CHRISTINE TAYLOR STARS IN 'FAREWELL MR. KRINGLE,' A HALLMARK CHANNEL ORIGINAL MOVIE WHICH HAS BEGUN PRODUCTION

Holiday Movie Will Premiere on Hallmark Channel in 2010

Christine Taylor ("The Brady Bunch Movie," "Zoolander") has been cast to star in "Farewell Mr. Kringle," a heartwarming Hallmark Channel Original Movie about a skeptical journalist who is assigned to chronicle the 50th anniversary of Kris Kringle, a Santa Claus in the town of Mistletoe. As her involvement in the town grows, she begins to open up to the enchantment of Christmas and some other wonders of the season.

The holiday movie has begun production and will premiere on Hallmark Channel in December, 2010.

After 50 years, Mistletoe's Santa Claus is hanging up his hat and Anna Walls (Taylor), a magazine writer, is assigned to find out what makes this Santa tick. Having tragically lost her husband on Christmas Eve, Anna has become a nonbeliever. But with the help of Mark Stafford (Christopher Wiehl, "Jericho"), a former cutthroat divorce lawyer turned compassionate bed and breakfast owner, she finds there is something magical about this particular Santa. Through various conversations with the townspeople, Anna quickly discovers how much Kris Kringle means to the small town, and how much Christmas means to Kris Kringle. And having lost his wife years before during the holidays, he is the perfect person to show Anna the true meaning of Christmas, while Mark recaptures more than just Anna's Christmas spirit.

"Farewell Mr. Kringle" is being produced by Larry Levinson Productions. Larry Levinson, is the executive producer. Brian Gordon and Jim Wilberger are the producers. Kevin Connor ("The Wish List") is directing from a script written by Robert Tate Miller ("Secret Santa").

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming available in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to a national audience of nearly 90 million subscribers. The top tier program service is distributed through more than 5,450 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel is the nation's leading network in providing quality family programming with an ambitious slate of original TV movies, general entertainment and home and lifestyle content. Hallmark Channel's sibling network is Hallmark Movie Channel, also available in HD and SD, which focuses on the greatest family movies of all time.