Lifetime The Christmas Setup
Lifetime’s first holiday movie starring an LGBTQ couple in the lead premieres tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern. The Christmas Setup stars Ben Lewis, Ellen Wong, Chad Connell, Fran Drescher, and Blake Lee. But where was this movie filmed? Here’s everything you need to know about The Christmas Setup‘s filming locations.
‘The Christmas Setup’ Was Filmed in Small Towns in Canada
The Christmas Setup may take place in Milwaukee, but it was filmed in Almonte, Ontario, Canada and Mississippi Mills (Almonte is a ward of Mississippi Mills.) Interestingly, Hallmark’s Unlocking Christmas, which airs tomorrow, was also filmed in Almonte. The Christmas Setup filmed in September and October.
The movie was also filmed in Smith Falls, Ontario, and Arnprior, Ontario, and Ottawa, Inside Ottawa Valley shared.
Almonte is a preferred choice for many Christmas movies, The New York Times reported. Mel Gibson’s Fat Man was filmed in Almonte too.
Almonte is a 6,000-resident town located outside of Ottawa, Canada.
Pat Mills, director of The Christmas Setup, told The New York Times that a gingerbread-styled house facing a church was the perfect setting for one of the movie’s scenes. He said he was a little worried about how the city was used for so many Hallmark movies too, but added: “you’re not watching these movies for geographic accuracy… you watch them to feel a nice warm blanket over you.”
Inside Ottawa Valley shared that some of the specific filming locations included:
- Homes throughout Almonte
- Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario in Smith Falls
- Homes along John Street North in Arnprior
- A tree-purchasing scene was filmed in a green area between O’Brien Theatre and The Opportunity Shop
- The Glebe
Fran Drescher, who stars in the movie, told The New York Times about the location: “It looked like something out of Currier & Ives that conjures up a kind of nostalgia that reminds us of our childhood — whether we lived that life or not.”
The town, she said, had a “bygone era of a small community,” and artificial snow and Christmas decorations gave it the perfect small-town Christmas feel.
The Movie Stars a Couple Married in Real Life
The movie stars Ben Lewis and Blake Lee, who are married in real life, Inside Ottawa Valley reported. This is Lifetime’s first holiday movie with an LGBTQ main theme.
Here’s Lifetime’s synopsis for the movie:
The Christmas Setup follows the story of New York lawyer Hugo (Ben Lewis) who heads to Milwaukee with his best friend Madelyn (Ellen Wong) to spend the holidays with his brother Aiden (Chad Connell) and his mom Kate (Fran Drescher), who is also in charge of the local Christmas celebrations. Ever the matchmaker, Kate arranges for Hugo to run into Patrick (Blake Lee), Hugo’s high school friend and secret crush, who has recently returned after a successful stint in Silicon Valley. As they enjoy the local holiday festivities together, Hugo and Patrick’s attraction to each other is undeniable and it looks as though Kate’s Santa-style matchmaking is a success. But as Hugo receives word of a big promotion requiring a move to London, he must decide what is most important to him.
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