Snow-covered streets, Christmas lights, and a family trying to find its way back to each other. Hallmark’s A Season of Promises has all the ingredients of a heartwarming holiday movie. Starring Brooke D’Orsay, Ali Liebert, and James Denton, the film follows two estranged sisters who reunite to help their widowed father find love again.
But while the story feels like it belongs in a cozy little American Christmas town, the real filming locations tell a different story. So, where was A Season of Promises actually filmed? The answer takes us to British Columbia, Canada. Let’s explore the real locations that brought this festive Hallmark story to life.
About A Season of Promises
A Season of Promises is a new Hallmark Channel movie premiering as part of the 2026 Countdown to Christmas lineup. It follows Heidi and Sophie, two sisters who couldn’t be more different. Heidi is focused on landing a play-by-play job for the local pro hockey team.
Sophie, on the other hand, is chasing her dream of making it in stand-up comedy while waitressing. A rift following their mother’s passing pulled the sisters apart. But when a fainting episode lands their father Ed in the hospital, they reunite and decide to set aside their differences.
Together, the sisters team up to play Cupid at Christmas, hoping to help their widowed father find someone special, fulfilling their late mother’s dying wish. It’s a story about grief, reconnection, and the messy, beautiful chaos of family.
A Season of Promises Filming Locations
A Season of Promises was shot entirely in British Columbia, especially in Greater Vancouver, under the working title Wingdaughter or A Wingdaughters’ Christmas. Principal photography commenced on July 20, 2026, and concluded after about three weeks, on August 10 of the same year.
After the production wrapped, Ali Liebert took to social media and shared a few words about the shoot, stating: “That’s a wrap on a new Hallmark Channel Christmas movie! A truly joyful experience!”
The entire production is Canadian-made. The film was produced by Basset Hound Distribution and Reckless Pictures, with Stacey N. Harding directing and Michael A. Grimm writing the screenplay.
Greater Vancouver, British Columbia
Greater Vancouver served as the primary shooting destination for Hallmark’s A Season of Promises, with the production team making the most of the metropolitan area’s vast and versatile landscapes. Reports suggest that most of the pivotal sequences were lensed in the city of Burnaby, situated in the center of the Burrard Peninsula. Its downtown area was seemingly transformed into a film set with fake snow and redressed storefronts.
This is a classic Hallmark move. The Greater Vancouver area is Hollywood’s favourite stand-in for cosy small-town America. It has the charming streets, the adaptable architecture, and the experienced crew base to make a three-week shoot look effortless. The team essentially turned a bustling Canadian suburb into a postcard-perfect Christmas village.
Greater Vancouver’s filmmaking infrastructure is world-class. It’s home to some of the most skilled production crews in North America. That’s exactly why Hallmark keeps coming back year after year.
Apart from A Season of Promises, Greater Vancouver has hosted the production of many movies and TV shows, including Fresh, The Age of Adaline, 40 Days and 40 Nights, This Means War, Virgin River, and Once Upon a Time.
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Burnaby, British Columbia
Burnaby is the beating heart of this production. From what can be gathered, several key portions were taped in the sprawling city of Vancouver as well, suggesting the production split its time across the two neighbouring cities. Burnaby, however, appears to have been the main hub.
Burnaby sits right at the centre of Metro Vancouver. It’s a city that transforms surprisingly well on camera. Its streets, parks, and commercial zones regularly double as small-town America in dozens of productions every year. For A Season of Promises, the production team reportedly used local storefronts and streets, dressing them with festive décor and fake snow to replicate the fictional town where the story unfolds.
Burnaby is no stranger to Hallmark productions. The city’s versatile streetscapes, indoor spaces, and filming-friendly permits have made it a go-to destination across the studio’s holiday lineup. Other Hallmark and holiday-adjacent productions that have used Burnaby’s streets and facilities include Love Finds You, Sugarplummed, Our Holiday Playbook, and Return to Santa. The Burnaby Village Museum, in particular, is a fan-favourite backdrop that shows up repeatedly in Hallmark Christmas movies for its charming Victorian-era aesthetic.
Vancouver, British Columbia
From what can be determined, several key portions were also seemingly taped in the sprawling city of Vancouver itself. Vancouver proper adds a layer of urban polish to productions. It offers everything from modern interiors and commercial districts to scenic waterfronts that can be reframed for any fictional setting.
Vancouver is known globally as “Hollywood North.” Its tax incentives, skilled crews, and diverse scenery make it one of the busiest film production cities in the world. Thousands of Hollywood productions have called Vancouver home. The city regularly doubles for New York, Chicago, Seattle, and countless fictional small towns depending on what a production needs.
Some of the most beloved films and TV shows ever made have roots in Vancouver, including Deadpool, Supernatural, The 100, Fifty Shades of Grey, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Tomorrowland. For Hallmark specifically, Vancouver and its surrounding cities have been the backbone of its holiday programming for well over a decade.
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A Season of Promises Full Cast
Brooke D’Orsay, Ali Liebert, and James Denton are the lead cast members who brought the heartwarming tale to life through their impressive onscreen performances.
Here is a full breakdown of the cast:
| Character | Actor/Actress | Known For |
|---|---|---|
| Heidi | Brooke D’Orsay | Drop Dead Diva, Royal Pains, Two and a Half Men |
| Sophie | Ali Liebert | Bomb Girls, Family Law, A Gift to Remember |
| Ed | James Denton | Desperate Housewives, Good Witch, The Pretender |
| Young Heidi | Alice Comer | — |
| Young Sophie | Vale Cooper | — |
| Gwen | Kate Dion | — |
| Adam | Matthew James Dowden | — |
| Janice Loftus | Catherine Lough Haggquist | — |
| Cheryl | Jill Morrison | — |
| Chad | Jacob Turner | — |
Brooke D’Orsay as Heidi
Brooke D’Orsay portrays Heidi, who aspires to work for the local professional hockey team. Many are likely to recognize her from Two and a Half Men as Kate/Robin and Royal Pains as Paige Collins. In Drop Dead Diva, Brooke plays Deb Dobkins, while she features in Miss Christmas as Holly Khun.
D’Orsay’s first foray into Hallmark Channel films was the 2012 movie How to Fall in Love opposite Eric Mabius. She is a Toronto native who has built an impressive résumé across comedy, drama, and holiday films.
Ali Liebert as Sophie
Ali Liebert steps into the role of Sophie, Heidi’s sister who aspires to become a stand-up comedian. The multi-talented actor is widely known for her roles in Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy as Betty McRae, Family Law as Maggie Roth, One of Us Is Lying as Ann Prentiss, and Secrets on Maple Street as Katie Wagner.
She also won several awards for her role as Betty in the Canadian television series Bomb Girls. When she’s not acting, Liebert has taken the helm behind the camera as a director, with credits including North to Home, Christmas in Notting Hill, and Love of the Irish.
James Denton as Ed
James Denton dons the role of Ed, Heidi and Sophie’s widowed father who dips his toes into the dating pool years after his wife’s tragic passing. You can witness his versatility in The Pretender as Mr. Lyle, Desperate Housewives as Mike Delfino, Face/Off as Buzz, Good Witch as Dr. Sam Radford, and Devious Maids as Peter Hudson.
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Behind the Scenes
James Denton told Parade exclusively that filming the movie with Ali Liebert and Brooke D’Orsay was “fantastic in so many ways.” He praised the film’s focus on family rather than romance, saying: “One of the things I loved about the movie is the centerpiece is not a romantic relationship… it’s the family. The father and daughters and their journey back to each other, as they’ve been estranged since their mom’s passing.”
The father-daughter dynamic gave Denton something rare in the Hallmark world. He called the most emotional and intense scenes “probably the best I’ve ever done in Hallmark movies.
Liebert told Parade that because she had previously directed D’Orsay in the 2024 holiday Hallmark movie Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane, “We knew each other before and had this great relationship, which is an awesome foundation to then put all of the juicy, angsty bits on top.”
The pre-existing bond between the two lead actresses clearly translated on screen. One scene, where the sisters are at each other’s throats, wound up completely different from what they had briefly rehearsed because Liebert and D’Orsay dared to dive in even deeper. Denton recalled, “I’m standing there, kind of bouncing, going, ‘Okay, how do I play this now?’”
After starring in many Hallmark rom-coms over the years, including 2025’s A Grand Ole Opry Christmas, Denton acknowledged that those films are “a little formulaic,” but that A Season of Promises gave him a chance to “stretch that box” and deliver something Hallmark fans don’t typically anticipate.
It is worth noting that the film kept its working title tightly under wraps during production. The working title Wingdaughter or A Wingdaughters’ Christmas was used on set to avoid any early publicity leaks, a common practice for Hallmark productions filming in the Greater Vancouver area.
Where to watch A Season of Promises?
Hallmark Channel’s A Season of Promises premieres on Sunday, November 8 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and is available to stream via Hallmark+ the following day. Here is a quick guide to your viewing options:
| Platform | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hallmark Channel (TV) | Premiered November 8, 2026 | Re-airs throughout the holiday season |
| Hallmark+ (Streaming) | Available from November 9, 2026 | Subscription required |
| Hoopla | Available via library card | Unlocks 7 days of Hallmark+ for free |
If you have a library card, you can watch A Season of Promises for free. Through the Hoopla website or app, you can unlock seven days of Hallmark+ for free. Hoopla is a free digital media service that partners with local libraries and lets you borrow audiobooks, eBooks, movies, TV shows, and music.
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