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Hallmark A Big Fat Family Christmas
The Hallmark Channel’s newest movie, “A Big Fat Family Christmas,” premieres on Friday, December 2, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. The movie stars Shannon Chan-Kent and Shannon Kook. Read on to learn all about where the movie was filmed and see behind-the-scenes stories.
‘A Big Fat Family Christmas’ Was Filmed in San Francisco & Vancouver, British Columbia
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Hallmark
“A Big Fat Family Christmas” (working title “My Big Fat Chinese Christmas”) was filmed in Vancouver, B.C., Canada like many other Christmas movies on Hallmark.
It was also filmed in San Francisco in September, where shots on the Powell Hyde Cable Car were made, according to this Twitter user Val Lupiz’s post below.
This movie completed post-production in September.
Shannon Kent took to Instagram to post a cute selfie of her and her co-star, tagged in Vancouver while they were filming.
She wrote: “This project I hold particularly close to my heart. The cast, crew, director @believerville and my rock @shannonkook put our best bells and holly on for you all. Can’t wait for you to see 🎄 #abigfatfamilychristmas.”
Kook also shared his excitement on Instagram.
He wrote: “Whether it’s an Asian-American navigating her place between east and west, a mixed-race South African/Thai chap immigrating into a new community, or a feel good movie celebrating family, Christmas and Chinese culture – this Hallmark original will connect on all of this and more in #ABigFatFamilyChristmas next Fri Dec 2nd 😊 🎄🧧”
“For my dear friends & family who’ve said they can’t watch my 📺 because it’s too scary or violent… we have a Christmas movie coming for you Dec 🎄2nd,” Kook also shared.
Director Jennifer Liao shared a funny picture about Christmas decorations on a warm summer day, writing: “Christmas movie magic!”
Meet the Cast
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Hallmark
Hallmark’s synopsis reads:
Liv Chang (Chan-Kent), a photographer at the San Francisco Chronicle, lives a low-key life. She has curated what she believes to be the perfect life for herself – a little less Chinese and a little more American. As a social media influencer, she even goes by the name Liv Rose. Her family, on the other hand, represents something a bit more loud, proud and Chinese. They are the infamous Chang family, responsible for throwing the biggest, annual holiday block party in the neighborhood. Their party is a celebration of Chinese American culture, which Liv finds to be over the top. She has managed to keep her family a secret until she is forced to partner with Henry (Kook), a new coworker, to cover her family’s annual celebration. Liv and Henry work closely together to capture the story behind The Changtastic Party and, in a moment of fun, almost ruin it by losing all the donations from the community. Liv’s resolve to make things right for her family and the community forces her to overcome her resistance to her heritage and open up to her followers for help; ultimately helping her find herself and true love in the process.
Shannon Chan-Kent portrays Liv. According to her bio, she recently appeared as a recurring character on the Netflix series “You,” as Iara on the Netflix series “Another Life,” and as Ruby on the ABC series “Good Trouble.” Her previous credits on TV include recurring roles on “Woke” on Hulu, “Life Sentence” on The CW, “The Crossing” on ABC, “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce” on Bravo, and “Life Unexpected” on The CW. She has also appeared as a guest on “iZombie” on The CW, “Lucifer” on FOX, and “Misfits” on the ABC pilot. In addition, she has been in many episodes of the “Gourmet Detective” franchise, which is produced by Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
Shannon Kook, who portrays Henry, was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, according to his bio. He frequently visits his relatives in Cape Town, Swaziland, and Mauritius. Kook has spent significant amounts of time living in each of these three cities. His bio shares: “his mixed ethnicity as well as experiences as an immigrant have had a strong impact on his sense of identity.”
Kook got his big break playing a leading role in “Degrassi: The Next Generation.” Since then, he has appeared in recurring roles on a number of series such as “Being Erica,” “Rookie Blue,” “The Border,” and HBO’s “Durham County.” He moved to the United States to star in “The Conjuring” film series. He made an appearance in the first two movies in the series, and then he returned for the third. He was given a pioneer award by the Reelworld Film Festival, an ACTRA Award for excellent performance in “Voice,” and he was chosen as one of TIFF’s Four Rising Stars at the Toronto International Film Festival. All of these honors came about because of his work in “Voice.”
In a Digital Journal Interview, he said “I think this film addresses identities and heritage at the same time while celebrating Christmas. It’s a beautifully balanced story.”
He also had great things to say about his co-star, Shannon Chan-Kent: “It was lovely to work with her. It was a wonderful process to share this with her. We are both Shannons.”
Jack Wagner is Charles. He’s perhaps best known among Hallmark fans for his role as Bill Avery on “When Calls the Heart.” He’s also appeared in numerous Hallmark movies, and starred as Dr. Pter Burns on “Melrose Place” in the 1990s. He recently releases his sixth full-length album.
Tia Carrere is Ivy. According to her bio, she recently starred in “Easter Sunday” opposite Jo Koy. She’s also known for her role on “Wayne’s World,” and other credits including “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Dancing with the Stars,” and more.
Also starring in the movie are:
- Harrison Sima (Andrew)
- Yee Jee Tso (Jack)
- Lillian Lim (Mrs. Lin)
- Anna Hagan (Virginia)
- Cindy Piper (Mrs. Fung)
- Larissa Bustillo (Mrs. Mendez)
- Ryan Mah (Eric)
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Where Was ‘A Big Fat Family Christmas’ Filmed? See Cast Stories & Locations