The Hallmark Channel’s newest movie, “My Southern Family Christmas,” premieres on Thursday November 24, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. The movie stars Jaicy Elliot, Ryan Rottman, Moira Kelly and Bruce Campbell.
‘My Southern Family Christmas’ Was Filmed in Ascension Parish, Louisiana
“My Southern Family Christmas” was filmed on location in Louisiana. Many Hallmark movies are shot in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, with many Canadian locations doubling as locations in the U.S. But when it comes to depicting places like Baton Rouge, there are no other locations that can match it.
According to Weekly Citizen, the movie was partially shot in Sorrento, a town in Ascension Parish, which is also mentioned in the movie’s sneak peek.
IMDB Pro also mentions that the movie was shot “outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana in a little shopping area called the Cajun Village.” This was confirmed when BRProud.com reported that filming was happening from Wednesday, September 21 to Friday, September 23.
Executive producer Daniel Lewis told BRProud that “the Roberts and all of the vendors as well as the community of Sorrento have been very supportive.”
According to Lewis: “most of the crew members are from Louisiana as well as a few of the cast members.”
Another picture of the filming location is shared in the Gonzales Weekly Citizen’s article, where they said that the filming location was “nestled at the corner of Hwy. 22 and Hwy. 70.”
Katie Pryor, executive director of the Baton Rouge Film Commission, told WAFB that in the Greater Baton Rouge area, more than $200 million has been spent making movies in the last five years. She said she hopes the trends continue into next year.
A Facebook Fanpage of Moira Kelly also posted this series of pictures from the movie.
Bruce Campbell also shared his excitement for the movie.
Meet the Cast
Hallmark’s synopsis reads:
Under the guise of a journalist writing a story about a tight-knit community that makes Christmas special, Campbell (Elliot) has a chance to get to know her biological father Everett (Campbell) for the first time—without him ever knowing who she really is. As she spends time with him and his family, as well as Jackson (Rottman), the town’s record keeper, she realizes that families are messy, wonderful things. In the end, Campbell must decide if she’s going to keep her identity a secret or reveal the truth to her father – a decision that will change their family Christmas forever.
Jaicy Elliot plays Campbell. According to her bio, she was born in the city of Grenoble in France, but at 21 she went to the United States. Because her father was a visual artist, her parents instilled in both her and her sister a strong appreciation for the creative process. At the age of 15, Elliot gave an audition for the theatrical group Upstage, which led to the beginning of her career. Following that, she was cast in her first supporting part, as Hal, in the film “The Lady Killers.”
On September 26, she teased the hallmark movie with this Instagram picture, writing, “Belcome Wack #hallmarkchristmas”
In an interview with Channel Guide Mag, when asked about the different jobs she had when she arrived in the United States, she said: ”It’s a little bit of a cliché, but I was a waitress for a very long time. I will say, altogether, for about 10 years.”
Ryan Rottman is Jackson. His recently starred in “Billionaire Boys Club,” according to his bio. Before that, Rottman had starring roles in the TV series “Guidance” on Awesomeness TV and “Happyland” on MTV. In addition, he appeared in episodes of major shows such as “The Lying Game” on ABC Family and “90210” on The CW, and he starred in the drama series “Gigantic” on TeenNick. Other notable credits include regular parts on ABC’s “The Middle” and CBS’s “Viva Laughlin,” as well as a role in the film “The House Bunny” produced by Columbia Pictures. The most recent Hallmark movie projects that he has worked on include “Christmas Wonderland.”
Back in August, he posted this hilarious (albeit pretty gory) video about the Predator movie.
Bruce Campbell plays Everett. According to his bio, he was most recently seen reconnecting with Sam Raimi in Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” The film was produced by Campbell. In addition, he co-starred with Peter Gallagher in the Hallmark movie “One December Night.” He also co-starred with Michael Jai White in the independent thriller “Black Friday.” Campbell’s recognizable voice may be heard in the role of Richard Nixon in “18 1/2,” an indie film directed by Dan Mirvish and starring Richard Kind and John Cryer. Campbell is now producing the next installment in the “Evil Dead” franchise, which is titled “Evil Dead Rise.”
Last month, he shared a tweet of his son dancing as his father, as a Fortnite character.
Moira Kelly takes on the role of Jennifer in the movie. She has been acting more than 30 years, according to her bio. After appearing in a few episodes of “The West Wing,” Kelly rose in popularity for her role as Karen Roe on “One Tree Hill.” In addition, she has had roles in the TV shows “Law & Order,” “Heroes,” and “The Resident.” She also starred in a recent season of the Amazon series “Panic,” along with in the new Amazon series “Citadel.”
Also starring in the movie are:
- Anniston Almond (Amelia)
- Adeleine Jubilee Whittle (Mary Margaret)
- Katie Hughey (Sarah Wallace)
- Gralen Banks (Mayor Thomas)
- Samantha Smith (Mary)
- Sarah Fisher (Journalist #1)
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Where Was ‘My Southern Family Christmas’ Filmed? See Cast Stories & Locations