Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas | |
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Genre | Comedy |
Written by | |
Directed by | Christie Will Wolf |
Starring | |
Music by | Steve Dorff |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producer | Larry A. Thompson |
Producers |
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Cinematography | Robert Hayes |
Editor | Misty Talley |
Running time | 85 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Lifetime |
Release | December 2, 2023 [1] |
Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas is a 2023 American Christmas comedy television film directed by Christie Will Wolf, written by James Berg and Stan Zimmerman, and executive-produced by Larry A. Thompson. It stars Loni Anderson, Morgan Fairchild, Linda Gray, Donna Mills and Nicollette Sheridan as five glamorous soap opera divas as they reunite to shoot the final Christmas episode of their long-running former (fictional) series, The Great Lakes. [2] The supporting cast includes Travis Burns and Taylor Ann Thompson as producer and soap director, Christopher Atkins, Patrika Darbo, Alec Mapa and Donna Mills' daughter, Chloe Mills.
It premiered on Lifetime as a part of It’s a Wonderful Lifetime holiday movie slate on December 2, 2023.
The film was executive produced by Larry A. Thompson and written by James Berg and Stan Zimmerman. It was directed by Christie Will Wolf and filmed in Los Angeles in 2023. [4] Loni Anderson, Morgan Fairchild, Linda Gray, Donna Mills and Nicollette Sheridan was cast as a lead characters in the movie. Travis Burns, Taylor Ann Thompson, Christopher Atkins, Patrika Darbo, Alec Mapa and Chloe Mills round out the cast. [4] [5] The film's theme song "Ladies of the 80's" was written by Steve Dorff and Michael Jay and is performed by 80's pop singer Tiffany. [4] [6] First-look photos were released on October 3, 2023. [7] [8] [1] The official trailer was released on November 8, 2023. [9]
Mills and Sheridan worked together on Knots Landing and Fairchild and Sheridan were both in Paper Dolls . [10] Christopher Atkins appeared with Gray on Dallas .
The film received positive reviews from critics. [11] [12] Jasmine Blu from TV Fanatic praised the performances and the production overall writing: "No one can quite deliver like veteran actresses, and there wasn't a single moment of this film that wasn't delightful." [13]
Vivica Anjanetta Fox is an American actress, producer and television host. Fox began her career on Soul Train (1982–1983) and played roles on the daytime television soap operas Days of Our Lives (1988) and Generations (1989–1992). In prime time she starred opposite Patti LaBelle in the NBC sitcom Out All Night (1992–1993). Fox's breakthrough came in 1996, with roles in two box-office hit films, Roland Emmerich's Independence Day and F. Gary Gray's Set It Off.
Morgan Fairchild is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series ever since.
Deborah Ann "Debbi" Morgan is an American film and television actress. Morgan has appeared in a number of film and TV productions, and may be best known for the role of Angie Baxter–Hubbard on the ABC soap opera All My Children.
Loni Anderson is an American actress. She played receptionist Jennifer Marlowe on the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982), which earned her three Golden Globe Awards and two Emmy Award nominations.
Paper Dolls is an American primetime television soap opera that aired for 14 episodes on ABC from September 23 to December 25, 1984. Set in New York's fashion industry, the show centered on top modeling agency owner Racine, her conflicts with the family of cosmetics tycoon Grant Harper, and the careers of two teenaged models. The series was based on a 1982 television film of the same name. The show suffered in the ratings, despite positive reviews, and was cancelled midway through the first season.
Linda Ann Gray is an American film, stage and television actress, director, producer and former model, best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing, the long-suffering wife of Larry Hagman's character J.R. Ewing on the CBS television drama series Dallas. The role also earned her a nomination for the 1981 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series as well as two Golden Globe Awards nominations.
Donna Gail Pescow is an American film and television actress and director. She is known for her roles as Annette in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, Angie Falco-Benson in the 1979–1980 sitcom Angie, Donna Garland in the sitcom Out of This World and Eileen Stevens in the Disney Channel sitcom Even Stevens.
Donna Mills is an American actress. She began her television career in 1966 with a recurring role on The Secret Storm, and in the same year appeared on Broadway in Woody Allen's comedy Don't Drink the Water. She made her film debut the next year in The Incident. She then starred for three years on the soap opera Love is a Many Splendored Thing (1967–70), before starring as Tobie Williams, the girlfriend of Clint Eastwood's character in the 1971 cult thriller Play Misty for Me. Mills played the female lead in the heist film Murph the Surf (1975), and had starring roles in a number of made-for-television movies during the 1970s.
Patrika Darbo is an American actress. She made her big screen debut appearing in the 1988 romantic comedy film It Takes Two and later appeared in The 'Burbs (1989), Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will? (1990), Spaced Invaders (1990), Leaving Normal (1992), In the Line of Fire (1993) and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997). Darbo played Roseanne Barr in the 1994 biographical television film Roseanne & Tom: Behind the Scenes.
Christopher Atkins Bomann is an American actor and businessman. He starred in the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon and played Peter Richards on Dallas (1983–1984).
Matt Cedeño is an American actor and former male fashion model, known for his roles as Brandon Walker on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives (1999-2005), Alejandro Rubio in the Lifetime primetime comedy-drama Devious Maids (2013-2014), Vasquez on Syfy comedy horror Z Nation (2015–16), and The Highest in the BET+ soap opera Ruthless.
Alejandro "Alec" Mapa is an American actor, comedian and writer. He got his first professional break when he was cast to replace B. D. Wong for the role of Song Liling in the Broadway production of M. Butterfly. He gained recognition for roles such as Adam Benet on Half & Half, Suzuki St. Pierre on Ugly Betty and Vern on Desperate Housewives. Mapa recurred as Renzo on Switched at Birth.
Dark Mansions is a 1986 television film starring Joan Fontaine, Michael York, Linda Purl, Paul Shenar, Melissa Sue Anderson, Steve Inwood, Lois Chiles, Nicollette Sheridan, Raymond St. Jacques, Grant Aleksander, Yves André Martin, and Dan O'Herilhy.
Nicollette Sheridan is a British-born American actress. She began her career as a fashion model before landing a role in the short-lived ABC primetime soap opera Paper Dolls in 1984, as well as starring in the romantic comedy film The Sure Thing (1985). She rose to prominence as Paige Matheson on the CBS primetime soap opera Knots Landing (1986–1993), for which she received two Soap Opera Digest Awards. Thereafter, Sheridan appeared in lead roles in numerous television films and miniseries, including Lucky Chances (1990), Virus (1995), and The People Next Door (1996). She also appeared in the feature films Noises Off (1992), Spy Hard (1996), Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), and Code Name: The Cleaner (2007).
Larry A. Thompson is a Hollywood film producer, personal manager, book packager, lawyer, author, motivational speaker, and candidate for United States Congress.
James Berg is an American television producer and writer. He has written for many television series including The Golden Girls, Roseanne and Gilmore Girls and the 1996 feature film A Very Brady Sequel. He has frequently collaborated with fellow producer and writer Stan Zimmerman. Berg and Zimmerman were also the creators and executive producers of the sitcom, Rita Rocks, starring Nicole Sullivan and Tisha Campbell-Martin which ran on Lifetime Television.
Stan Zimmerman is an American television producer, director and screenwriter. Zimmerman has written for many television series including The Golden Girls, Roseanne and Gilmore Girls and the 1996 feature film A Very Brady Sequel. Zimmerman is also the creator and executive producer of the sitcom Rita Rocks.
Travis Robert Burns is an Australian actor and model. He first came to prominence with his role in the American action-drama television series, SAF3 (2013). He played Tyler Brennan in the long-running Australian television soap opera Neighbours from 2015 to 2019. After leaving Neighbours, Burns starred in the romance film Sunrise in Heaven (2019) and television films The Wrong Boy Next Door (2019), The Christmas Listing (2020), and Save the Wedding (2021).
Taylor Ann Thompson is an American actress.
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