Melissa Peterman on Mentoring the Men of Finding Mr. Christmas Season 2

Finding Mr. Christmas is a “dream job” for TV comedy icon Melissa Peterman. She returns for Season 2 of Hallmark’s festive reality series as lead judge alongside host Jonathan Bennett.

When I recently spoke with Peterman, joined by this season’s contestants Jake Schum and Craig Geoghan, she described the judging gig as a mentorship: “It was more than I expected — how much I would get to connect with the guys. So I was excited to come back and sort of be a mentor.”

“I’ve been in this business for a long time, so I get inspired watching people at the beginning of their career, and it encourages me to get excited again.”

Finding Mr. Christmas follows ten hopeful “hunks” looking to be chosen as Hallmark’s next leading man. Season 1 sleighed its way into our hearts with a wholesome formula that prioritized camaraderie and positive masculinity.

But don’t let the festive challenges fool you, this competition is not for the weak. Hallmark takes the spirit of Christmas very seriously.

“There was a lot of preparation that went into this, from the physical side of things working out, trying to make sure you’re in really good shape, fasting for days on end before you’re on camera.” Craig, the show’s Mr. New York, revealed.

The rising actor from Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, explained it takes “discipline” to sign up for a competition that tests you mentally just as much as it does physically.

“From the mental side, you have to be willing to expect the unexpected and give up control. When it comes to the scenes, you just have to take what you’ve learned on sets over the years or in classes and apply that. It was a doozy, but it was all worth it.”

Watch the full interview with Melissa Peterman and Contestants Craig & Jake:

For Jake, transitioning from NFL player to professional actor was a daunting task.

“It’s completely new to me, so I didn’t really know what direction I needed to go in. It’s like what Craig said, I get in shape and bring my energy — going into it almost with the mentality I had for football. I didn’t know what to expect, so I just encouraged myself, ‘Hey, just be yourself. Have fun with it, and love the opportunity.'”

The all-star athlete from Lake View, New York, had to embrace the unknown of a new industry: “That’s the beauty of it is with football, you know what’s coming, so you know how to prepare. But with this, you had no idea. That’s what makes the show so exciting, and people are going to love it because the things you just do not expect get thrown in front of you.”

The challenges give the contestants little time to prepare, creating nerve-racking trial-by-fire scenarios for these men to navigate.

“We’re doing all kinds of ridiculous things that a lot of us have never done before, and we did not get time to practice any of it. When you see it live, that was live for us too. That made it really fun, and it also created an equal playing field for the guys,” Craig added.

Even though this competition relies on lighthearted gimmicks, Peterman was impressed with how the contestants navigated the hardships of this premise.

“I want to give credit to all of the contestants, because we do have a big ask of them. We ask them to leave their families. So to come and go: ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m in your hands,’ that’s a huge thing to ask of people. And you both came with such an open heart, and you came with these attitudes of yes.”

Peterman has the difficult task of judging and eliminating one of these hopeful actors each week of the competition. It’s a job that has become no less difficult for her in Season 2.

“I cried too much! I remember what it’s like to be a beginning actor, and to hear sometimes that today wasn’t your day. I’m invested in all of them, and I want the best for them. So it’s hard to eliminate somebody knowing that they did a great job.”

“It was very heartwarming to me, to watch how they looked out for each other too. Because I do know this, if they want to continue in this business, they need their peers. They need that support.”

In true Hallmark fashion, the show replaces the typical gotcha moments with those feel-good moments of human connection.

“There were so many moments where we got glimpses of their personal life in this season, which really affected me as a mom and as an actor,” Peterman continued.

“That’s what I think is the secret sauce of the show. It is this competition, but it’s in that Hallmark brand, so there’s so much heart in it. I want to feel good watching shows right now, and this is one of those that you are rooting for everybody, and they’re rooting for each other, even though they’re competing against each other — which is a hard thing to do. And I think we need more of that.”

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Finding Mr. Christmas airs Mondays at 8/7c on Hallmark Channel.

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