The Santa-verse is getting bigger. Season two of The Santa Clauses may have surpassed expectations with a season of inventive new story arcs. In the new season of the Tim Allen-led Disney+ comedy, we’ve already seen an expansion of the mythology behind our favorite gift-giving fella, and the addition of several new characters is a hoot. That includes Magnus Antas or Mad Santa, played to hilarious ends by Eric Stonestreet (known for Modern Family).

But for Allen, one of the greatest joys of continuing the story of Scott Calvin a.k.a. Santa Claus is working alongside his daughter Elizabeth Allen-Dick, who plays Calvin’s daughter Sandra on the hit show. With several episodes left to air before season two bows out, father and daughter took time to speak with MovieWeb about working together and the biggest appeal this season. Dive in.

Father and Daughter Allens Learning Lessons
The Santa Clauses Release Date November 16, 2022 Cast Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Kal Penn, Matilda Lawler, Eric Stonestreet, Gabriel Iglesias, Elizabeth Allen Genres Comedy, Family, Christmas Rating TV-PG Seasons 2
Tim Allen is an icon. His roles in Home Improvement, Last Man Standing, and voice talent in the Toy Story franchise have made him one of the finest comedic actors of his generation. Allen originated the role of Scott Calvin in the 1994 movie The Santa Clause, which went on to produce several sequels. Fueled by the success of season one, this season of the show finds the Calvin family back in the North Pole as Scott looks for a worthy successor.

Some surprising events in the North Pole offer an unexpected challenge to Scott’s plan, however. All of it affects the Calvin family. In addition to Allen and Allen-Dick, the show also stars Elizabeth Mitchell (Mrs. Santa), Devin Bright (Noel), Austin Kane (Cal), and Matilda Lawler (Betty). In conversation, father and daughter are playful and honest. In fact, when teased about who knew their lines better, Allen smiled as he and his daughter went back and forth on the matter as revealed in the video clip. Then Allen-Dick landed on:

“I did have days where I would just struggle and be like, ‘Oh, it’s not my day, I can’t get my lines.’ I feel like the only time [Tim Allen] would not know his lines is when he proposed an idea, he’d be like, ‘Oh, I think this is better.’ I don’t think he would get the script and be like, ‘Oh, I just don’t know my lines.’ Because for some reason I feel like he never practiced, but he always knew his lines. I don’t know how he does that.”

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She went on to say that she has learned a great deal since the series launched and that she has appreciated some of the wisdom her father imparted, which revolved around adding value to the character one plays. “Even though you’re reading lines and saying something that someone else wrote, you’re making it your own and putting in like emotion to it,” she explained. “And also, one of the most important things he did was let me figure it out. We were on set, and he wasn’t constantly coming over and being like, ‘Okay, you have to do this.’ He really let me figure it out and find out what was best for me, which was really important.”

Tim Allen On Working With His Daughter
Disney+

On the screen, Tim Allen and Elizabeth Allen-Dick generate great chemistry. There’s a unique familiarity there, of course, and this season in particular, it’s nice to see the series give its younger stars — Allen-Dick’s Sandra and Austin Kane’s Cal — more time to shine. When asked what is the best thing about working with his daughter, Allen is candid:

“They’re almost combined elements. She has a natural respect for the people who actually do all the work — writers, crew, everybody behind this, and it was natural that way. She showed up on time, did what she was told, she didn’t think of herself as being special because she was related to me, and she earned everything she had.”

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Allen noted that every now and then Allen-Dick would also bring something new to the creative table, which impressed him. “I always tell her anytime you can, even if it’s called an improvisation, add some value… They’ll tell you if it doesn’t work, but just add value to everything that you do. She’s quite authentic that way.”

Related: The Santa Clauses Director Jason Winer Says The Godfather Part II Inspired Season 2

Allen went on to say he was continually surprised by his daughter’s professionalism and that there’s “nothing like it” when it comes to sharing scenes with her. “I was in a scene with her when [her character] was very sad about leaving the North Pole. And it was an emotional scene anyway. Then I’m looking at my daughter’s eyes, and it was very easy to be emotional. And one of my buddies was taking pictures at the time, he said, ‘That was really sincere.’ I kept the picture.”

Expanding The Santa-Verse

With season two nearing its endpoint, and the mystery of Mad Santa playing out — and how that may affect The Calvin Family and future storylines — Allen is optimistic about the tenure of the series, in general, and expresses his greatest hope for the series.

“I’m a sci-fi guy and I like high-concept films that make sense,” he said, “and there’s a lot of things in the first Santa Clause [film] that people online go, ‘Why didn’t they do this and how come this didn’t happen?’ And we answered almost all of them. Where he [Cal] came from, what happened to that guy that slid off the roof at the very beginning. We add all this lineage. We tie it all up, and that allows us to open it up even more.

“Once we found the spiritual side of Christmas, which is a religious holiday, and where that came from, we didn’t trumpet it, but we had to expand on the spiritual side,” he went on. “And you’re going to find out more about how special it is that Scott Calvin and Elizabeth had kids at the North Pole.”

The Santa Clauses is streaming on Disney+.