Lifetime
The next film on the “It’s A Wonderful Life” holiday schedule is “Under the Christmas Tree,” premiering Sunday, December 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime.
If you don’t have cable or don’t have Lifetime, here are some different ways you can watch “Under the Christmas Tree” streaming online:
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Philo TV
You can watch a live stream of Lifetime and 60-plus other TV channels on Philo TV, which comes with a seven-day free trial:
Once signed up for Philo, you can watch “Under the Christmas Tree” live on the Philo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast (compatible on Android mobile), any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. You can also watch on your computer on the Philo website.
If you can’t watch live, Philo allows you to DVR programs and watch them up to 30 days later. And even if you forget to DVR something, Philo also comes with a 72-hour rewind feature, which lets you to watch most shows on-demand if they have aired in the last three days.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of Lifetime and 30-plus other TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” or “Sling Blue” bundle. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest streaming service with Lifetime, and you can get your first month for just $10:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch “Under the Christmas Tree” live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 50 hours of cloud DVR.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” Lifetime is included in every one, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free 14-day trial.
Note that the free trial isn’t advertised as such, but your “due today” amount will be $0 when signing up. If you watch on your computer, phone or tablet, you won’t be charged for 14 days. If you watch on a streaming device on your TV (Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, etc.), you will be charged for the first month, but you can get still get a full refund if you cancel before 14 days:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch “Under the Christmas Tree” live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to unlimited hours).
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of Lifetime and 65+ other TV channels on Vidgo, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch “Under the Christmas Tree” live on the Vidgo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Vidgo website.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of Lifetime and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which you can try out for free with a seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch “Under the Christmas Tree” live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu with Live TV comes with both its extensive on-demand library (which includes most shows after they air) and 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
‘Under the Christmas Tree’ Preview
Ricki Lake returns to Lifetime in “Under the Christmas Tree” as a magical pastry chef spreading love and cheer all over town.
The Lifetime description reads:
Marketing whiz Alma Beltran (Elise Bauman) and Christmas tree whisperer Charlie Freemont (Tattiawna Jones) cross paths when Charlie finds the perfect tree for the Maine Governor’s Holiday Celebration – right in Alma’s back yard. While they initially spar, romantic sparks soon begin to fly between the two women as the enchanting tree and some Christmas fairy dust from the town’s pâtissière extraordinaire (Ricki Lake) bring out the best in them and spark each other to take leaps of faith and fight for love and Christmas magic.
“Under the Christmas Tree” is Lifetime’s first lesbian holiday film. In 2020, it aired its first LGBTQ holiday film about two gay men called “The Christmas Set-Up.” Both of those came on the heels of Lifetime making history in 2019 with a film that featured the network’s first same-sex kiss in a holiday film in “Twinkle All The Way.”
In an interview with “Good Morning America,” Lake said that right now, “we need stories” like “Under the Christmas Tree.”
“Can you believe it’s the first lesbian love story on Lifetime? Out of… I can’t believe how far we’ve come, but really, it’s about time. It was a beautiful story. And right now, with what’s in the news, we need stories like that, so Lifetime did some amazing holiday movies and I’m happy to add my name to it,” said Lake.
She added, “Love is love. On my old talk show, back in the day, almost 30 years ago, I treated every couple like any other and I pride myself on that. I didn’t think it was that much of a groundbreaking thing, but it was at the time, so we were able to really represent all types of love.”
The rest of the “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” holiday slate includes:
December 20: “Candy Cane Candidate”
December 21: “The Christmas Ball”
December 22: “It Takes a Christmas Village”
December 23: “Rebuilding A Dream Christmas”
December 24: “Hot Chocolate Holiday”
December 25: “Writing Around the Christmas Tree”
“Under the Christmas Tree” premieres Sunday, December 19 at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on Lifetime.