Mistletoe Murders Season 3: Will Emily and Sam Finally Get Their Happy Ending?
Last Updated on April 22, 2026
If you like your murders with a side of mulled wine and twinkly lights, Mistletoe Murders is pretty much catnip.
The Hallmark mystery series follows Emily Lane, a woman with a mysterious past who moves to the small town of Fletcher’s Grove in Upstate New York and opens a year‑round Christmas shop, only to find herself investigating a string of local murders with Detective Sam Wilner looking over her shoulder.
It’s based on the Audible Original of the same name and leans hard into that cozy‑crime sweet spot: small town, recurring suspects, and just enough danger to make you top up your hot chocolate.
The show debuted in 2024, with season 1 running six episodes from Halloween through early December, and quickly settled into a “holiday mini‑season” rhythm.
Season 2, also six episodes, followed in November 2025, airing in tight two‑episode chunks that made it very easy to binge over a weekend.
In the UK, it’s found a comfortable home on ITV, with both seasons available on ITVX, and praised as “cosy crime drama perfection” and “a perfect balance of holiday warmth, mischief and murder.”
So yes, it absolutely qualifies as the kind of show you put on when you want fairy lights, snow, and just a little bit of scheming.
Season 3 Renewal And What We Know So Far
Hallmark has now officially renewed Mistletoe Murders for season 3, with the new episodes set to premiere as part of the network’s 2026 Countdown to Christmas schedule.
That means you can safely pencil in November/December 2026 for more festive felonies!
Production is due to start later this year, and the show will continue its existing pattern of airing on Hallmark Channel first, with episodes available to stream on Hallmark+ the next day.
In terms of story, season 3 will pick up directly from the big season 2 cliffhanger, which finally pushed Emily and Sam’s relationship into properly romantic territory as they agreed to be more open about their histories.
Cast and producers have been teasing that the new run will dig further into Emily’s complicated backstory.
They will also be keeping the focus on Christmas‑wrapped mysteries and the ever‑present question of whether Fletcher’s Grove can get through a holiday season without someone turning up dead next to the tinsel.
Early comments from Hallmark execs make it clear they see the show as a flagship for their cozier, character‑driven crime slate, with praise for how it blends romance, community, and festive atmosphere.
Seasons 1–2: Snow, Secrets And Slow‑burn Romance
Over the first two seasons, Mistletoe Murders has stuck to a neat structure: three two‑part cases per season, each one built around a specific holiday hook.
Season 1 tackled stories like Poison in a Pear Tree and Death of a Humbug, mixing classic whodunnit tropes with Emily’s not‑so‑retired skill set and Sam’s stubborn insistence on doing things by the book.
Season 2 upped the stakes with arcs such as Cold War and ‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas, and even drew nearly a million U.S. viewers for some episodes, which is impressive for a niche, lightly serialised mystery.
The real heartbeat, though, is the relationship between Emily and Sam.
Across twelve episodes, we’ve watched them move from wary partners to genuine friends and, finally, something more, all while dancing around the inconvenient fact that Emily’s past is both highly relevant to their cases and not entirely legal‑adjacent.
Sam’s growing affection is threaded through his professional suspicion, which gives their scenes a nice push‑pull energy: one moment they’re debating evidence, the next they’re sharing a quiet, twinkly‑lit moment outside the Christmas shop.
By the time season 2 ends, they’ve crossed a line emotionally, leaving fans eager to see how a proper romance will coexist with murder investigations and Emily’s unresolved secrets in season 3.
Cast And Characters In Fletcher’s Grove
Our main sleuth, Emily Lane, is played by Sarah Drew, who brings a grounded warmth and just‑shifty‑enough energy to a woman who owns a Christmas store and also happens to be extremely good at solving homicides.
Peter Mooney co‑stars as Detective Sam Wilner, the local cop whose growing feelings for Emily constantly bump up against his instincts to ask what, exactly, she’s hiding.
Their dynamic is the classic cozy‑mystery pairing: unofficial sleuth and official detective, trading theories and occasionally eye‑rolls as bodies inconveniently appear around town.
Around them, Fletcher’s Grove has built a proper ensemble. Violet Wilner, June Hubble, Brooke Carmichael, and others round out the community, giving the show recurring faces to love, side‑eye, and occasionally suspect.
The town itself is a bit of a character too, all snowy streets and Christmas décor, and a name that cheekily nods to Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote, which tells you exactly where the show’s heart lies.
Guest stars pop in for particular cases, but the core appeal is coming back to the same shop windows, the same local haunts, and the same slightly complicated friendships as another case unfolds.
Why Fans Are Excited For Mistletoe Murders Season 3
Viewers have responded really warmly to the series, with UK coverage describing it as “unmissable” and “nail‑biting” while still firmly cozy, and online fan chatter already pushing for more episodes per season.
The combination of compact seasons, evolving character arcs, and that reliable Christmas backdrop makes it perfect comfort viewing, especially if you like to rewatch familiar mysteries once you know whodunnit.
The season 2 cliffhanger only turned up the anticipation, so the season 3 renewal news felt less like a surprise and more like a collective sigh of relief.
If you want to catch up before the 2026 episodes land, you have good options.
In the U.S., both existing seasons are available on Hallmark+, and they’ve also aired on Hallmark Channel as part of the network’s holiday programming.
In the UK, seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on ITVX, with ITV leaning into the show as a go‑to Christmas cozy crime fix.
So if you find yourself missing that Christmassy feeling at any point in 2026, you can always head back to Fletcher’s Grove, check in on Emily and Sam, and reassure yourself that, in this town at least, murder comes with fairy lights and a satisfying resolution.
