas poster
    • If I Only Had Christmas poster
    • Mystery 101: An Education in Murder poster
    • A Feeling of Home poster

    John’s creative circle

    Most directed by

    • Martin Wood4 films
    • Blair Hayes2 films
    • David Weaver2 films
    • Paul A. Kaufman2 films

    Most written by

    • Charlaine Harris6 films
    • Jim Head6 films
    • John Christian Plummer6 films
    • Lee Goldberg6 films
    • Robin Bernheim6 films

    Who John works with

    The cast and crew John keeps ending up on set with — the regular faces you’ll recognise from one film to the next. Bigger circle, more films together.

    John MacCarthy's most frequent co-stars, sized by shared filmsJackie Lind: 11 films togetherJackie Lind11 filmsJamie Goehring: 11 films togetherJamie Goehring11 filmsPieter Stathis: 9 films togetherPieter Stathis9 filmsCandace Cameron Bure: 8 films togetherCandace Cameron…8 filmsCandice Elzinga: 8 films togetherCandice Elzinga8 filmsPenny Perry: 8 films togetherPenny Perry8 filmsPeter Benson: 7 films togetherPeter Benson7 films

    Movies by year

    John MacCarthy Hallmark movies by release year220171201862019520205202112022

    Ratings profile

    Average 6.8 across 20 rated movies — each dot is one film.

    Rating distribution for this filmography1510mean 6.8The Christmas Contest: 5.8A Feeling of Home: 6.0It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas: 6.1If I Only Had Christmas: 6.3The Christmas Cottage: 6.3Jingle Around the Clock: 6.5Christmas Homecoming: 6.5Cross Country Christmas: 6.6Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Honeymoon, Honeymurder: 6.8Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek: 6.9Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly: 6.9Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: How to Con a Con: 7.0Mystery 101: Playing Dead: 7.0Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by Murder: 7.1Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Til Death Do Us Part: 7.1Mystery 101: 7.1Mystery 101: Words Can Kill: 7.1Mystery 101: Deadly History: 7.3Mystery 101: An Education in Murder: 7.3Mystery 101: Dead Talk: 7.3

    People also ask

    How many Hallmark movies has John MacCarthy been in?
    We have 20 Hallmark movies on file for John MacCarthy, spanning 2017–2022.
    What kind of Hallmark movies is John MacCarthy known for?
    John is best known for Christmas movies and romances set in small towns, often with mistaken identity.
    What is John MacCarthy's highest-rated Hallmark movie?
    Mystery 101: Deadly History (2021) is John's best-reviewed Hallmark film, with a 7.3/10 audience rating.
    What is John MacCarthy's most popular Hallmark movie?
    Mystery 101 (2019) has more audience votes than any other John MacCarthy Hallmark film, so it's the one most people have actually seen.
    Who does John MacCarthy usually star with?
    John has shared 8 films with Candace Cameron Bure, their most frequent Hallmark co-star.
    Is John MacCarthy still making Hallmark movies?
    The newest John Hallmark credit we have is from 2022; nothing later has turned up yet.
    How many Hallmark Christmas movies has John MacCarthy made?
    John MacCarthy turns up in 7 Hallmark Christmas movies.
    What was John MacCarthy's first Hallmark movie?
    The earliest John Hallmark title we have is The Christmas Cottage (2017).
    What does John MacCarthy do in Hallmark movies?
    John MacCarthy works on Hallmark films as assistant director,producer,director.

    Data & sources

    John’s filmography, credits and ratings are compiled from IMDb and TMDB, then checked and tidied by the Talking Hallmark team. Last updated June 2026.

    Catalogue curated by Alanna of Talking Hallmark. About the project

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