ON THE TO-DO LIST: TRUST IN A STRANGER TO MAKE CHRISTMAS FUN AGAIN
FIVE-TIME EMMY� NOMINEE AND GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER HENRY WINKLER, BROOKE BURNS AND WARREN CHRISTIE STAR IN 'THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR,' A HALLMARK CHANNEL ORIGINAL MOVIE PREMIERING DECEMBER 13
They aren't exactly the three wise men, but a snowbound stranger, a crafty uncle and a precocious boy may just have what it takes to remind one crazed woman what the holiday season is all about in "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," a Hallmark Channel Original Movie premiering Saturday, December 13 (9/8c). Two-time Golden Globe winner and five-time Emmy� Award nominee Henry Winkler ("Happy Days"), Brooke Burns ("Miss Guided") and Warren Christie ("October Road") star in the family film, which reminds viewers that you're never too old to act like a kid again.
Jennifer Cullen (Burns) is a single, working mom who has become somewhat of a Scrooge when it comes to the Holiday season. Even her six-year-old son Brian (Connor Levins, "Eight Below") is having trouble believing in Santa Claus. When Jen's Uncle Ralph (Winkler), a retired police officer, comes to visit for Christmas, he brings along a new friend, a nomad and Jack-of-all-trades named Morgan Derby (Christie). The two met on a flight, and Morgan's plans to continue on to Denver are cancelled when he finds out the city is completely snowed in. Jen is wary of the stranger, but at Ralph's request, agrees to let him stay the night.
She warms up to Morgan, especially when she sees how he interacts with Brian. Uncle Ralph approves of Morgan, too, but Jen's boyfriend Richard (Woody Jeffreys, "Graffiti Flowers") isn't nearly as receptive. Meanwhile, Morgan has started to really like Jen, but if she can't manage to make Christmas about anything more than business, Morgan will be on his way to Denver, and she'll have missed the opportunity that was right in front of her. Uncle Ralph has done what he can to keep Morgan around, but it's going to take something more than that to get him penciled into Jen's long-term plans. Jen just needs to learn "how to do Christmas," and it turns out Morgan is the perfect one to teach her.
Hallmark Channel presents "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," in association with Dan Wigutow Productions and KZ Productions. Dan Wigutow and Michael M. Scott are the executive producers, Harvey Kahn is the producer, and Caroline Moore is the co-producer. Michael Scott directed from a script by Bruce Graham.
Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming to a national audience of nearly 85 million subscribers. The top tier program service is distributed through more than 5,300 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel consistently ranks among the top 10 ad-supported cable networks in Prime Time and Total Day household ratings and is the nation's leading network in providing quality family programming. Crown Media also operates a second 24-hour linear channel, Hallmark Movie Channel, and will launch Hallmark Movie Channel HD in first quarter 2008.
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