Photo: Lifetime via Mario Lopez

Last month it was announced that Jana Kramer and Mario Lopez would be co-starring in an upcoming dance-centric holiday movie for Lifetime‘s It’s A Wonderful Lifetime programming event later this year, and it looks like the two have been hard at work filming in Nashville, Tennessee.

The film is tentatively titled “Mr. Holiday” (Update 07/25/22: The working title is now “Steppin’ into the Holiday”!) as Mario plays the role of Billy Holiday, a former Broadway star, who meets Rae (Kramer), the charismatic owner of a local dance studio. After Billy volunteers to help Rae with a dance recital fundraiser, and the two enjoy working together, romantic sparks fly.

The two actors have been sharing photos from set as well as a ‘first look’ at the movie with official promotional photos, which you can check out below!

L-R, Top-to-Bottom: Mason, Klena, Ann-Margret, Radio City Rockettes & Plumb (Photos: Courtesy)

We could not be more excited to share the latest Hallmark Channel holiday movie news with you!

The network has revealed that a Christmas movie featuring the Radio City Rockettes will be premiering later this year, as part of the 2022 Countdown to Chritsmas programming event!  Actors of the stage and screen are set to star “A Holiday Spectacular”, which will be filmed partially on the iconic Radio City Music Hall in New York City, including Ginna Claire Mason (Wicked), Tony Award-nominated Derek Klena (Jagged Little Pill), Academy Award-nominated entertainer Ann-Margret (Carnal Knowledge), and Eve Plumb (The Brady Bunch).

The story is set in 1958 when a Philadelphia heiress named Maggie (Mason) puts her high-society wedding plans, to a man she doesn’t love, on hold in order to sneak up to New York City and make her secret dream come true: dancing live on stage in the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. While her family thinks she’s staying in New York City with an “approved” friend from boarding school, Maggie is living a completely different life than she’s ever known. She falls in love with New York and dancing with the Rockettes. Maggie soon feels caught between two worlds, made even more complicated by her chance encounter with young U.S. Navy photographer John (Klena). Will Maggie find the courage to tell her family what she wants for her future instead of accepting the future that was decided for her?

The Rockettes were choreographed by their director and choreographer, Julie Branam, who works with them for the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes, and the dancers will also appear throughout the film in various performance numbers and speaking roles.

Photos: IMDb/Courtesy

After the announcement of Reba McEntire‘s upcoming Christmas movie earlier this month, I’m back with more holiday film news! It feels so nice to be reporting on Christmas movies again even though it hasn’t been that long since the holiday season.

According to Entertainment Tonight, Netflix has announced the upcoming LGBTQ-themed Christmas flick “Single All the Way”, starring Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers and Luke Macfarlane! The romantic holiday film, which is scheduled for a debut later this year, will be produced by Joel S. Rice.

The movie follows Peter (Urie), who is desperate to avoid his family’s judgment about his perpetual single status, and convinces his best friend Nick (Chambers) to join him for the holidays and pretend that they’re now in a relationship. But when Peter’s mother sets him up on a blind date with her handsome trainer James (Macfarlane) — the plan goes awry.

Wishing you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day filled with light, love and a little bit of luck!

Stay merry!

Photo: Bob D’Amico/ABC

Ho-Ho-Ho-Hooray!

It’s only March and we already have Christmas movie news for this year’s It’s A Wonderful Lifetime slate! Lifetime officially announced today that Reba McEntire has inked a two picture deal with the network that will include a holiday movie set to air in 2021 titled, “Christmas In Tune” (working title).

Synopsis: Christmas In Tune tells the story of Belle, a marketing executive who is worried she may lose her job. She decides to reunite a singing duo for a charity Christmas concert in order, but the problem is – the singers are actually her parents and they have not spoken to each other in years! Soon the at-odds couple is helping Belle get her life in order and she begins her own romantic duet with the new man in her life.

Christmas in Tune is written by Juliet Giglio and Keith Giglio and produced by Hartbreak Films with Paula Hart and McEntire serving as executive producers.

“Reba has been a creative force in both music and television for many years. We are thrilled to have her on board to produce and star in not just one – but two movies for us,” said Tanya Lopez, EVP of Movies, Limited Series & Original Movie Acquisitions, Lifetime and LMN. “Reba has been part of Lifetime’s air many years ago and we can’t wait to welcome her back!”

McEntire echoed Lopez’s sentiment stating, “I am thrilled to partner with Lifetime for a return to television movies! My fans and I enjoy their programming and loved watching the Reba show there for so many years.”

I can’t wait to watch this!

Stay merry!

Photo: Crown Media

It’s March, which means that Hallmark Channel’s Merry Madness Christmas Bracket is back!

The fourth annual bracket is open and ready for you to place your picks in a head-to-head holiday movie match, which will earn you points and make you eligible to win anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000! You can create up to 10 brackets until March 26th, and the winner will be announced the first week of April.  Go create your Christmas Fantasy Game now by clicking here!

Stay merry!

The first day of March can only mean one thing to Christmas fanatics… Hallmark Channel’s Merry Madness Christmas Bracket begins!

The third annual bracket is officially open, so pick your favorite holiday movies in a head-to-head match-up to earn points. You can create up to 10 brackets until March 22nd — entering gives you the chance to win $10,000, $2,500 & $1,000!

For more information, visit HallmarkChannel.com.

Stay merry!

Photo: Crown Media

365 days is way too long between Christmases’ … we just have to celebrate all year long.   Today is the first day of spring, which means we just have to hop over summer… and fall will be here before we know it…in just 279 days and counting.

I am finally tucking away the last of the decorations; the winter tree and the village display that has been in my wall unit since the day after Halloween.   I love the Department 56 and Lemax Village pieces, and I put up a full display for Halloween and Christmas… thank goodness my youngest daughter is now an adult and has taken over the “display management” – it’s a lot of work!   I knew she would be a natural since she loved her dollhouse when she was younger, and was always so creative by making her own pieces.  I spent several years planning how I would acquire enough houses, buildings, accessories and figures to fill up eight shelves of the wall unit; however, now I search for new scenery and retire the old.  We put up the Halloween display just after Labor Day and then we replace it on November 1^st with Christmas.  The grand-kids love it…. My three youngest granddaughters just stare in awe… for them it’s a huge multi-level dollhouse.