"Desperate Housewives" Stars Teri Hatcher and James Denton Reunite in "A Kiss Before Christmas"

When she signed onto the project at Denton39s invitation Hatcher had an inkling news of the two working together again might spark some interest just not how much quotI definitely thought this would be a big deal for the serious Desperate Housewives fansquot she admitted quotI feel they were gipped out of a happy ending for Susan and Mike I was mindful of the idea that those fans might like to see us together aliveamp160and well playing different characters yet still able to sort of vicariously live through this movie a sort of happy ending they could enjoy Thatamp160was our intention But with that said I think the reaction seems to be bigger than even I anticipatedquotquotIt39s been pretty amazingquot concurred Denton quotI came to Teri with this idea because I wanted to do it with her The female lead role in this movie is very taxing She plays two very different sides to this character and I wanted it to be somebody that I trusted and knew could really act I hoped we would get some attention as well but really I just wanted her as an actress so all the attention has been a great fringe benefitquotIn the film executive produced by him and based on his idea Denton portrays real estate developer Ethan Holt a happily married father of two adopted children who is at a career and life crossroads Despite his good fortune he finds himself pondering what his life trajectory might have beenamp160had he not encountered his wife Joyce Hatcher in an elevator 20 years prior Thanks to an unexpected encounter with a mysterious wishgranting Santa figure he need wonder no more and finds himself immersed in an alternate universe where he39s successful single and childless and Joyce is his worst enemy As the Christmas clock counts down Ethan must gain Joyce39s trust before he completely losesamp160his old lifeamp160and his memories of itThere39s a line in the film where Denton as Ethan admits to Joyce quotI need someone I can trustquot and the irony of life imitating art when asking Hatcher to join him on the project wasn39t lost quotIt39s funnyquot Denton mused quotThere was one emotional scene in particular for my character where I was struggling to get it right Teri and I talked about how much our history helps along with our chemistry and comfort level so thank God I was working with her because she was able to tell me exactly what I needed and almost kind of coach me through it as a friend It worked great You don39t get that with a lot of other actors Having that comfort level amp8230 it39s very valuable and hugequotAccepting the offer to costar with Denton Hatcher saysamp160was a rare and almost instant yes quotI love to work but I feel blessed to be in a position where I can pick what I want to be involved inquot she reflected quotI like to be challenged work in good situations and put out entertainment I feel is meaningful So this was an obvious very quickamp160yes The combination of a happy Christmas movie working with James and reuniting for the Desperate Housewives fans was a pretty great full bucket of reasons to do thisquotquotI don39t know how I would have done it without Teriquot added Denton quotWhen I brought the idea to Hallmark the writer Mark Amato and I sat down and tried to devise something ageappropriate Most Hallmark leads are in their 30s and for a guy at my point in life this was perfect But I actually said 39If we don39t get Teri I don39t want to do it39amp160We might have tried to keep it going but my first thought was if she says 39no39 we need to go to another scriptquotGiven the movie39s quotwhat ifquot theme both actors admitted to reflecting on the choices that led them to Hallmark in 2021 and how had they not made the decision to do Desperate Housewives years ago A Kiss Before Christmas wouldn39t exist quotWe did think about thatquot Denton shared quotI39d done a few shows for ABC that didn39t go I was starting to think 39This isn39t working39amp160There was no Marc Cherry who I believe brought scripted drama back at the time Who Wants to Be a Millionaire aired four nights a week I thought Desperate Housewives might be a reality show but thank God my manager talked me into doing it I was so close to saying 39No I39m tired of shows getting canceled39amp160Teri and I talked about this while shooting the pilot and how we hoped people would watchquotquotI felt different in that I thought it was one of the best pilot scripts I39damp160ever readquot added Hatcher quotI loved the Susan character and all the characters so I didn39t have any doubt about wanting to be a part of it That said there are a lot of good pilots that get made and for whatever reason don39t get put in the right time slot or on at all There39s more than just having a good script for something to come together and take off I am so lucky that we did it and so lucky we met and worked perfectly together from the beginningquotA Kiss Before Christmas is destined to become a holiday classic and makes a wonderful addition to the extensive body of workamp160Denton has already done for Hallmark under his current contract quotI have one more movie in my original dealquot he explained quotI39ll probably do that this spring Ideas for it are being bounced around But we both think there39s a sequel in this I mean there39s a Joyce character at the end of the movie that should be exploredquotFor Hatcher who is makingamp160her Hallmark Christmas movie debut should a sequel or something equally as enticing present itself it39s another yes quotI would definitely do a sequel to this moviequot she said quotI was the only person in the world who wasn39t awareamp160of the entire Christmas extravaganza that happens at Hallmark every year But now that I39m part of the family I39m very aware I39ve also been baking cookies with Hallmark Christmas movies in the backgroundquotI like the idea of James and I getting to do something for them maybe once a yearquot she added in closing quotIt would be really fun if we can figure that out They are really lovely to their actors and seem to care a lot about their viewers so I39m having a good time with my initial foray into the Hallmark worldquotA Kiss Before Christmasamp160will be telecast Sunday November 21 atamp1608 pm on Hallmark Channel as part of their annual Countdown to Christmas programming eventClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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"Desperate Housewives" Stars Teri Hatcher and James Denton Reunite in "A Kiss Before Christmas"

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"Desperate Housewives" Stars Teri Hatcher and James Denton Reunite in "A Kiss Before Christmas"

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