Hallmark's New Year hit list

Hallmark Channel brings good tidings this month with an exciting lineup of programs and premieres.

Meg Pryor is a style-conscious 15-year-old whose life revolves around the popular dance show, American Bandstand. While Meg’s younger brother and sister are concerned with simple pursuits, her older brother, JJ, is fighting to follow his dreams instead of his father’s. Unknown to the kids, their parents are struggling to define their own evolving relationship as partners, parents and people. Meanwhile, the world swirls around them — a vibrant combination of rock and roll, equal rights and soon, war.

A nostalgia-drenched show about life in the ‘60s told through a typical family living in Philadelphia, American Dreams is replete with the conflicts and issues, and the upbeat sounds of the ear. Starring Brittany Snow, Gail O’Grady and Tom Verica, the show presents an impressive array of special guests including Usher, LeAnn Rimes, Ashant, Michelle Branch, Hillary Duff and Nick Carter, and cameos from Paris Hilton, Tyra Banks, Nicole Ritchie and Wyclef Jean as the iconic figures of the decade.

Catch the Emmy winner for Outstanding Costume & Hairstyling and nominee for Outstanding Cast as it premieres on Jan. 7, 9 p.m., with encore telecasts on Jan. 8, 12 p.m.

Based on the best-selling book by Candace Bushnell comes the delightful new dramedy following three high-powered friends as they weather the ups and downs of lives at the top of their game. Lipstick Jungle is the story of modern-day women — movie executive Wendy, editor-in-chief Nico and free-spirited designer Victory — who, armed with humor and strength, support one another.

With Brook Shields, Kim Raver and Linday Price, Lipstick Jungle begins airing on Jan. 8, 10 p.m., with encore starting Jan. 9, 11 p.m.

2009 begins with a bang and promise of better things to come as Hallmark gets off to a grand start with compelling and must-see movie premieres teeming with gripping suspense, murder, mystery and deception.

Prof. Archer Coe has been poisoned and suspects are piling up, from a jealous wife to a rival teacher. On-call criminologist Jonathan Maxwell attempts to solve the baffling mystery in Murder 101: College Can Be Murder premiering Jan. 3, 9 p.m.

A tragic team of astronauts brings back an alien-insect race that harvests human bodies for survival. As the colony thrives, so does the feat that man’s end has arrived. Part 1 of the Final Days of Planet Earth airs on Jan. 10, 9 p.m. and Part 2 on Jan. 17, 9 p.m.