By: Kat Harlton
All Media Courtesy of Crown Media United States LLC
Ashley Newbrough (“Snowmance,” “You May Now Kill the Bride”) and Kristoffer Polaha (“Pearl in Paradise,” “Ballers”) star in “Small Town Christmas” a new original premiering Sunday, December 16, (9p.m. ET/PT) as part of the network’s annual “Miracles of Christmas”.
About The Movie:
Nell (Newbrough) isn’t thrilled about reading Small Town Christmas at Springdale’s PaigeTurner Books, owned by her former New York co-worker Emmett (Polaha). Not only did he dazzle her with tales of his idyllic hometown, upon which she based her bestseller, but also he stood her up on their first date. In fact, Emmett quit his job and left his career with no explanation. Sharing a rental car into Springdale, Nell and Brad (Preston Vanderslice), a land developer hoping to modernize the town, pull up to the hotel. After an awkward chat with Nell, Emmett leaves dejectedly, assuming she’s with Brad.
The next day, he shows Nell his quaint bookstore, and introduces her to his employee as a “former acquaintance.” Stung, Nell wanders into town and meets a little girl, who she later learns is Emmett’s niece. He’d written a letter about his sister Paige’s tragic death, and how he was her child’s guardian, but Nell never got the letter. Seeing Emmett in a new light, Nell falls for him, until she learns he’s caved in with the rest of the locals to allow Brad to buy all the town’s property and upgrade it into a tourist destination. Unable to bear seeing the destruction of Springdale’s charm, Nell decides to leave, wondering if the man she’d romanticized in her book was just fiction all along.
“Small Town Christmas” is a Hometown Productions, Inc. film. Bruce D. Johnson and Timothy O. Johnson are the executive producers. Navid Soofi is the producer. Maclain Nelson directs from the screenplay by Samantha Herman, based on a story by Bruce Johnson.
