When it comes to holiday magic, nobody does it quite like Hallmark Channel. And this year, the network is spreading even more festive cheer with A Christmas Angel Match, starring Meghan Ory and Benjamin Ayres.
The film, which premieres later tonight (October 19) at 8PM ET/PT, follows two celestial matchmakers who descend from heaven to spark romance on Earth, but end up finding a love connection of their own.
At Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas celebration in downtown Nashville on Thursday (October 16), Celeb Secrets caught up with Ayres, who couldn’t hide his excitement about the event — or his new role.
“One of my favorite things is sort of not knowing what’s gonna happen,” Ayres shared to our host Juliet Schroder with a grin. “Even though they’ve told us a hundred times, you get here and it’s still full of surprises and live music! We just get to sit back and enjoy really good performances.”
This year’s festivities were a true country Christmas dream, with live sets from Brad Paisley with Megan Moroney, Drew Baldridge, Mickey Guyton, Tigirlily Gold, and Forest Blakk — all part of Hallmark’s musical celebration. But for Ayres, the heart of the night was reuniting with his Hallmark family and their fans.
“What’s beautiful about these events is that we all get to come together,” he said. “It’s like a fun vacation for us. And having it in Nashville gives access to fans who maybe couldn’t make it to New York — yet we still see familiar faces who always show up to support what we do and the mission of spreading hope, joy, and love.”
That same spirit shines through in A Christmas Angel Match. In the movie, Ayres’ character Michael and Ory’s Monica are centuries-old angels tasked with uniting soulmates during the holidays. But when the two are paired together for the first time, their celestial mission takes an unexpected turn — and they find themselves falling in love.
“We play angels that are hundreds of years old,” Ayres explained. “We come down to Earth and create these little love connections over the holiday season. And then these two angels actually fall in love — and they didn’t know they could do that. They’re experiencing these emotions for the first time.”
It’s a whimsical concept that still carries a deeper message: one Ayres hopes viewers take to heart.
“I hope that people recognize and believe in angels,” he said. “To have that connection to those little moments that happen in life — those coincidences — and look deeper at them.”
While filming the movie was pure joy, Ayres admits that shooting a Christmas movie in the middle of summer came with some divine challenges.
“It’s always such an accomplishment to complete it,” he laughed. “We had this office space that was supposed to be heaven, with this beautiful atmosphere smoke — but it just kept wafting away! The technical mastery to get everything done in three weeks is always a miracle. A Christmas miracle.”
As for his own holiday wish list? Ayres is just grateful for the opportunity to spread a little magic both on screen and off.
“Getting to play an angel reminded me not to take things so seriously,” he shared. “To bring joy to people and enjoy the simple things — like hot chocolate, snowball fights, and holiday dancing.”
With his signature charm and heartfelt outlook, Benjamin Ayres is proof that even angels — and Hallmark heroes — can make us believe in miracles again.
A Christmas Angel Match premieres TONIGHT, Sunday, October 19 at 8/7c on Hallmark Channel as part of Countdown to Christmas. You can watch our full interview with Benjamin below and let us know if you’re excited for the flick by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecrets.
