This butter-lover is going on-script.
Ree Drummond, the star of Food Network’s long-running show “The Pioneer Woman,” is trying her hand at acting: The carb-adoring “wife of a cowboy” is set to star in the first-ever Food Network-produced scripted film, “Candy Coated Christmas,” Variety reported.
“It’s been a dream of ours to do this for a long time,” Kathleen Finch, chief lifestyle brands officer for Discovery — which will air the movie on its Discovery+ network — told the publication of venturing into the realm of lighthearted holiday flicks. “Not only do we have the Discovery+ platform to put the movie on, what’s exciting is that we have giant cable networks and digital platforms that we can really use to promote the movie in a super-sized way.”
The alliterative, transparently schlocky “Candy Coated Christmas” will tell the story of a young would-be entrepreneur, played by “Last Man Standing” actress Molly McCook, whose business plans are derailed by certain circumstances, forcing her to return to her mother’s home in the twee town of Peppermint Hollow. While at mama’s crib, McCook is befriended by the village baker (Drummond in her acting debut), who introduces the failed businesswoman to the townfolk. The role was reportedly written specifically for Drummond to match her bubbly personality and buttery home-cooking techniques.
“Ree is the epitome of a female-skewing Food Network talent,” Finch said. “We put her and all these fun ideas into a pot and came up with this fun idea.”
Her first foray into the world of scripted acting was a delight, Drummond told Variety.
“‘Candy Coated Christmas’ was so much fun to be part of; it had all the magical elements that make holiday movies so special,” the 52-year-old mother of four said. “Any initial nerves I felt about joining this project completely melted away when I stepped into the sweet, charming world of Peppermint Hollow.”
The Hallmark-energy flick will co-star John McCook, Aaron O’Connell, Lee Garlington and Landry Townsend and will be executive produced by Kanner, Plager, Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew.
In addition to the feature-length film itself, both Discovery and Food Network are also planning to serve up a large slate of other holiday content for later this year.