MARIO LOPEZ HELPS CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAY SEASON IN ABC FAMILY'S ORIGINAL MOVIE "THE DOG WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS," PREMIERING ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29th

Holiday Film Premieres as Part of Network's "Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas"; Stars Lopez as Voice of Zeus the Dog; Also Stars Dean Cain, Gary Valentine and Elisa Donovan

Burbank, CA (October 14, 2009) � Christmas chaos ensues for the Bannister family when they adopt a misguided guard dog, Zeus, to try and keep their home safe from neighborhood prowlers in the new ABC Family holiday movie, "The Dog Who Saved Christmas," premiering on Sunday, November 29th (8:00-10:00Pm ET/PT). The two-hour film, premiering as part of the network's annual "Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas" programming event, stars Dean Cain, Gary Valentine, Elisa Donovan, Joey Diaz, Mindy Sterling, Adrienne Barbeau and Mario Lopez as the voice of Zeus.

Convinced he's found the perfect guard dog to thwart thieves on the prowl in his neighborhood, George Bannister (Valentine) adopts Zeus. Although he is a loveable pooch, the Bannisters quickly discover Zeus is not your typical guard dog; he doesn't bark at strangers and is accident prone. The family take a liking to Zeus, but head to Grandma's (Sterling) house for a Christmas visit discouraged.

While away, two inept thieves (Cain, Diaz) break into the Bannisters' home. Chaos turns to comedy when Zeus realizes his true guard dog potential and attempts to outwit the intruders � beating them at their own game. Zeus undoubtedly rises to the occasion when it matters most, but can he save Christmas and ultimately earn his place within the Bannister family?

A Starz Media presentation, "The Dog Who Saved Christmas" is directed by Michael Feifer with executive producers Jeffrey Schenck, Zelma Kiwi and Barry Barnholtz. The film was written by Michael Ciminera and Richard Gnolfo, from a story by Schenck, Ciminera and Gnolfo.

"The Dog Who Saved Christmas" DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment will release on Tuesday, December 8th nationwide.

Part of the Disney-ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in over 98 million homes. ABC Family features programming reflecting today's families, entertaining and connecting with adults through relevant stories about today's relationships, all told with diversity, dysfunction, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family's programming is a mix of network defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. ABC Family is also the destination for annual Holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas!" ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.