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Sarah Drew and Justin Bruening will again play lovers in the new Lifetime Christmas rom-com, Reindeer Games Homecoming.
The new Christmas rom-com, Reindeer Games Homecoming is coming to Lifetime starring two familiar faces. In fact, this isn’t the first time that Grey’s Anatomy stars Sarah Drew and Justin Bruening have played lovers. First, it was on the popular hospital drama. Then, they were a couple in Indivisible. It certainly seems that Sarah and Justin have the necessary chemistry to once again play as a couple.
Reindeer Games Homecoming on Lifetime
As we head closer to Christmas, festive movies are the order of the day, with Hallmark, Great American Family and Lifetime participating. In Lifetime’s new Christmas rom-com, Reindeer Games Homecoming, Sarah Drew plays MacKenzie (Mac for short). She leads with Justin Bruening in the role of Chase. Meanwhile, in the movie, Chase is not only her former high school crush but is also an action movie star.
According to the plot, Mac is a bright high school biology teacher who enjoys solving crossword puzzles. However, since her father passed away, Mac has been competing in a holiday fundraiser with his retired colleagues to honor his memory. Known as The Reindeer Games, there are various activities involved. However, things get complicated for Mac when her former high school Crush, Chase (Bruening), an action movie star, returns to town and decides to compete against her.
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A brief teaser trailer for the movie is included here, where Mac inadvertently takes Chase to the high school make-out room to give him privacy from his fans.
Sarah Drew as actor, writer and executive producer
Meanwhile, the Grey’s Anatomy star isn’t only starring in the movie. Sarah Drew also wrote the script and is executive producing the movie. Moreover, she has played opposite Bruening before as lovers in Grey’s Anatomy and a couple in Indivisible. In fact, it was Sarah that tapped Bruening for the role.
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In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Drew explained her reasoning for the casting, saying:
Not only is he just a great actor, he’s perfect for this role in every way. We have great chemistry together. And on top of all that, he’s such an incredible team player.
Sarah explained that she knew she needed someone that was on her team and ready to dive in and be a “total team player,” adding, “And he was.” Meanwhile, she said that had such a blast together making the movie. Sarah also said they have a similar way of navigating through “character journey stuff.”
Moreover, she pointed out that Mac and Chase are “super different” from April and Matthew on Grey’s Anatomy. Drew added that a lot of the time, people don’t give Justin the chance to be funny, as he is very funny. She said:
I wanted to allow him to spread his wings in that way and tap into that side in this rom-com, a movie that isn’t heavy laden with drama, which is what both of our previous projects were.
Sarah also said that Matthew was an interesting character in the hospital drama, but she believes Chase has “a lot more grit and more layers to him.” She said they wanted to tap into that, so it is a “very fun, different relationship” that she thinks will be a pleasant surprise for viewers.
While Sarah didn’t initially set out to write a holiday film as her writing debut, she wanted to conjure up this retro romantic comedy. She wanted it to be a movie that would take audiences down memory lane to their high school days. Moreover, this won’t be the last time fans will see Drew and Bruening working together, as they are apparently brainstorming ideas for their next joint project.
When does Reindeer Games Homecoming premiere on Lifetime?
Reindeer Games Homecoming premieres on Saturday, November 12 at 8 pm ET/PT on Lifetime.
Readers, are you intrigued to see Sarah and Justin together again in a new role? Let us know by dropping a comment below.