HGTV/ DISCOVERY+ Jessica Szohr, Hilary Farr and Marco Grazzini star in “Designing Christmas.”
HGTV viewers will finally get to see Hilary Farr’s return to acting when her new holiday feature makes its linear television debut. The network announced in a press release that “Designing Christmas” premieres on HGTV on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times. It has been able to stream on discovery+ since November 11, 2022.
The “Love It or List It” host stars alongside “Gossip Girl” alum Jessica Szohr and “Virgin River” actor Marco Grazzini.
“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,” as HGTV described in a press release. “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.”
“Designing Christmas” is one of HGTV’s first two forays into scripted holiday content. This year’s other film is “A Christmas Open House,” featuring Ben and Erin Napier. According to a discovery+ press release, the network is following in the footsteps of the Food Network which released its first holiday feature in 2021.
Hilary Farr Admitted She Was Hesitant to Return to Acting
Ahead of “Designing Christmas” premiering on discovery+, Farr told PopCulture.com that her return to acting was “unexpected” but “wonderful.”
“I did hesitate when I was first asked,” the “Tough Love” host told PopCulture.com. Farr quipped to the outlet, “First of all, I haven’t had to learn lines in 1,000 years.”
She had a short-lived acting career, with 15 acting credits on IMDb. One of Farr’s previous roles was that of bride Betty Munroe in the cult classic, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
But as she admitted to PopCulture.com, the film’s production team won her over.
“HGTV is such a comfortable place for people to be. It’s aspirational, but it’s also comfortable,” Farr told the publication. “Very cleverly, [‘Designing Christmas’ is] still within the ambiance and arena that is HGTV. …It isn’t saccharine sweet in any way, it just feels true and real.”
‘Designing Christmas’ Viewers Noticed ‘Parallels’ to Hilary Farr’s Dynamic With Her ‘Love It or List It’ Co-Star David Visentin
Some fans noticed similarities between the “Designing Christmas” characters and Farr’s real-life dynamic with her “Love It or List It” co-star David Visentin.
“Is this your way of telling us you’re in love with David? It’s okay, we’d all be here for that!” one follower commented on her November 10, 2022, Instagram post.
The movie currently has 6 out of 10 stars on IMDb. In a 10-star user review, one viewer called the movie “an hour and a half long confession” of Farr’s feelings for her Visentin.
Though, notably, Farr did not write the film. The screenplay was helmed by Michael J. Murray.
As the IMDb user explained, the “Love It or List It” costars have an on-screen chemistry that has long sparked rumors of a real-life romance.
Calling out the “parallels,” the IMDb review read, “Now this movie comes out about a designer who falls in love with a contractor on an HGTV style show called Home Sweet Home which has a logo that’s strikingly similar to her shows logo. Also in the beginning of the movie they use Stella’s house in the show… which literally happened in real life.”
Unfortunately for anyone holding out hope for their romance, Visentin is a married man. Country Living reports that the realtor shares a son with his wife Krista. The couple has been married since 2006.
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