'Tis The Season For Christmas Angels, Joy to the World and GMC TV

ATLANTA, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- It's that time of year for holiday giving, eating, shopping and enjoying family entertainment.  There's no better place to experience the uplifting and inspirational spirit of the season than on GMC TV, America's Christmas Channel, which today announced its biggest slate of holiday programming to date. Highlights include the premiere of the original GMC World Premiere Movie Christmas Angel, the cable premiere of The Waltons:  The Homecoming:  A Christmas Story, the landmark documentary GMC World Premiere Music Special "A Very Special Christmas: 25 Years of Bringing Joy to the World" along with the premiere of Heartland Christmas movie and marathons of some of television's all-time great family-favorite series.

"We take great pride in being known as 'America's Christmas Channel' and work year-round on developing the most robust holiday programming slate on television," said Leslie Glenn Chesloff, EVP, programming.  "We think this year's lineup reflects this dedication and we look forward to sharing this selection of original movies, specials, series and holiday favorites for the entire family to enjoy."

GMC TV's holiday program highlights include the following. See local listings for encore broadcasts. 

CHRISTMAS ANGEL - GMC World Premiere Original Movie
Premiere:  Saturday, November 24, 7, 9 & 11 pm ET and Sunday, November 25, 7, 9 & 11 pm ET
A young girl tries to prove that the mysterious old lady next door is really an angel, when some of the Christmas wishes of the neighborhood kids start coming true. 
Stars:   Della Reese, Teri Polo, Kevin Sorbo and Tamera Mowry-Housley, Izabela Vidovic 

THE WALTONS: THE HOMECOMING: A CHRISTMAS STORY  - GMC Exclusive Premiere Movie
Premiere:  Thursday, November 22, 7, 9 & 11 pm ET and Friday, November 30, 9 & 11 pm ET (presented with limited commercial interruption)
The GMC TV premiere marks the first time in 20 years that the film that brought "The Waltons" family to TV has been shown on television.  John Walton has been working in another town to make money for his family during the Great Depression.  As the family decorates the Christmas tree, Olivia hears on the radio that a terrible fatal accident has occurred on the highway.   The family's faith is tested as they anxiously wait for John to come home on Christmas Eve.  This movie served as the pilot to one of the most beloved television series of all time, "The Waltons."  Stars: Patricia Neal, Richard Thomas

HEARTLAND CHRISTMAS – GMC World Premiere Movie
Premiere: Friday, November 23, 7, 9 & 11 pm ET
Lou (Michelle Morgan) is on the verge of a nervous breakdown as she tries to put the "happy" back in Christmas with an open house and the building of the "perfect" Christmas tree so she doesn't have to think about missing her first Christmas without Peter. When Ty gets an anonymous phone call that an avalanche has trapped a dozen horses and they will starve to death without help, Amy (Amber Marshall) climbs quickly on board to give Ty (Graham Wardle) the assistance he needs in rescuing the horses, but this ends up being a bigger task then they first imagined. An impossible task alone, Amy, Ty, Jack (Shaun Johnston) and Tim (Chris Potter) must convince the community to build bridges instead of burning them and to work together.

A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS:  25 YEARS OF BRINGING JOY TO THE WORLD – GMC World Premiere Music Special
Premiere:  Saturday, December 8 and Sunday, December 9 pm ET
"A Very Special Christmas:  25 Years of Bringing Joy to the World," is a celebration of a quarter-century of star-studded Christmas albums in support of Special Olympics.   Hosted by Grammy^® and Emmy^® winner Vanessa Williams, the show features new performances and memorable musical highlights from the past 25 years, inspirational athlete profiles and interviews with many of the artists and others who have made the series such a worldwide success, including recording industry icon Jimmy Iovine, Special Olympics founder the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver and members of the Shriver family.  Artists featured in the special include Francesca Battistelli, Jon Bon Jovi, Tracy Chapman, Eric Clapton, Whitney Houston, Martina McBride, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Darius Rucker, Run-DMC, Jordin Sparks, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Train, U2, Stevie Wonder and many more.  

WALTON THANKSGIVING DAY MOVIE MARATHON – A marathon of movies leading into the premiere of The Waltons: The Homecoming: A Christmas Story
Thursday, November 22, 1-7 pm ET

DECK THE HALLS WITH BOUGHS OF HEARTLAND MARATHON – A marathon of Season 3 episodes followed by the World Premiere of the Heartland Christmas Movie
Friday, November 23, 9 am-9 pm ET

TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL – EVERY TIME A BELL RINGS AN ANGEL GETS ITS WINGS MARATHON –
Sunday, November 25, 11 am-5 pm ET

CHRISTMAS MUSIC – starting on Monday, November 19, all of GMC TV's music blocks will feature all genres of Christmas music.

About GMC TV
GMC TV (www.watchgmctv.com) is  America's favorite network for uplifting music and family entertainment. The Parents Television Council ™ has twice awarded its Entertainment Seal of Approval™ to GMC TV for being "an authentic family-friendly cable network." The network presents original and acquired movies, series, stage plays and music specials.  GMC TV also provides gMovies, the first faith-friendly streaming movie service. The GMC TV brand is reflected in "Uplift Someone," the network's successful pro-social initiative.  GMC TV can be seen in more than 58 million homes on various cable systems around the country, as well as DISH Network on channel 188, DIRECTV on channel 338 and Verizon FiOS on channel 224. Follow GMC TV on Facebook and Twitter at http://facebook.com/gmctv and http://twitter.com/gmctv.

SOURCE GMC TV