Hallmark’s latest scripted series gives viewers multi-cultural, multi-generational, and heart. New to its annual Countdown to Christmas lineup, Holidazed, a Hallmark+ eight-episode series, follows six families from different backgrounds living in the same cul-de-sac as they gather for the holiday season. Despite their own individual and family challenges, they quickly learn one thing unites them all: love.

Ahead of the series premiere, Collider spoke with three of the show’s stars, Holland Roland, Noemi Gonzalez, and Erin Cahill. All agree that what makes the show special is the focus on neighbors.

Why the Actresses Say ‘Holidazed’ Is a Standout
Hallmark is known for having heartwarming stories. But Holidazed takes it to the next level.

COLLIDER: So Holland, I’ll start with you. You guys are making history. This is a part of the first batch of Hallmark Christmas series that’s coming out. So how significant is this for you guys to be a part of the inaugural introduction to this?

HOLLAND RODEN: It starts with our show owner Regina Matthews. She had this vision of creating this. I’ve never personally seen a cul-de-sac of families at Christmas. Someone made a great point earlier saying about it’s with your neighbors and thinking about your neighbors at Christmas and what everyone’s going through. And every family’s vibe is a real unique touch to the series and makes it not only a heartwarming series, but a really funny series.

I mean, you’ve got this Chevy Chase vibe, you’ve got family separated, you’ve got families that are big chefs, you’ve got families that overdo Christmas decorations, you’ve got a little bit of everything, which I think every person that watches holidays can relate to.

COLLIDER: I think one of the things that I like that you touched on is that it does center on the Situation with your neighbors, which I feel like is lost a lot in the world that we live in. Most people work remotely, so what do I need to go outside for? I can do anything on the internet. I can get my groceries from Instacart. I could pay someone to put out the decorations, but this really centers on community. So tell us about how that plays out in this series.

NOEMI GONZALEZ: Well, community really starts on the cul-de-sac, and the fact that each house has a family that is a different background. So how we are in our strengths and our uniqueness and how we interact with each other while we transpire the holiday season is just really magical to be a part of this for Hallmark and Hallmark Plus specifically, because it just really is making it more about that human spirit that we all go through when we’re wrapping up our year, and then we have the family vibe, and it goes from being individual and nucleus and just the home to just a little more outside your bubble – and then and how much richer you can be when you do that. So it’s really an honor definitely to be one of these neighbors and to be interacting with – the Jewish household, the Asian household, the Italian, Irish…

You know, it’s just really nice to have all of these different elements because it really creates a beautiful, kind of like a web of community there.

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ERIN CAHILL: And I think what’s so special about our show is everyone will see themselves in one way or another. And for me, with reading the scripts and then I got to be on set, I was shadowing and I got so fortunate to watch some of the filming and it was magic watching these guys work, not just working with them, it was insanely amazing, but to get to see, I love that you see yourself in different people you wouldn’t expect to see yourself in. And it just goes to show what Holland said earlier is that we are more alike than we are different.

I just thought that was the perfect phrase for this show. Everyone’s gonna be able to say, ‘Oh my gosh, I do that too,’ or ‘Oh my gosh, that’s my family too.’

Working With Legends on ‘Holidazed’ Was an Added Treat
The show also stars veteran actors like Dennis Hayslett, Loretta Devine, and John C. McGinley

COLLIDER: Yeah, and touching on the whole idea of diversity, we have neighbors from different backgrounds, different religions, and it’s basically just a mirror of the world that we live in. So Erin, I also wanted to ask, this cast is star studded. You guys have some heavy hitters, you have Loretta Devine, Dennis Hayslett. So what was it like working on set with such legends?

ROLAND: Dennis was the best dressed man on and off camera!

CAHILL: And he, I mean the voice, and he smells so good.

ROLAND: He always smells good. Dennis smells so good.

CAHILL: My favorite, I always tell the story about Dennis is we would all be in the hair and makeup trailer and it mostly like the girls were together talking. Dennis would come in and he’d be like, ‘Good morning ladies.’ And everybody would just be quiet and go ‘Hi Dennis.’ And then he would leave and I’m sure he was just like a cackle of laughter and the best dresser.

ROLAND: I pinched myself and I was like, ‘Who are my parents? Where did they come from?’

CAHILL: And I’m opposite Ian Harding, who’s like a dream. All 87 cast members.

GONZALEZ: Let me tell you, Miss Loretta Devine though, as soon as you heard that timber in her voice. She takes care of everyone. And I did get to meet her formally, so I was like, ‘May I call you Miss Loretta,’because there’s no way I was just going to be casual and just call her by her first name. But we had a scene together that I was so hyped about and all of this momentousness. And then things changed and I was like, ‘Nooooo.’ But it was wonderful all the same that we all in some way got to work together because of the format of the show. But you could always feel those legends that have had so much experience before they even come on set. And then when you’re in it with them, like there’s just another kinetic energy that you get to all really play and enjoy.

Season 2 Could Provide Expanded Stories and Cast Members
Holidazed ends with a cliffhanger of sorts. What does this mean for another season?

COLLIDER: Now we’re gonna speak things into existence and say there’s going to be a season 2. What would you guys like to see as far as moving forward with the show without giving too much?

ROLAND: I’m sure there’s gonna be some expansion to the cast in a juvenile way.

GONZALEZ: More babies, yeah.

ROLAND: I’m sure that would be maybe on the horizon….I’m wondering what Gina has in store. I am a true actor if I just looked to the right, I’m like, ‘What’s happening next?’

GONAZLEZ: I would like for the ones that had the romantic potential storylines, I would like to see it become more about friends and family. Our dynamic with Holland and I, it was the first time you’re seeing friends going through the holidays in a way that was different than the romantic Love Actually or Christmas rom-coms that you might see. So I’d love to see a switch on that, a script switch a little bit.

CAHILL: I love that. And just the way they wove everything together and at the end, how we all came together, I’d be so curious to see how they do it again.

COLLIDER: OK, so if you had to make an analogy between this show and a Christmas treat, what would it be?

ROLLAND: I think the turtle bars. Like the Chex Mix, chocolate chip, marshmallow one.

COLLIDER: That’s a diverse treat too.

ROLLAND: Chex muddies. I love Chex muddies. It’s the Chex Mix with powdered sugar and chocolate. It’s those that you put into the turtle bar.

GONZALEZ: I was just thinking a holiday potluck.

COLLIDER: I was about to ask you because there’s such a diverse cast, was there a potluck on set?

GONZALEZ: I play a chef on the series. Food is a big aspect of the show.

ROLLAND: It’s a huge theme in this. I eat more in this scene. Out set director is named Pineapple, no pun intended. I was like, ‘I’m so sorry, Pineapple. I have to eat something else.’ The amount of food I had. I’m never going to put Brad Pitt in the same sentence, but like I ate more than Brad Pitt does in a movie. It was fun though. The kind of food scenes we have together are are really a part of the script and part of the scene.

COLLIDER: And then tell us about some of the behind the scene relationships. How did your interaction on screen transfer off screen?

CAHILL: Well, Gina and Grant were so great. Gina in particular, she got us all together and cooked for us. Our showrunner, actually [made] like Italian proper like meatballs and spaghetti sauce.

GONZALEZ: We had a wonderful moment and the fact that we got together, rehearsed it beforehand, that was really, really cool and a wonderful, raw performance out of it.

ROLLAND: We were like, ‘Should we do this? Should we pitch this to the people? And they were like. ‘Actually yes, we like it. We’ll keep it.’

GONZALEZ: It was better to give more and strip it down.

COLLIDER: And then filming a project like this, I would imagine as someone who’s like a Christmas crazy and my theme is always like Christmas 364, it’s not just the one day of the year. How do you transfer that outside of filming? Hallmark actors are recycled into these films and these projects, so you can kind of feel like you’re in this Christmas bubble, but obviously you go back home. So how do you take the joy from filming and the heart of what you’ve experienced into your everyday life?

GONZALEZ: Well, I love that Hallmark has three core things. I know joy is a major one, connection, heart, charity. So going from the specific Christmas element to just holiday, end of the season, those three things kind of make sure that I have my time to give for the storytelling, for production, but then I make sure I have my Christmas. I make sure I make sure that I serve my cup as well, so that I can really continue to give it all year round when we’re filming in July.

ROLLAND: I would just say the theme of neighbors is just such a big thing that I haven’t seen in a while, aside from the movie Neighbors, we were the first holiday neighbor movie I can really think of made in a long time.

Stream Holidazed on Hallmark+

Holidazed Release Date November 14, 2024 Main Genre Comedy Seasons 1

Stream on Hallmark+