Heavy/Hallmark Bethany Joy Lenz and Kristoffer Polaha in "A Biltmore Christmas"
If Hallmark fans have their way, actor Kristoffer Polaha‘s future could include another step back into the past. And the actor tells Heavy he would happily oblige.
In his 18th Hallmark movie, the time-travel romance “A Biltmore Christmas,” Polaha plays charming 1940s actor Jack Huston, who’s smitten with Bethany Joy Lenz‘s character, a screenwriter who inadvertently time-travels back to his 1947 movie set.
Since its premiere on November 26, 2023, fans have been calling for a sequel to the grand production, which was filmed entirely at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Though he didn’t tip his hat to any formal discussions at the network, Polaha recently told Heavy that he’d love to step back into Huston’s well-shined shoes, with multiple fun storylines to explore.
Here’s what you need to know:
Kristoffer Polaha Says Biltmore Estate Could Be Perfect Setting for Wedding
Hallmark“A Biltmore Christmas” starring Bethany Joy Lenz and Kristoffer Polaha
Spoiler Alert: Portions of this story include plot details about “A Biltmore Christmas.”
The premiere of “A Biltmore Christmas” drew a massive audience for Hallmark, with four million viewers tuning in live or watching a recording of the movie in its first three days, Polaha told Heavy on December 1. The movie has three more Hallmark Channel airings scheduled this year.
And while many fans are happy to watch re-airings, they also hope Hallmark will continue the story in 2024, revealing what happens next between the movie’s lovestruck characters. At the tail end of “A Biltmore Christmas,” 40s movie star Huston manages to time travel into the future to chase after modern-day screenwriter Lucy Hardgrove.
While Lucy was stunned and thrilled to see him waltz back into her life, countless fans have posted on social media that they’re yearning to know what happens next in the couple’s story.
For instance, one fan tweeted, “You two knocked it out of the park…..and Hallmark did it right!!!!! Do I hear a sequel or mystery or….shall I go on…..great blending!!!!!!”
Polaha told Heavy he’d be happy to step back into Jack Huston’s shoes and thinks there are plenty of storylines to explore.
“I mean, people gotta get married,” Polaha quipped. “That’s a great place to get married. The Biltmore house would serve as a great wedding venue.”
“Question is,” Polaha continued, “while they’re getting married, does the hourglass get set back? Do we start to lose Jack, you know, and is there a chase through time? How do we get 80-year-old Jack — think about how old that guy is. Talk about May-September (romances); this is like January first to December 31st!”
“Yeah, I think there’s a lot of fun stories to tell there,” Polaha said. “I’d love to see what Jack Huston does in the modern Hollywood landscape. That’d be funny because you’ve got naturalism and all these other actors, and he’d be like, ‘Wait, who? What?’ That in itself would be a fun little storyline.”
Fans have their own questions they’d love to see addressed. For example, on a Reddit thread devoted to the movie, many wondered whether Jonathan Frakes’ character, a modern day employee at the Biltmore, had a hand in Lucy’s time-traveling adventures, with some surmising he was an angel.
One viewer wrote, “Question: At the end of the movie when Lucy asks Jack, ‘but the newspapers all said you died’ and Jack replies, ‘It was a cover story that WE planted just in case….’ Who do you think is the ‘we’ he’s talking about? Any one else catch that?”
One of the funnier moments in the film is when Jack’s perplexed by Lucy’s attempt to give him a yet-to-become-popular high-five. So Polaha thinks modern innovations would also fun for his character to discover, from cars to computers to cell phones.
“We gotta talk to Marcy (Holland), who wrote it, and see if she’s got more tricks up her sleeve,” Polaha said.
Holland didn’t reply to Heavy’s requests for comment about a possible sequel, but while crews were filming the movie in January, “A Biltmore Christmas” producer Andrew Gernhard told the Citizen Times he’d love to see Hallmark greenlight a sequel to be filmed at the iconic estate.
“We’re hoping to,” he said. “You never know. If the movie does really well, I know sometimes Hallmark does sequels and I’d love to come back here. You can’t capture this entire estate in one movie. You can do a whole series and it wouldn’t capture this entire estate.”
Kristoffer Polaha Says Playing Jack Huston Was ‘Such a Gift’
HallmarkKristoffer Polaha as Jack Huston in “A Biltmore Christmas”
Stepping back into Jack Huston’s shoes would be a treat for Polaha, who told Heavy he based the character on some of his favorite classic actors like Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant.
“You know, straight posture, very witty, fast-paced, fast-talking, matinee idol stuff,” he explained. “Those are the movies that I grew up on. (Jack is) an homage to why I wanted to be an actor in the first place. Jimmy Stewart is my favorite. ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is my favorite. So to be able to almost recreate that was such a gift.”
In addition to drawing big ratings, “A Biltmore Christmas” received rave reviews from fans and media critics.
Southern Living deemed it “an instant Southern Christmas classic” that it told readers was sure to “become one of your annual traditions.” On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has an audience score of 95 percent. And on IMDb, an impressive 76 percent of the 2,300 viewers who’ve weighed in gave the movie eight stars or better.
“A Biltmore Christmas” is scheduled to air again on Hallmark Channel on December 21 at 4 p.m. Eastern time, on Christmas Day at 8 p.m. Eastern time, and again on December 31 at 8 a.m. Eastern time.