Crown Media Ashley Williams and Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Ashley Williams and her sister, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, are finally starring in a Hallmark production together. The two sisters have wanted to join forces for some time, and the opportunity finally presented itself. Fans will be even more excited to learn that they’re not just starring in one Hallmark movie together, but a series of two Christmas movies that will be premiering in the same season.
Each Sister Will Play the Lead in One of the Two ‘Christmas at the Madison’ Movies
Ashley Williams & Kimberly Williams-Paisley wrapped filming on CHRISTMAS AT THE MADISON in Utah. And, though not allowed to discuss long-awaited Hallmark movies, the sisters were “feeling emotional” after “working really hard on something you’ll love.”
Ashley Williams and Kimberly Williams-Paisley are starring together in a series of two Christmas movies called “Christmas at the Madison” part one and two. Sean McNamara is directing both movies, according to IMDb, and Claire Boyles and Zac Hug are the writers attached to the movies.
In March, Fox 13 reported that the two movies would be filmed back-to-back in Utah in April. The movies are now listed on IMDb as being in post-production.
Production List provided more details about the movies. The synopsis for “Christmas at the Madison: Part 2: Meg” reads: “The younger sister Meg travels to Salt Lake City, Utah to help Jennifer’s restaurant staff win an annual Christmas party competition despite the conflicting opinions of the handsome but stern General Manager, John.”
The cast members listed on IMDb for the two movies include Keith D. Robinson, Mark Deklin, Jacob Buster, Anna Holbrook, Jim Byrnes, Logan Donovan, Briana Price, and more.
It appears that Hallmark may be considering a name change for the movie, based on a survey that was sent out about potentially renaming the movies around a “Sister Swap” theme.
Looks like CHRISTMAS AT THE MADISON headed for name change. Hallmark sent out surveys about “sister swap” Christmas movies, where smalltown sis heads to big city and finds love, and city sis does same in reverse. Sigh. Was really hoping Williams sisters would be together in both.
A few photos have been shared on social media by cast and crew, giving a glimpse of what to expect.
A few more pics from the end of CHRISTMAS AT THE MADISON filming from cast and crew—including Jay Hunter (t.co/ZIGK2GKknZ) & Logan Donovan (t.co/f4RVV1T7k1)—all of whom careful not to mention they’re filming CATM.
*Am not spoiling anything—they’re listed on IMDb
Here’s an on-the-set video.
The Sisters Have Wanted to Make These Movies Since 2018
The movies have been in the planning stages for quite some time. Back in 2018, International Business Times reported that the sisters were working on the two movies. Kimberly told IBT that the movies had a “really interesting concept” where each sister plays the lead in one of the two movies, and the other is the supporting actor. At the time they were considering calling the movies: “Lights, Camera, Christmas.”
Then in 2019, Ashley shared during the Christmas Con that they still planned to work on the movie, IBTimes reported.
She said about the movie: “Here’s the deal: we have this amazing idea, we have the scripts. The idea is a little outside the box. It’s a pair of movies that can be shown standalone, they can also be viewed back to back, binge style. They’re overlapping storylines, and [Kimberly’s] the lead in one movie, and I’m the lead in the second, and we play best friends and sisters.”
Kimberly and Ashley often appear in Instagram live videos together, where they catch up on their week. They share other videos on their pages throughout the week. The two sisters are very close.
Fans were excited in April when they appeared together for a video rather than meeting together live via video.
Here’s one of the videos they did together. They share these every week.
Kimberly Williams-Paisley Is Married to Country Singer Brad Paisley
Kimberly Williams-Paisley is married to country singer Brad Paisley. She’s well known for her leading role in the “Father of the Bride” series. Her many other credits include “The Christmas Chronicles” parts one and two on Netflix, “Darrow & Darrow” (Claire Darrow in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries series), “Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings,” “Two and a Half Men” (Gretchen), “Nashville” (Peggy), “According to Jim” (Dana), “The 10th Kingdom,” “Relativity” (Isabel), and more.
Ashley Williams’ many credits include the “Christmas in Evergreen” series and numerous Hallmark movies, including “Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater” from 2020, “Northern Lights of Christmas,” and more. Her other appearances include “The Jim Gaffigan Show” (Jeannie Gaffigan), “A Most Violent Year,” “CSI,” “Royal Pains,” “Warehouse 13” (Sally), “Saving Grace” (Amanda), “Novel Adventures” (Lizzie), “Side Order of Life” (Becca), “E-Ring,” “Good Morning, Miami” (Dylan), “As the World Turns” (Dani), and more. She recently directed the Lifetime movie “Circle of Deception.”