'Candy Coated Christmas' will mark the first original scripted movie to air on Discovery+.
Food Network has teamed up with its sister streaming service Discovery+ for the channel’s first-ever scripted film titled Candy Coated Christmas.
Candy Coated Christmas stars Molly McCook (Last Man Standing), Aaron O’Connell (The Haves and The Have Nots), Jae Suh Park (The Big Short), John McCook (The Bold and the Beautiful), with the network’s own Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman).
Directed by Ellie Kanner (Love and Sunshine) and written by Alex Yonks, Kanner and Joey Plager, Candy Coated Christmas is produced by MarVista Entertainment in association with Go Films. Executive producers are Ellie Kanner, Joey Plager and Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew for MarVista Entertainment.
The fictional story takes place during the holidays, set in the picturesque Peppermint Hollow. The movie revolves around a young woman (Molly McCook) who returns to her mother’s home town of Peppermint Hollow after her plans to launch a business are derailed by circumstance. Drummond plays the owner of a bakery who befriends the woman and introduces her around town. The role was penned for Drummond, who is known for her bright smile and cheery approach to rustic home cooking.
Discovery plans to create a host of supplemental content around Candy Coated Christmas such as recipes and other material for Food Network.
Speaking about the movie, Kathleen Finch, Chief Lifestyle Brands Officer, Discovery, Inc, said: “Last year, nearly 60m viewers watched Food Network between Halloween and New Year’s Day. Food Network fans live for the holidays, so creating a Christmas movie featuring one of our biggest stars is an exciting way to expand our offerings and to showcase an incredibly popular talent like Ree. We’ve created the kind of Christmas movie that only we can — it’s a perfect gift for our passionate fans.”
Drummond, known for her long-running Food Network series The Pioneer Woman and her role as co-host of Christmas Cookie Challenge, makes her feature debut, bringing her real-life experiences as a proprietor to her role as the owner of a bakery who warmly befriends a newcomer to town.
Drummond added: “Candy Coated Christmas was so much fun to be part of; it had all the magical elements that make holiday movies so special. Any initial nerves I felt about joining this project completely melted away when I stepped into the sweet, charming world of Peppermint Hollow!”
Larry Grimaldi, SVP Creative Affairs, MarVista Entertainment, stated: “We are thrilled to collaborate with Food Network and discovery+ on their first scripted holiday movie. Combining MarVista’s long-standing expertise in telling quality, feel-good holiday stories with Food Network’s promise of providing entertaining lifestyle content is a perfect recipe to bring joy to the world.”
