Tatyana Ali, Dondre T Whitfield and Dennis Haysbert also star
Hallmark Channel announces a veteran, all-star cast for the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, Christmas Everlasting, based on New York Times bestselling author Marie Bostwick’s novel, The Second Sister. Headlining Christmas Everlasting is Tatyana Ali (Fly, The Young & The Restless), Daytime Emmy nominee Dondre T. Whitfield (Queen Sugar, All My Children), Golden Globe Awards nominee Dennis Haysbert (Reverie, Far From Heaven), and Emmy Award nominee and recording legend Patti LaBelle (Patti LaBelle’s Place, soundtrack License to Kill). Christmas Everlasting, now shooting in Atlanta, Georgia, will premiere Thanksgiving Weekend. The film is the 262nd installment of the fabled Hallmark Hall of Fame, still the longest-running and most award-winning series on television.
In Christmas Everlasting, Christmas is fast approaching and years of long workdays employed at New York’s top corporate law firm are about to pay off now that Lucy Toomey (Ali) will be made partner after the New Year. However, when her older sister with special needs, Alice, passes away unexpectedly, Lucy returns to Nilson’s Bay, WI, to attend her sister’s funeral and settle her estate. Lucy is not happy about returning to her small, close-knit hometown, where she is reminded of choices she made in the past. Once back in Nilson’s Bay, Lucy meets Peter (Whitfield), her old high school sweetheart and Alice’s former attorney, who informs her of the terms of Alice’s eccentric will which states that for Lucy to inherit the family home, she must live there for 30 days, which means being home for Christmas for the first time in a decade. Lucy begins her “sentence” believing she will be counting the days until she can leave; but soon, opportunities for relationships with Alice’s friends arise and Lucy is overwhelmed by the town’s adoration of her older sister. Grief and isolation will be moved to a back burner as the second sister is propelled toward a future filled with love and hope.
Christmas Everlasting is a Team Two Entertainment Production. Beth Miller is Executive Producer. Dustin Rikert is Producer. Ron Oliver is Director. The teleplay is written by Maria Nation and Marcy Holland and is based on the bestselling novel by Marie Bostwick.
