Hallmark Star to Host New Year’s Eve Show From Times Square

Times Square Alliance The illuminated 2023 numerals arrive in Times Square for New Year's Eve celebration

Jonathan Bennett will return to host the official “New Year’s Eve Live” show on December 31, 2022. The Hallmark Channel star will serve as ringleader for a wide variety of performances and festivities from the heart of Times Square in New York City during the six-hour, live-streamed show, accessible anywhere in the world via Times Square’s official website. According to the Times Square Alliance, last year’s webcast attracted over 6.4 million unique viewers in more than 200 countries. Here’s what you need to know:

Jonathan Bennett to Lead Multiple Countdowns During Webcast

Jonathan Bennett, who most recently starred in and executive-produced “The Holiday Sitter” on Hallmark Channel, has co-hosted the commercial-free New Year’s Eve extravaganza with TV and event host Jeremy Hassell for the past several years. While Bennett plays ringleader on the Countdown Stage, Hassell will conduct interviews in the crowd throughout the evening.

According to press materials from the Times Square Alliance, the webcast kicks off at 6 pm Eastern when a giant light switch is flipped to illuminate the iconic crystal-encrusted ball hoisted above One Times Square. To build anticipation for the ball drop at midnight, Bennett will lead 10-second countdowns at the top of each hour alongside a special guest including, at one point, his husband Jaymes Vaughan.

Bennett will also introduce a star-studded lineup of performers throughout the evening, including:

• Chelsea Cutler singing three of her singles, including “Men On The Moon”
• Rising pop star JVKE peforming tunes including his latest hit single, “golden hour.”
• New York dance troupe ANEW
• Jax performing her hit songs “90s Kids” and “Victoria’s Secret”
• Cuban reggaeton rapper and singer Osmani García singing a medley of his hits
• 80s mega group Duran Duran performs a medley of hits, which will also air on ABC’s New Year’s Eve show with Ryan Seacrest

Cutler will also continue the New Year’s Eve tradition of singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” moments before midnight, and then at 11:59 pm, the Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, will push the Waterford crystal button that begins the 60-second descent of the New Year’s Eve Ball.

How to Add Your New Year’s Wish to Midnight Confetti Release

Times Square AllianceA woman adds her wish to the Times Square Wishing Wall

When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, three-thousand pounds of multicolored confetti will be released, showering revelers celebrating in the streets. But it’s not just random strips of paper falling from the sky; each piece will feature a wish submitted virtually or written on the Wishing Wall in Times Square during the month of December.

“The New Year offers people a unique chance to reflect and simultaneously look forward by defining their goals and dreams for a better future,” said Tom Harris, President of the Times Square Alliance. “Revelers celebrating in Times Square and everyone watching on TV will kick off the new year with hope and joy as they watch confetti fall from the sky, filled with people’s wishes and aspirations for a new year.”

Every wish submitted online through December 28 will be printed on a piece of confetti and become part of the confetti released at midnight in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. If you miss the deadline, you can also share your wish via Twitter or Instagram and include the hashtag #ConfettiWish.