Ralphie is going to make his grand return! According to Deadline, four holiday-related movies will be coming to HBO Max in November this year, Holiday Harmony, A Christmas Mystery, A Hollywood Christmas, and A Christmas Story Christmas. The last on that list is the anticipated sequel to the holiday classic, A Christmas Story!
A Christmas Story Christmas will be directed by Clay Kaytis. Irwin Zwilling, Marc Toberoff, Cale Boyter, Jay Ashenfelter, Peter Billingsley, and Vince Vaughn are all credited as producers. Peter Billingsley will return as Ralphie, who must now face the holiday season as a dad himself! Starring alongside Billingsley are Erinn Hayes, Julianna Layne, River Drosche, RD Robb, Zack Ward, Julie Hagerty, and Scott Scwartz. A Christmas Story Christmas is set for release on November 17th.
A Christmas Mystery is from producers Ali Afshar and Daniel Aspromonte, with Ava Rettke as producer. Directed by Alex Ranarivelo. The film stars a group of kids in Pleasant Bay, Oregon. 100 years before the film, a little boy found a strip of Santa’s magical jingle bells, bringing the town prosperity and good luck. But when the bells are missing, the little heroes set off to solve the case. The film stars Violet McGraw, Eddie Cibrian, Christoph Sanders, Drew Powell, Lauren Lindsey Donzis, Santino Barnard, Leonardo Cecchi, Beau Bridges, and Oscar Nuñez. A Christmas Mystery is set for release on November 24th.
A Hollywood Christmas is another Afshar and Aspromonte, with Christina Moore as producer. The romantic comedy film follows Jessica, a young filmmaker renowned for directing Christmas movies. While in the middle of shooting her latest creation, a network executive named Christopher makes his appearance and threatens to halt the production. Reena, Jessica’s assistant, reveals that Jessica isn’t just trying to save her Christmas movie, but that she’s actually living in one! Jessica is now tasked with navigating the classic tropes of the Christmas movie to get her happy ending. The film stars Jessika Van, Anissa Borrego, Josh Swickard, Riley Dandy, Zak Steiner, Tom Williamson, and Missi Pyle. A Hollywood Christmas is scheduled for release on December 1st.
Holiday Harmony is a romantic drama, also from Afshar and Aspromonte. Lauren Swickard joins them as producer, along with director Shaun Paul Piccinino. The film follows Gail, who gets her once-in-a-lifetime shot and heads off across the country. Sadly, once she gets to Harmony Springs, she hits a snag. She only has two weeks to make it to her big moment and seeks help from a local handyman named Jeremy. The two decide to gather a group of local children and put on a Christmas celebration of their own, bringing Gail and Jeremy closer than either could have imagined. Will Gail be willing to leave Harmony Springs in order to follow her dreams? Holiday Harmony is coming on November 24th.
Bring on the Yuletide!
Brigitte Tohm from Pexels.com
HBO Max seems to be gearing up for the holiday season and packing the empty space from the recent cancellations with good old-fashioned Christmas cheer. From the four titles, it looks like there will be a little something for everybody in the family to enjoy, from the romantic comedy fans, to the adventure fans, and even with a dash of magic! Whatever your tastes call for, perhaps a new favorite will be in here.
