Lifetime to Launch Holiday Movie Starring an Asian American Family
In just a few months, watching Holiday movies will be everyone’s favorite source of entertainment. Lifetime recently greenlighted two major movie projects including A Sugar & Spice Holiday, which features an Asian American family.
For the first time, Lifetime channel will release a holiday movie that revolves around a Chinese-American family. The movie is spearheaded by three Asian women: Chinese Canadian director Jennifer Liao who has directed numerous episodes of crime drama Blood and Water. The script was written by Eirene Donohue, who is Vietnamese-American and casting director Judy Lee.
Lifetime has cast Jacky Lai (V-Wars) and Tony Giroux (Motherland: Fort Salem) as the leads for its first Asian American-centric holiday movie. The movie will also star Tzi Ma as Mimi(Lai)’s Father.
About the Movie
The film entitled A Sugar & Spice Holiday tells the story of a newbie architect, Suzie, who returns to Maine after her grandmother passed away. When she goes back to her home, she is forced into joining a gingerbread house competition to follow the footsteps of her grandma, and so she searches for the ultimate recipe to win the local competition. To find the perfect recipe, she must figure out the best mix of sugar and spice, and during her search, she may even find some love.
According to A&E Networks representative Kringtine Tiongco, “this is the first time we will see the lead character in an environment that leans into her family and customs and traditions as they are adapted into the holidays.”
Lifetime is currently working with the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment or CAPE which advocates for diversity by connecting, empowering, and educating Pacific Islanders and Asian American artists and leaders in media.
Rising Racism in the US
The film comes at a perfect timing when negative sentiments and racism towards Asian Americans are rising in the US. Since the virus spread from Wuhan, China, people have started to report discriminatory behavior towards Asians. Even Trump used terms such as “Kung Flu” and “China virus” when referring to COVID-19, which perpetuated the stigma.
Aside from this Asian-American centered movie, Lifetime will also be producing an LGBTQ love story entitled The Christmas Setup which follows the story of a lawyer who gets set up with his secret high school crush, Patrick. Both movies are part of the “It’s A Wonderful Lifetime” holiday series, which includes 30 new movies this year that will begin to show on October 23 through Christmas.