Lifetime continues to add spice to eggnog.
In 2023, “Cowboy Christmas Romance,” written by Sarah Drew, became the first Christmas TV movie to feature sex scenes. This year, Drew wrote and executive produced another film for the network, “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime,” which was even sexier than its predecessor.
“Carpenter’s Christmas Romance,” starring Mitchell Slaggert and Sasha Pieterse, brings “a sweet-to-spicy vibe to the holiday season,” according to the annual Power of Los Angeles film. She told Variety magazine at a women’s event. “Get ready because this year has more momentum than last year. Mitchell Slaggert, he’s shirtless. He’s really perfect for this role too… He has so much heart and so much charisma on screen. And Sasha Pieterse is amazing.”
Christmas movies on TV are traditionally G-rated, but Drew knows viewers are in for a little more. “I’m that audience,” she said. “It was so exciting to see Lifetime really supporting a little new genre for the Christmas season.”
Sarah Drew and Sasha Pieterse attend the variety show ‘Power of Women’ presented by Lifetime Variety (via Getty Images)
Drew’s last Christmas movie featured an intense make-out scene and was then cut to morning. So will viewers get an actual sex scene this time?
“Yes…more than that,” Peters teased. “It’s really painful. I was shocked. That’s one of the reasons I took it. I thought, ‘This is different, this is fun.’ I think a lot of people will enjoy this, but it may come as a little surprise. Christmas movies are so comforting and so much fun, and I think everyone watches them for a reason. But it’s always exciting when there’s something different out there. We bring spices, that’s for sure. ”
The film follows novelist Andrea as she heads to her family’s farmhouse to finish her latest book. While there, she rekindles a relationship with “former lover Seth, an artisan woodworker who is helping rebuild the town that was nearly destroyed by the fire.”
Drew added that since Christmas is for everyone, “we should make a movie about Christmas for everyone.”
“There’s kind of a spicy[element]to this. They used to be in a relationship and he hurt her in the past and now they’re back together again. They’re the ones who have all kinds of insecurities. But it feels more adult,” she explained. “You know, I love hot cocoa. I love gingerbread. I love all that cozy feeling, but I also want something that I can get excited about.”
“Carpenter Christmas Romance” will air on Lifetime on December 21 at 8 p.m.
