Prepare to get swept off your feet this upcoming Christmas season in Great American Family's new holiday premiere, A Royal Christmas Ball. The film stars Danica McKellar, who is well-known for the sitcom Wonder Years and her movies Crown for Christmas, A Royal Date for Christmas, Swing Into Romance, and more.
Joining Danica in the film and on the dance floor is Oliver Rice, who you'll surely recognize from Chesapeake Shores, Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek, and more recently in One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, to name a few.
Get the full scoop on this all-new Christmas movie production coming this holiday season to Great American Family in the press release below...
PRESS RELEASE:
NEW YORK, NY – April 23, 2024 – Great American Family, one of the nation’s leading producers of original holiday content, announced Danica McKellar (A Royal Date for Christmas, Swing Into Romance) and Oliver Rice (“Firefly Lane,” Magic In Mistletoe) are set to star in, A Royal Christmas Ball (wt), which begins production this week. A Royal Christmas Ball, with waltzes choreographed by “Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Gleb Savchencko, premieres this November as part of Great American Christmas 2024.
In A Royal Christmas Ball, Chelsea Jones (McKellar) is a dance instructor and studio owner in Chicago who inspires kids to find themselves through dance. Just before Christmas, Chelsea discovers a photo she’s never seen before. Chelsea thinks the young woman is her birth mother who passed away when she was only five years old. The woman is in a wedding dress tugging on the hand of a man wearing a wedding ring, but that is all that can be seen of the man Chelsea believes may be her father. The photo’s handwritten inscription reads, “Our place, Havenshire, December 23, 1984.” With only the internet, a plane ticket, and lifelong determination to go on, Chelsea now has four days in Havenshire to solve the mystery of her birth family. Along the way, she’ll have to sneak into a castle, teach a stubborn Prince how to dance, and be in just the right place on Christmas Eve when the bells toll.
“Royal movies are among our viewers’ favorites,” said Bill Abbott, President & CEO, Great American Media. “Finding love when and where you least expect it is the heart of royal fanfiction and Danica and Oliver do a brilliant job of making heartfelt wishes come true,” Abbott concluded.
“Oliver Rice exudes a dashing Cary Elwes-vibe,” said star, Danica McKellar. “Oliver grew up in London and graduated from Oxford School of Drama and brings genuine nobility to the role of Prince Phillip. I cannot wait for fans to see him in the film,” McKellar concluded.
A Royal Christmas Ball (wt) is executive produced by Brad Krevoy, Amy Krell, Vince Balzano, Danica McKellar, Jimmy Townsend, Susie Belzberg Krevoy, and Don McBrearty. Producer is David Anselmo. Supervising producers are Kelly Martin, Michael Shepard, Michael Beard, and James Mou. A Royal Christmas Ball is written by Marcy Holland. Story by Danica McKellar and Marcy Holland.
ABOUT GREAT AMERICAN FAMILY
Great American Family is America’s premiere destination for quality family-friendly programming, including original holiday movies, rom-coms and fan-favorite series that celebrate faith, family and country. Great American Family is home to year-round seasonal celebrations including Great American Christmas, the network’s signature franchise featuring holiday themed movies and specials. Founded in 2021, Great American Family is part of the Great American Media portfolio of brands.
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My Quick Take:
Well, first of all, congratulations to Danica McKellar for seeing this film idea of hers finally coming into fruition. I know it has been many years in-the-making, and I'm most happy for her.
I did have a hunch that professional dancer Gleb Savchencko (who was Danica's dance partner on “Dancing With the Stars”) might be involved with this production, since I was expecting Danica's movie to revolve around dancing. And I must say Gleb's performance in Swing into Romance with Danica was excellent. In fact, I believe he's just as good as an actor, as he is on the dance floor. However, it doesn't sound as if he'll be in front of the camera at all for this movie, which is unfortunate if that ends up being the case.
Actor Oliver Rice has the honor of playing opposite of Danica in A Royal Christmas Ball, and I must admit, I'm still getting used to the idea. Honestly, he wasn't on my bingo card to play Danica's opposite this year. I was thinking of perhaps Matthew Morrison, Drew Seeley, or Joey Lawrence, based on the fact that dancing will be majorly involved, and I know all three are phenomenal dancers. However, I can definitely imagine Oliver playing the role of the stubborn prince while using his English accent.
So, I look forward to hopefully seeing some sneak-peeks of Danica and Oliver acting/dancing together, as they will be filming their Christmas movie for Great American Family soon!