Shubhabrata Dutta
Mike Rohl’s collaboration with Netflix is expanding! The Cinemaholic can confirm that the filmmaker will helm the Christmas film ‘My Secret Santa’ for the streaming giant. The project will enter production in British Columbia in February 2025. Carley Smale and Ron Oliver wrote the screenplay. The cast of the movie has yet to be revealed.
The plot follows Taylor, who decides to work as Santa Claus at a resort to afford her daughter’s ski school fees. While mastering the art of holiday cheer in her impressive disguise, she works closely with the establishment’s charming yet notorious new manager, Matthew Layne. It does not take long for sparks to fly between them as their partnership leads them to face unexpected challenges and the possibility of romance.
Rohl is primarily known for helming all three movies in Netflix’s ‘The Princess Switch’ trilogy, starring Vanessa Hudgens. The holiday romantic comedies are based loosely on Mark Twain’s novel ‘The Prince and the Pauper.’ Hudgens plays Stacy De Novo and Lady Margaret Delacourt, the Duchess of Montenaro, who, after discovering they look alike, decide to switch places for the holidays.
Rohl’s other Christmas movies include ‘Bringing Christmas Home,’ which follows a professor and an antique store owner as they look for the possessor of love letters from World War II, ‘A Christmas Miracle for Daisy,’ which centers on a little girl whose Christmas wish is for her uncle to get back with his ex-girlfriend, and ‘Miss Christmas,’ which follows a tree finder who looks for a perfect tree for the renowned Radcliffe Tree lighting.
As far as his television credits are concerned, Rohl has directed multiple episodes of many popular romantic shows, including ‘When Calls the Heart,’ the Hallmark dramas ‘When Hope Calls,’ ‘Chesapeake Shores,’ and ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered,’ the Up TV comedy-drama ‘Date My Dad,’ and The CW’s historical drama ‘Reign.’ His portfolio also encompasses works of other genres, like the sci-fi drama ‘Eureka,’ the supernatural drama ‘Shadowhunters,’ the fantasy horror series ‘Supernatural,’ and the superhero show ‘Smallville.’
Carley Smale is a seasoned writer of holiday movies whose credits include ‘A Gingerbread Christmas,’ ‘Midnight at the Magnolia,’ ‘Falling in Love in Niagara,’ ‘Yes, Chef! Christmas,’ and ‘Navigating Christmas.’ She also wrote, directed, and starred in ‘Cold Season.’ Ron Oliver’s prominent writing credits are ‘Falling for Christmas,’ ‘Bigger Fatter Liar,’ ‘Jolly Good Christmas,’ and ‘A Timeless Christmas.’
Netflix is a go-to streaming service for Christmas movies. Its 2024 slate includes projects such as Peter Sullivan’s ‘The Merry Gentlemen,’ Rusty Cundieff’s ‘Meet Me Next Christmas,’ Stephen Herek’s ‘Our Little Secret,’ and Jerry Ciccoritti’s ‘Hot Frosty.’
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