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Mary McDonnell stars in her first-ever Hallmark Channel series, Twelve Dates 'Til Christmas, alongside Mae Whitman, Nathaniel Parker and Jane Seymour

McDonnell tells PEOPLE about her newfound love of Hallmark Christmas movies, which she says are "amazing," and reuniting with Whitman almost 30 years after playing mother and daughter in Independence Day

"She is just a gem, an absolute gem, so I'm thrilled," she says of Whitman

Mary McDonnell is not afraid to admit that Hallmark is her kryptonite.

The Dances with Wolves star, 73, tells PEOPLE that she wasn't always tuning into the Hallmark Channel around the holidays — "sometimes I would and sometimes not," she says — but lately, that's changed.

"In the last couple of years, I've just gotten completely addicted," M

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