Food Network and HGTV Gift Four New Spectacular Holiday Features Starring Network Fan-favorites Ben & Erin Napier, Bobby Flay, Hilary Farr and Duff Goldman on Friday, Nov. 11, on discovery+
Katie Stevens, Victor Rasuk, Vanessa Marano, Alex Mallari Jr., Jessica Szohr, Marco Grazzini, Tiya Sircar and Marc Bendavid Round Out Slate of Popular Starring Actors
Bring on the Christmas cheer because Food Network and HGTV will super-serve audiences with four new scripted holiday features on discovery+ beginning Friday, November 11. Featuring sparkling seasonal decor, yuletide culinary delights and budding romances, the films, with their food and home improvement storylines, were created to appeal to passionate Food Network and HGTV fans who love holiday content. Several of the networks’ biggest fan-favorite personalities — Ben and Erin Napier, Bobby Flay, Hilary Farr and Duff Goldman — as well as a slate of popular actors, will bring holiday movie magic to life in each scripted feature.
A Christmas Open House will star Katie Stevens (The Bold Type) and Victor Rasuk (Reasonable Doubt) with HGTV’s Ben and Erin Napier (Home Town). One Delicious Christmas will star Vanessa Marano (Switched at Birth) and Alex Mallari Jr. (Dark Matter) with Food Network’s Bobby Flay (Beat Bobby Flay: Holiday Throwdown). A Gingerbread Christmas will star Tiya Sircar (The Good Place) and Marc Bendavid (Reacher) with Food Network’s Duff Goldman (Holiday Baking Championship). Designing Christmas will star Jessica Szohr (Gossip Girl) and Marco Grazzini (Virgin River) with HGTV’s Hilary Farr (Love It or List It).
All film assets, including descriptions, production notes, photos, clips, bios and more, are available in the Holiday Features Press Kit
The following are brief summaries of the holiday features:
A Christmas Open House follows the story of Atlanta property stager Melissa Norwood (Katie Stevens) as she teams up with her old high school crush, real estate agent David Phelps (Victor Rasuk), and local artists Henry and Sarah Wright (Ben and Erin Napier) to prepare and sell her mom’s home before the holidays. As the tensions of the Christmas deadline grow, so does a romance between Melissa and David, but their diverging goals could be a deal breaker for their new relationship. Directed by Emily Moss Wilson from a screenplay by Brian Turner & Garrett Frawley, A Christmas Open House is produced by MarVista Entertainment in association with Reflecting Pool Productions Inc. Go behind the scenes of A Christmas Open House with Ben and Erin Napier by following #ChristmasOpenHouse.
In Designing Christmas, interior designer, Stella (Jessica Szohr), and contractor, Pablo (Marco Grazzini), have charmed millions as co-hosts of their popular home renovation show. Although Stella is planning her wedding with fiancé Jack (Mykee Selkin), a last-minute production change means that she and Pablo must work overtime to keep their hit show on schedule. Stella confides in her mentor Freddy (Hilary Farr) about her complicated feelings for Pablo that could jeopardize everything. Directed by Pat Mills from a screenplay by Michael J. Murray, Designing Christmas is produced by MarVista Entertainment in association with Neshama Entertainment. Get in the holiday spirit with Designing Christmas and Hilary Farr by following #DesigningChristmas.
A Gingerbread Christmas finds Hazel Stanley (Tiya Sircar) spending the holidays with her father Ted (Sugith Varughese) in Chicago, where she discovers the family bakery is in decline and that former best friend Shelby (Kyana Teresa) has opened a trendy new bake shop across the street. Hazel, who hopes to save the family business by winning $100,000 in a gingerbread house competition led by food celebrity Mark Clemmons (Duff Goldman), finds unexpected romance with local contractor James Meadows (Marc Bendavid), a family friend who is helping to restore the bakery. When a series of misunderstandings threaten to tear everything apart, will the magic of the holidays lead everyone to have a Merry Christmas? Directed by Pat Kiely from a screenplay by Carley Smale and Blaine Chiapetta, A Gingerbread Christmas is produced by MarVista Entertainment in association with Neshama Entertainment and Vroom Productions. Fans can meet the stars of A Gingerbread Christmas and discover their favorite holiday traditions, memories from childhood and more using #GingerbreadChristmas on social media.
One Delicious Christmas explores the story of Abby Richmond, (Vanessa Marano) who inherited the struggling Vermont culinary destination, Haven Restaurant and Inn, and needs to secure an investment from restaurant mogul Alexandra Grandfield (Kathy Maloney) to keep it running. After top food critic Tom Kingsley (Bobby Flay) offers his blunt review, Abby hires hot-shot chef Preston Weaver (Alex Mallari, Jr.) to shake up Haven’s beloved holiday menu. Despite their undeniable chemistry, Preston and Abby must be ready for Alexandra and Tom’s Christmas Eve dinner visit, which will determine what happens to Haven. Directed by Stacy N. Harding from a screenplay by Betsy Sullenger, One Delicious Christmas is produced by MarVista Entertainment in association with Neshama Entertainment. Fans can take a peek behind the scenes of One Delicious Christmas with exclusives from Bobby Flay and its stars by following #OneDeliciousChristmas.
Executive producers for all four features are Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew for MarVista Entertainment and Sheri Singer. Executive producers from Neshama Entertainment (for three of the four features) are Suzanne Berger and Arnie Zipursky. Additional executive producers include Megan Ellstrom (A Christmas Open House, A Gingerbread Christmas) and Danielle von Zerneck for Wishing Floor Films (Designing Christmas).
About discovery+
discovery+ is the definitive non-fiction, real life subscription streaming service from Warner Bros. Discovery. With the largest-ever content offering at launch, discovery+ features a wide range of exclusive, original series across popular passion verticals including lifestyle and relationships; home and food; true crime; paranormal; adventure and natural history; as well as science, tech and the environment, and a slate of high-quality documentaries. For more, visit discoveryplus.com, or find the discovery+ app on most mobile and connected TV devices.
About Food Network
Food Network is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers’ best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring, empowering and entertaining through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to nearly 100 million U.S. households and draws over 46 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine’s rate base has grown 13 times and is the No. 2 best-selling monthly magazine on the newsstand, with 13.5 million readers. Food Network is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD), a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products which also include: Discovery Channel, discovery+, CNN, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HBO Max, HGTV, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.
About HGTV
HGTV delivers families with relatable stories, superstar real estate and renovation experts and amazing home transformations that inspire a passionate audience. For anyone seeking entertaining and aspirational home and lifestyle content, HGTV is the place to be. HGTV offers: a top 10 cable network that is distributed to 76 million U.S. households; a website, HGTV.com, that attracts an average of 9.6 million people each month; a social footprint of 28 million; HGTV Magazine, a monthly publication that reaches more than one million readers; and exclusive collections of home-oriented products through the HGTV Home® consumer products line. Viewers can become fans of HGTV and interact with other home improvement enthusiasts through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok. HGTV is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a leading global media and entertainment company available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages whose portfolio also includes Discovery Channel, discovery+, CNN, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HBO Max, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.
About MarVista Entertainment
Los Angeles-based MarVista Entertainment is a leading global independent studio that produces and distributes a variety of content across the world. With a library showcasing nearly 2,500 hours of content, and with approximately 60 new movies per year added to the company’s development and distribution pipeline, MarVista has become one of the largest suppliers of movies to the worldwide marketplace. MarVista has an expansive distribution footprint spanning more than 125 global territories and is a pre-eminent programming partner to major streamers and cable networks including Netflix, Hulu, Discovery+, Tubi, Disney Networks, Lifetime, Hallmark Channel, NBC Universal, OWN, Nickelodeon, BET and other Viacom Networks, as well as key international platforms.
Press Contacts
Danielle McLaughlin (Food Network)
Danielle_V_McLaughlin@discovery.com
Amy Hammontree (HGTV)
Amy_Hammontree@discovery.com