Holidazed (2024 - miniseries)
6 families. 8 episodes.
Similar to the Unwrapping Christmas quartet, this miniseries aired on Hallmark+ during the 2024 Countdown. However, it’s pretty telling that while other movies from 2024 that only aired on Hallmark+ are coming back to the main channel for 2025, this series is not. This miniseries features a wild assortment of Hallmark actors most typically seen as supporting characters, but with the benefit of an ensemble cast spread across 8 episodes they’re now all leads in some way or another. Pour one out for John C. McGinley (first I’ve seen of him since Scrubs ended in 2010) and Rachelle Lefevre (another Twilight alumna comes to Hallmark).
Inexplicably, this was filmed on Vancouver Island with the families all “living” on the same ritzy cul de sac in what are obviously VERY expensive homes, but the interior in almost every case looks so small by comparison. I mean, c’mon… if you’re going to tease the fancy houses, at least one of the interiors should match for scale at the very least. Nevermind that it also just all looks so shiny and new - hardly the long-time family home feeling they’re trying to go for with this.
Anyway, every standard feature comes out across the series, with varying degrees of success along the way. Some characters are endearing, some are thoroughly forgettable. With one episode focused on each of 6 families, plus bookending “The Beginning” and “The Finale” episodes, they really tried to cram in what would be almost an entire movie storyline into each episode, and touching on a bit of everything along the way:
Horrific Christmas karaoke
Griswold-style house lighting
A Clark Griswold wannabe patriarch who is also a bit more Cousin Eddie than he’d care to admit
Widowed, single parents
Rekindling of old loves (and abandoning partners)
Fake engagements
Sibling rivalries
Childhood trauma rectified
A need to put on a show wedding
This eight-episode series follows six families from different backgrounds, cultures and generations, all living on the same cul-de-sac, as they gather for the holiday season. During a time when emotions are amplified, each family comes together to celebrate their unique, rich traditions and navigate family eccentricities that ultimately help them discover what they do have in common: LOVE in all its different forms. Starring Ser'Darius Blain, Lindy Booth, Erin Cahill, Osric Chau, Loretta Devine, Noemi Gonzalez, Ian Harding, Dennis Haysbert, Rachelle Lefevre, Holland Roden, Virginia Madsen, John C. McGinley and Lucille Soong.
