It may be February, but Lauren Graham is celebrating Christmas a bit early. Deadline reports that the Gilmore Girls star has been cast in the theatrical release of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever from Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company. The motion picture is adapted from Barbara Robin’s 1972 children’s novel of the same name. It tells the story of misfit children who volunteer to star in their town’s Sunday school Christmas pageant and teach the town the “true meaning of Christmas.”
Graham is set to play the narrator and will also make an on-screen cameo. In a statement, Kingdom Story’s Kevin Downes said, “We’ve been huge fans of Lauren’s for 25 years and have dreamed of one day working with her. She brings her signature warmth and charm that makes her perfect for this cast.”
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers actress joins Kirk B.R. Woller, Vanessa Benavente, Elizabeth Tabish, Judy Greer, and Pete Holmes. Dallas Jenkins is directing the film, and wrote the screenplay alongside Darin McDaniel & Platte Clark and Ryan Swanson. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is produced by Downes, Daryl Lefever, Andrew Erwin, and Jon Erwin, as well as McDaniel and Chet Thomas. Jenkins serves as executive producer with Gerald R. Molen, Mark Kendell, and Tony Young.
Surprisingly, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever will mark Lauren Graham’s first film role since 2016, when she starred in Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life. By the time the film releases this November, it will also mark her first role in two years since Disney+’s now-canceled The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. It’s going to be exciting to see Graham back to acting, and it will be the perfect movie to get into the Christmas spirit.
Graham is most known for her role as Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls in the early 2000s. She also starred in the NBC family dramedy Parenthood, where she met former partner Peter Krause. Other projects include Evan Almighty, A Merry Friggin’ Christmas, Vampirina, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, and The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. With filming for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever recently wrapping production, hopefully it isn’t too long until a trailer is released that will preview what this next one will be like. The film releases in theaters on Nov. 15 and while it is still a long time, fingers crossed that it gets here before we know it.