Emmy-nominated actress Sharon Lawrence (“NYPD Blue”) chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos about starring in “The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls” on the Hallmark Channel.
Lawrence stars in “The Christmas House 2” alongside such actors as Robert Buckley (“One Tree Hill”), Jonathan Bennett (“Mean Girls”), Treat Williams (“Chesapeake Shores”), and Brad Harder (“Aurora Teagarden Mysteries”).
“The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls” is a new original movie that premieres on Saturday, December 18 on the Hallmark Channel as part of the network’s “Countdown to Christmas” programming event. “This is not just a gay love story but a family who has always embraced their sons, and the love that they taught them in their lives,” she said. “That is a wonderful reflection of so many families that have never had anything but love and acceptance for their children and the love that their children have found.”
“Reprising my role as Phylis was easy as pie,” she said with a sweet laugh. “It was such a joy because we feel like a family even more now a year later than we did before. We stayed in touch on a family text. Some of the stars, Treat and Robert, are on the same series ‘Chesapeake Shores’ for Hallmark, and I recently had Jonathan Bennett and his fiance over for dinner and they helped us pick persimmons from our tree. We have deep roots that are real and even stronger now.”
Director R.C. Newey directed from a screenplay written by Erin Rodman, which is based on the characters created by Robert Buckley and Erin Rodman. “We feel so lucky that Hallmark and the audiences are letting us visit with this family again,” she said. “We are now in territory that allows us a different level of entertainment value, which is really fun. There is so much good comic chemistry between all of us and heartfelt wisdom.”
Synopsis of ‘The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls’
For the last two years, Mike (Robert Buckley) and Andi (Ana Ayora) have been settling into their home. Phylis (Sharon Lawrence) and Bill (Williams) have eased into retirement and rediscovered the joy in their marriage.
Mike’s brother Brandon (Jonathan Bennett) and his husband Jake (Brad Harder) are on the wild adventure that is being parents to two young children. The entire Mitchell family agrees to meet again for Christmas in the quaint town of Rhinebeck, New York.
All is going according to plan for a relaxing holiday until Mike is asked to participate in a celebrity home decorating reality TV show. After some convincing from everyone else, Mike is excited to share the famed Christmas House with the world. When Mike’s opponent in the competition drops out at the last minute, Brandon (Jonathan Bennett) is tasked with rivaling to make for an epic, brother versus brother Christmas
decorating showdown.
Will this competition bring lots of love and joy for the Mitchell family or will it only bring mayhem?
“Working with Brad Harder was so lovely,” she said. “Brad brings an understanding and a truth to what it means to raise babies right now. He is just a really grounded presence and a grounded actor and that’s a good balance for the freedom and larger-than-life aspect that Jonathan brings to his character, and they make a couple that a lot of us recognize.”
To learn more about “The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls,” visit the official Hallmark website.
For her fans, she said about “The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls,” “We all keep growing, there is always another chapter.”
‘Joe Pickett’
Lawrence is excited about “Joe Pickett,” which premieres on December 6 on Spectrum Originals. “It’s based on a best-selling novel series,” she said.
She plays the role of Missy. “I play a really beloved character and it is interesting to recognize that I keep getting great challenges and I am so happy and grateful for that,” she said.
‘The Gaze’
In the digital series “The Gaze,” Lawrence plays Miranda Cryer, their fearless leader, and director opposite Galen J. Williams, who plays Jerome Price. “I am so grateful that I was trusted with that role,” she said. “I learned so much about so many things.”
The show, written and created by Larry Powell, earned a total of two Daytime Emmy nominations: “Outstanding Multiple Camera Editing for a Drama or Daytime Fiction Program” for editor Joey Scoma, and for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Fiction Program” for Lawrence. “The Emmy nomination meant a lot,” she said, graciously.
Angelica Robinson served as an executive producer for “The Gaze” and she chatted with Larry Powell to Digital Journal about the Emmy-nominated series. “We had a wonderful team, and a wonderful creative experience. They were just masterful in the way they adapted everything and they built on that. I have such a respect and affection for them,” she said, praising Powell and Robinson.
The series was honored with a Webby Award for “Diversity and Inclusion” and it won for “Outstanding Comedic Digital Series” at the Micheaux Film Festival.
To learn more about “The Gaze,” check out its IMDb page, its official website, and its Facebook page.
Read More: This past summer, Digital Journal’s Markos Papadatos chatted with Sharon Lawrence about the digital series “The Gaze.”
