TV Feature

Holiday Hotline: Winnipeg Casting

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Details

Union:

Union

Area of media:

TV Feature

Network:

Hallmark

Paid?:

Yes

Rates:

ACTRA scale + 110% Advance

Deadline:

Aug 28, 2023

Shooting starts:

Sept 18, 2023

Shooting finishes:

Oct 9, 2023

Shooting locations:

Winnipeg & environs

Cities for response:

Winnipeg

Comments

Niall Matter is cast as TED SUTTON. We are committed to diverse, inclusive casting. For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to disability, race and ethnicity, age, color, or national origin. ALL ROLES BELOW ARE OPEN TO ARTISTS OF ANY RACE. Self-tapes only. The former title for this project was 'Love Birds'.

Storyline

Ted, a widowed father, strives to make his young son the perfect Holiday dinner, but the problem is he’s a lousy cook - and he knows it...Abby, an up-and coming chef of great talent escapes an unhappy relationship in the UK, and heads to Chicago for a new beginning. Their paths cross, leading Abby and Ted to new-found happiness and Christmas romance.

Roles

Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Lead	Abby Mitchell	Female 28 - 39 Years old
Description A highly skilled culinary artist, Abby Mitchell works as a sous-chef at one of London’s most popular dining establishments. In fact, she’s the secret to its success - but she is in an unhappily secretive romance with the restaurant’s owner, Jason. ...When Jason betrays her, Abby’s patience reaches a boiling point. She’s had enough and makes a clean-break with cooking, Jason, and London, moving to Chicago to explore new possibilities. The restaurant business has left a bad taste, so when the opportunity presents itself to work as an expert consultant on the ‘Turkey Hotline’, Abby jumps at it. Just for fun, she creates an alternate identity as Turkey Hotline consultant - ‘Peggy’ - who actually speaks with no British accent. ...’Peggy’ makes a particular connection with one regular caller, Ted, a widowed father who is struggling to make the perfect Christmas dinner for his young son. PLEASE ONLY SUGGEST ARTISTS WHO ARE ADEPT AT PERFORMING A BRITISH ACCENT.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Supporting	Mike Sutton	Male 28 - 36 Years old
Description Mike and his older brother Ted run an architecture firm in Chicago that specializes in restoring historic buildings to their former glory. He is passionate about their work and shares a close bond with Ted, particularly after Ted’s wife passed away a couple years ago. He knows the stress his brother now feels around the Holidays, that is to offer his son Jeremy a Christmas experience that creates new happy memories since the loss of his mother. A perfectly cooked turkey is a big part of their family tradition, and Mike encourages Ted to embrace that rather daunting culinary challenge. ...Mike is engaged to his fiancé Erica - he wants his older brother to find happiness again, and encourages him to get to know their new neighbor Abby from England, who just moved in down the hall.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Supporting	Margaret	Female 65 - 78 Years old
Description Margaret is a long-time resident of the historic Chicago apartment building where Abby’s aunt lives. Her aunt is away for a couple months, which offers Abby the opportunity to escape her life in London and spend some time in Chicago after her break-up. Quick to crack a joke, and an expert cook herself, Margaret is a real character well-known to all her neighbors. When she discovers Abby’s culinary background, Margaret and her pal Roger concoct a plan to recruit Abby to be part of their team of experts on the “Holiday Hotline” which dishes out advice to home cooks struggling with the daunting challenge of cooking the perfect turkey.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Supporting	Roger	Male 35 - 54 Years old
Description Roger is the lead expert at the Butterball Turkey Hotline, dishing out advice to home cooks who want to serve the perfect turkey. The Holidays are the busiest time of the year for Roger’s team; since his buddy and fellow turkey expert Margaret wants to spend more time with her family, he’s found himself short-staffed, recruiting Abby to join his team of turkey pros. Gay and a true romantic at heart, Roger plays match-maker, encouraging Abby to get to know one anonymous (but frequent) caller a little better - it’s actually Ted with whom Abby is already acquainted!
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Large Principal	Jeremy	Male 7 - 11 Years old
Description Bright, intuitive and full of energy, Jeremy is Ted’s young son. His mom passed away a couple years ago, leaving Ted to raise Jeremy as a single parent. Jeremy and his Dad share a close bond, but he misses his mother very much - and her amazing Christmas dinners, always with a perfectly cooked turkey. So as Thanksgiving, and then Christmas approach Jeremy feels his loss a little more sharply than other times of the year. ...But this year Ted has committed to make it up to Jeremy by endeavouring to cook the perfect turkey, with support from the experts at the Butterball Turkey Hotline of course!
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Large Principal	Erica	Female 25 - 31 Years old
Description Erica is Michael’s fiancé; she lives down the hall from Abby’s aunt. Since Abby moved in, Erica has welcomed her with open arms, happily acquainting her with the building’s Holiday traditions. Erica and Michael really like their new neighbor and think she’d be a perfect for Ted...Oh yes, Erica has often thought Abby would make an ideal sister-in-law...
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Large Principal	Diane	Female 57 - 68 Years old
Description Diane is Abby’s mother. When Abby’s relationship with Jason crumbles, she’s there to console her daughter. ...Later when Abby makes the move to Chicago, Diane is just a little concerned for her well-being. Like Abby, her mother Diane has always lived in England and speaks with a British accent. PLEASE ONLY SUGGEST ARTISTS WHO ARE ADEPT AT PERFORMING A BRITISH ACCENT.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Large Principal	Jason	Male 36 - 45 Years old
Description Jason is Abby’s wickedly handsome but self-centered boyfriend - he owns the London restaurant where she works. Since she’s his employee, Jason wants to keep their relationship on the down-low. He is quite aware this forced secrecy has actually wounded Abby’s feelings, but only pretends to care. His restaurant has grown wildly popular, largely on the back of Abby’s hard work and talent. ...When Jason refuses to have a more honest relationship, she dumps him and moves to Chicago for a new beginning! PLEASE ONLY SUGGEST ARTISTS WHO ARE ADEPT AT PERFORMING A BRITISH ACCENT.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Principal	Gary	Male 58 - 68 Years old
Description Abby’s father Gary is tremendously proud of his daughter, and all she’s accomplished in the culinary world - not to mention being the happy recipient of so many fabulous meals over the years... Although he knows her departure from the UK for new horizons in America was not for happy reasons, he is confident Abby will land on her feet. Gary is actually American, and only moved to England as an adult, so he does not speak with an accent.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Principal	Robin	Female 60 - 70 Years old
Description Robin is Ted and Mike’s mother. One happy evening, Robin and husband Len meet Ted’s new friend Abby while on a family outing at a popular Chicago Christmas market. Robin takes an immediate liking to Abby. Once it’s bedtime for Jeremy, Robin offers to baby-sit so Abby and Ted can spend more time together that night.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Principal	Len	Male 60 - 74 Years old
Description Ted and Mike’s dad Len loves to kid around, and everyone loves him for it. It’s Christmastime in the city, and Len is happy to see his son dating again. He and Robin take Jeremy home to watch movies so Ted and Abby can spend some time together.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Principal	Oscar	Male 48 Years old
Description A long-time neighbor of Margaret and Erica, Oscar lives down the hall and works irregular hours at a local pediatric hospital. Sometimes he gets grumpy when his neighbors make too much noise, but inside his gruff exterior is a truly good man dedicated to the well-being and happiness of children.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Actor	Frazzled Woman	Female 38 - 54 Years old
Description This client of the Butterball Turkey Hotline, got some really bad advice from her mother-in-law, but Abby sets her straight. ...She does have some difficulty understanding Abby’s British accent though.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Actor	Finance Bro	Male 26 - 36 Years old
Description This young man has a complaint with the turkey he bought, but Abby helps him realize the error is his own.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Actor	BBQ Woman	Female 29 - 37 Years old
Description Abby (aka ‘Peggy’) cannot salvage this customer’s misguided attempt to barbeque a turkey.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Actor	Mountain Man	Male 40 - 64 Years old
Description ...Another home cook who stepped out of his safety zone when trying to carve a turkey.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Actor	Mafia Guy	Male 38 - 59 Years old
Description Christmastime inspires the most unlikely of cooks to take on the challenge of cooking a turkey...
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Actor	Exhausted Mom	Female 34 - 51 Years old
Description This poor mom is at her wits end after discovering her young son stuffed the turkey (over which she labored so hard) with his toy cars!
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Actor	Student	All 19 - 24 Years old
Description Abby teaches this student a valuable lesson about the proper use of an instapot: ramen yes!...turkey no!
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Actor	Elderly Woman	Female 68 - 80 Years old
Description With many, many happy memories, this retired former employee of the Butterball Turkey Hotline calls every Christmas just to put in a good word to those still helping families create their own happy memories, one turkey at a time.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Actor	Cabbie	Male 38 - 62 Years old
Description It’s Christmas Day, and Abby finds herself unhappily on the way to the airport, torn between staying in Chicago and returning home to England...She discussed it all in quite some detail with this patient cabbie who is quite sympathetic to her predicament.

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