Happy Christmas in July! It's Day #23 of the Christmas in July party. All month long I'll be celebrating Christmas TV episodes, specials, and movies with a FUN IN THE SUN attitude. Expect a run of Christmas in July stories, tropical yuletides, and island themes. Just a little something different and a way for me to show off the diversity of holiday stories I've collected in the encyclopedia Tis the Season TV (the updated and expanded 2nd edition being released later this year).
This week I'm sharing Hawaiian yuletide programs. Today's Christmas in July discussion is on the 2019 TV movie Same Time, Next Christmas which made its debut on ABC.
Every family has different traditions for celebrating Christmas. The Andersons and the Williams family both celebrate at the same resort every year in Hawaii. That is, until Jeff’s mother unexpectedly dies during his teen years. Fifteen years later, Jeff and his father return to the resort to find that the Anderson family still comes there each year at Christmas, including Jeff’s former best friend Olivia. Now grown, Jeff and Olivia feel that same spark for each other that they’ve always had for one another, however their relationship timing is not right. Jeff decides to give his broken relationship with his wife one last go, and a following year Olivia becomes engaged to her co-worker Gregg. In Hawaii at Christmas, will Jeff and Olivia ever admit they feel that they are each other’s soulmate?
The cast includes Lea Michele as Olivia Anderson, Charles Michael Davis as Jeff Williams, Bryan Greenberg as Gregg Harris, George Newbern as Olivia’s father Woody Anderson, Nia Vardalos as Olivia’s mother Faye Anderson, and Phil Morris as Jeff’s father Alec Williams.
After its initial debut on ABC, this Christmas TV movie also aired in 2019 on Freeform. Lea Michele’s version of “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is heard at the movie’s start, and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” with Jonathan Groff, at the movie’s end. Both of the songs can be found on her 2019 album “Christmas in the City.”
Our Christmas in July party discussions will continue all month long. Got another favorite tropical, Christmas in Hawaii program? There's more to come. Feel free to leave comments down below.
Joanna Wilson is a TV researcher and book author specializing
in Christmas entertainment. More about the TV programs mentioned on this website can
be found in her book "Tis the Season TV: the Encyclopedia of Christmas-themed Episodes, Specials, and Made-for-TV Movies." Her latest book "Triple Dog Dare:
Watching--& Surviving--the 24-Hour Marathon of A Christmas Story"
was released in 2016. She is currently updating and expanding the
encyclopedia for a 2021 release. Her books can be found at the publisher's website:
1701 press.com
*Support this website and its research by purchasing the books at 1701 press.com
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