2024, created by Claudia Grazioso - Hallmark/W Network
This is perhaps the evolution of the ensemble movie Hallmark has been trying more and more each year (think Haul out the Holly or The Christmas House). It's also maybe in direct competition with the Cherry Lane series of movies to see which format performs better: a series of movies or a weekly limited series?
Holidazed is set on a cul-de-sac and follows the six families that live in the neighborhood. Their lives naturally cross paths but each has their own specific story. The first episode introduces all the families, their dynamics with each other, and their neighbours, and the complications that will need to be overcome. Each family will have a dedicated episode, and I presume the finale will tie it all together somehow.
I recently wrote about the Netflix series Midnight Mass and what a masterclass it is in establishing its large cast, their relationships to one another, its setting, the series' ominous tone and hinting at what's to come. Holidazed isn't quite as deftly handled, but it does a decent job of weaving through the myriad of characters and how they relate to one another while setting up the complications that will drive their individual narratives. What holds it back is it's almost too ambitious, with too many characters intermingling to keep every connection perfectly straightforward. As well, almost every premise is pretty cliche, so from the set-up it's like we know where it's going to go, based on Hallmarks of the past.
They are:
The Hill Family. Son Josh (Ian Harding) has returned home for the holidays, where his big city pretentiousness presents itself quite frequently. He's not an asshole about it, he's just a bit of an ass. He apparently kept buying his parents new household gadgets for fitness or healthy eating and they were just too technical and non-traditional for them, but he kind of doesn't get it. He only sees his way. While heading out to pick up some healthy bowls for dinner in his parents car, he gets pulled over for talking on the phone not hands-free (he was talking to his fiancee who, to put it bluntly, is pretty emotionally cold and didn't care at all about joining him for Christmas). The cop is an old high-school acquaintance, Nora, who he says was always very "by the book" and she says he always though the rules didn't apply to him. He thinks he's charming and Nora is not charmed. Later Josh forgets to put the car in park and it crashes into a fire hydrant. He convinces Nora to get his penance immediately reduced to community service because he's supposed to be moving to Australia with the ice queen after Christmas. He also learns from his parents that Nora is a single mom after her husband died. So, big city big shot returns home to meet single parent he knew from his younger years and they clash at first. We know how this story will go, like every beat of it (especially since we see Josh connect with Nora's son over Legos briefly).
The Lin Family. Ted (Osric Chou) has brought his fiancee Marcus (Shawn Ahmed) home for the holidays. His mom (Sharon Crandall) is ecstatic to spend the time together and plan their wedding. Sister Ella (Jasmine Chen) brings up the topic of Nai Nai comes up and Dad (Stanley Jung) says he booked her on a trip to Palm Springs. Ted is relieved because he hasn't come out to Grandma yet, which Marcus is not thrilled with. Of course, the trip has issues and Nai Nai (Lucille Soong) is home for the holidays and eager to spend time with Marcus whom she believes is Ella's fiancee. Uh oh. Hijinks are bound to ensue before the truth has to come out (literally). Lucille Soong is a legendary character actor, and she's going to kill it in this hopefully not-too-contrived story.
The Woods Family. Lucy (Lindy Booth) runs an restaurant and has the total hots for contractor/handyman Cole (Steven Allerick). It seems mutual. But Lucy's estranged hard-travelling sister Sylvie (Rachelle Lefevre) is home for Hanukkah and she's already starting to dig her charming, worldly claws into Cole. Lucy's daughter Annie has been best friends with neighbour Max Lewin forever, but now that they're teens things are changing. When popular girls Stephanie drops in, Max is all over her, which makes gives Annie new feelings. Two juvenile relationships, one which makes sense because teens are involved, the other is of the eye rolling middle-agers-shouldn't-act-like-teenagers variety. Hopefully it's more about the sibling drama than misunderstood romance cues.
The Lewin Family. It's going to be a tense Christmas at the Lewin household. Jennifer (Robinne Fanfair) has both her mother and father coming for dinner, but they divorced earlier in the year. Jennifer has just made partner at work and is tired of being put in the middle... and yet, mom Linda (Loretta Devine) manages to skirt having to tell Jennifer's dad, Robert (Dennis Haysbert) that she's bringing her new boyfriend. Before the episode is over, the truth comes out (and that's before Linda arrives) and Robert seems more than happy that Linda has some other man to torture in his old age...except... when Linda arrives, her boyfriend is a strapping, handsome younger man (and not the Uber driver). This one is far fetched but seems like a great comedic set-up with both Devine and Haysbert... that's high wattage acting talent that should raise even mediocre material.
The Camarena Family. Manny (Tim Perez) has been in a long term feud with neighbour Chuck Manetti-Hanahan (John C. McGinley) over the volume of Chuck's Christmas decorating. But the two are attempting (not really) to bury the hatchet as Manny's son Kevin has been dating Chuck's daughter Katie (Holland Roden). Chef Gaby (Noemi Gonzalez) returns home for the holidays with big news about her career, which is undercut by Kevin's love life which Gaby didn't know about. Turns out Katie was her high school bully, a fact that not even Katie seems aware of (as she is constantly hugging Gaby and trying to recall "old times" they shared). And then Gaby finds an engagement ring.... The trauma is deep here and I hope the episode featuring this family gets into it, and doesn't just cop out with Katie expressing what she was going through and playing on Gaby's sympathy. Own the damage you caused, Katie! This has so much potential, but I don't believe enough in Hallmark to deliver it.
The Manetti-Hanahan Family. Chuck, as we've seen, thinks he owns the world, and is oblivious to how he impacts others. Connie (Virginia Madsen) is trying to organize the holidays and keep the peace at home and with the neighbours, and finds it exhausting. Clark (Giles Panton) returns home with his family in tow and from the second they exit the car they are mocked and berated for their trendy lifestyle choices (they're vegan now, but Rebecca [Lucie Guest] has brought all the food so she's no burden but it doesn't matter). The Manetti-Hanahan household is an utter shit show and Katie is branded a traitor by her father and, like all the kids, finds being at home very difficult. She storms out and winds up staying at the Camarena's for the night (kicking Gaby out of her bed, because Kevin's parents are not letting them sleep in the same bed under their roof). They're a lot. This is the only story that I don't know exactly where it's going. If we get Chuck having some sort of change of heart and self awareness I'm going to call bullshit, because he's not that kind of guy, I can tell already. Madsen is killing it in what I've seen so far from her, and McGinley is always fun to watch.
Will report back when all is said and done on how each story fared.
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