Made-in-Illinois ‘Exes of Christmas Past’ Now Streaming

The holiday romance movie Exes of Christmas Past was released this week on major streaming platforms like Tubi, The Roku Channel, and Pluto TV, where it can be viewed for free anytime. The uplifting, family-friendly film is about an ambitious hotel manager who returns to her family’s B&B for Christmas to find all three of her high school exes staying there. 

Click here to stream the film for free on Tubi.

Exes of Christmas Past was written and produced by husband-and-wife team Jake Jarvi and Eliza Toser with Jarvi also directing. The film stars rom-com mainstays Brittany Underwood (A Royal Christmas Holiday) and Alex Trumble (The Search for Secret Santa), who are real-life exes turned good friends playing love interests for the first time. The cast features plenty of Chicago-based talent, including Debo Balogun (Power Book IV: Force), Rengin Altay (Chicago Fire), Jeremy Warner (Haunt Season), and Daniel Patrick Sullivan (Chicago Med). 

Here is your first look at the holiday movie…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G801DEN1OLM

While Exes of Christmas Past is set in the fictional town of Mill Creek, most of the movie was shot at the Cherry Tree Inn B&B in Woodstock, Illinois. Film buffs will recognize the Cherry Tree as the iconic bed and breakfast from Columbia Pictures’ Groundhog Day and the recent Hulu release, Reporting for Christmas. Additional  photography took place at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel and 221 Blu Bar & Lounge in Chicago. 

All the other scenes were filmed in the Village of Libertyville at Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters, Firkin Alley, JC Licht Benjamin Moore Paint & Decor Store, Sweet Home Gelato, and a historic home. About Time  Bookstore, As Above So Below, Edie Boutique, and Marigold will also be featured, and residents will recognize many of the business owners who make cameos in the film. 

Throughline Films partners John W. Bosher and Chris Charles produced Exes of Christmas Past with Jarvi and Toser as well as Warner of Happy Dance Productions following a successful collaboration on the 2024  release Haunt Season. Underwood and Trumble served as executive producers along with Vanessa Shapiro, Scott  Kirkpatrick, and Dave Hickey of Nicely Entertainment. Post-Production was done at Journeywork Entertainment and Noisefloor in Chicago, and Nicely is handling worldwide distribution. 

“Jake and I live in Gurnee and have enjoyed spending time in Libertyville with our daughter, so it was amazing  to film in a community we know and love,” said Toser. 

“We were fortunate to shoot at the Cherry Tree, which has such rich cinematic history,” added Jarvi. “We couldn’t have found better locations to bring this story to life, and we can’t wait to share the film with audiences this  holiday season.” 

Exes of Christmas Past will also be streaming on Vizio, Xumo Play, and Amazon’s “Always Christmas” FAST channel and available in libraries via Hoopla and on DVD through Midwest Tape. It will debut on Prime Video Christmas in July 2026.

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