Hallmark Jolly Good Christmas
The Hallmark Channel’s newest movie, “Jolly Good Christmas,” premieres on Saturday, October 29, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. The movie stars Reshma Shetty and Will Kemp. Here are all the details on where the movie was filmed and behind-the-scenes cast stories.
‘Jolly Good Christmas’ Was Filmed in London
HallmarkJolly Good Christmas
The working title for “Jolly Good Christmas” was “Christmas in London,” and the movie was shot entirely in London in February. It features some of the city’s most famous landmarks, such as the London Bridge, and the banks of the River Thames, as seen in this Hallmark photo.
Kemp shared this selfie below taken with Shetty, writing, “So much fun filming with the lovely @reshmashetty in London!”
He also announced being part of the movie by releasing a casting sheet full of photos of his co-stars, exclaiming, “My new playfriends!”
On the second-to-last day of filming, he wrote: “Penultimate day! Have loved #filming in #London.”
He shared a photo from an ADR session and wrote: “Lots of Jolly Christmas cheer coming your way later this year.”
And on Twitter, he thanked the casting for bringing all actors together for the movie;
Reshma also posted about the movie, hyping the event for Hallmarkies this year when she said: “The season of good cheer has begun”
She sneakily announced her departure for her flight to London, before the movie was announced, by saying: “You know when your about to get on a transatlantic flight through a snow bomb Armageddon , what else can you do ?”
And then she let her fans know that she landed safely.
She did, however, suffer from jet lag.
And she was very thankful for her makeup artists.
And her hair stylists!
She posted a lot while filming: “We begin #workingmamma #missmybunnies #jetlagged”
However, she did confess that one night, she slept with her contacts left in!
But all this was very much worth the effort. She wrote later: “Last day on set . What a whirlwind . Two days off during the entire shoot.”
Filming started on February 8, 2022, and ended on February 20, according to IMDb Pro. It took a long time to produce from start to finish, but it’s well worth the effort.
Meet the Cast
Hallmark
The movie was written by Ron Oliver (“Love in the Limelight,” “A Timeless Christmas”) and directed by Jonathan Wright (“The Ron James Show,” “The Jon Dore Television Show”).
Ron Oliver confirmed he penned the script for Hallmark’s CHRISTMAS IN LONDON, set to start filming in January in the UK, but won’t direct. Jonathan Wright (CHRISTMAS CEO, CHRISTMAS NEXT DOOR) will direct the movie, which is likely to be a marquee 2022 project for Hallmark.
Sleepy Kitty Paw, an account on Twitter known for sharing accurate production and filming updates, also noted that this was a delayed 2020 movie.
CHRISTMAS IN LONDON, delayed Hallmark 2020 title, set to film in early 2022 in the UK with director Jonathan Wright.
Ron Oliver had been linked to LONDON as recently as November, so not sure if it’s a different movie, or Oliver wrote but not directing.
Hallmark’s movie synopsis reads:
David (Kemp) is an American architect who recently moved to London for a prime opportunity in a prestigious firm. With just three days before Christmas, he has yet to purchase a gift for his girlfriend, who also happens to be the boss’ daughter. While out shopping, David crosses paths with Anji (Shetty), a professional shopper, who raises an eyebrow over his choice of a gift card. When David and Anji end up crossing paths again, he decides to hire her in the hopes of finding just the right gift. Thanks to a series of unexpected events, David finds himself on a wild adventure across Jolly Old London as Anji helps him search for the perfect present.
Reshma Shetty plays Anji. According to her bio, she was in the CBS drama “Pure Genius” in a series regular role. Additional TV and film credits include recurring roles on the shows “Monarch” (FOX), “Blindspot” (NBC), “She-Ra Princess of Power” (Netflix), “Instinct” (CBS), “Odd Mom Out” (Bravo), “Happyish” (Showtime), “Madam Secretary” (CBS), “Royal Pains,” “CSI: Miami” (CBS), and “30 Rock” (NBC), as well as a co-starring role in the feature.
She is married to Deep Katdare, an actor and financier who co-starred with her in the film “Bombay Dreams.” On October 6, 2015, she gave birth to their daughter, Ariya Eliana.
Will Kemp, who is also an accomplished dancer, plays David. Ironically, he plays an American in this movie and had to change his accent for the role. According to his bio, he joined The Royal Ballet Senior Associates as well as The Royal Ballet Upper School in England. Kemp is a Fellow of the Imperial Society Teachers of Dance (FISTD).
Kemp and his wife, Gaby Jamieson, have a daughter, Thalie, and a son, Indigo. He talks about his family and the challenges of being an actor with children in this The Grace Tales article.
Also starring in the movie are:
- Callum Blue (Callum)
- Su McLaughlin (Nalini)
- James Faulkner (Simon Fitzimmons)
- Sophie Hopkins (Charlotte)
- Amerjit Deu (Sirish)
- Montana Manning (Emily)
- Sean Knopp (Ethan)
- Martin Miller (Edgar)
- Oona Kirsch (Katherine)
- Matt Ray Brown (Alan Fairlawn)
- Melanie Wilder (Deidre)
- Maryhee Yoon (Receptionist)
- Charlie Carter (Coopersmith)
- Skyla Chi Khamjani-Wilson (Coin Kid)
- Andrea Vasiliou (Jewelry Clerk)
- Gary Tushaw (Luggage Clerk)
- Clementine Woods (Ella)
- Roanna Appleby (Pub Woman)