For the first time, Lifetime will be releasing a holiday movie that centers an Chinese-American family.
“A Sugar & Spice Holiday” focuses on an up and coming architect named Suzie who returns to her hometown in Maine after the death of her grandmother. Upon her return, she is guilted into entering the local gingerbread house competition with an old high school friend named Billy. Suzie searches for the perfect recipe to win the competition, and she may also find love along the way.
The script for “A Sugar & Spice Holiday” will be written by Eirene Donohue and directed by Jennifer Liao, who has directed several episodes of the OMNI TV crime drama Blood and Water.
“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,” Kristine Tiongco, a representative for A&E Networks, said in an email. “In this case, the writer, Eirene Donohue, who is Vietnamese American pitched the story of an Asian American family and we loved it.”
The team is in the process of completing casting and are set to begin production this month.
The network will also be releasing “The Christmas Set Up," which, for the first time, centers an LGBTQ love story between characters Hugo and Patrick on a trip home for the holidays. In a press release, Lifetime said that the holidays are for "everyone" and this year the network will put extra emphasis on diverse storytelling.
This year “It's a Wonderful Lifetime" will feature 30 new movies that will air from mid-October to December.