PREMIERING NOVEMBER 19TH EXCLUSIVELY ON DISCOVERY+ FOOD NETWORK'S FIRST SCRIPTED FEATURE "CANDY COATED CHRISTMAS"

Plus, Step Behind the Camera with The Pioneer Woman in Candy Coated Christmas: Behind The Scenes with Ree Drummond Streaming Monday, November 1st

Meet the cast, watch how Ree makes her famous treats for Bee's Bakery and enter for a chance to win special Candy Coated Christmas items Join the #CandyCoatedChristmas conversation all holiday season

NEW YORK - October 13, 2021 - Food Network has announced that Candy Coated Christmas, its first-ever scripted feature, will premiere on Friday, November 19 on discovery+. The title is only one highlight of Food Network's much-anticipated annual holiday fare, which this year features more than 98 premiere hours of entertainment. Candy Coated Christmas will be available exclusively on discovery+, as part of the streaming service's holiday content, which will include exclusive originals and a wide variety of seasonal programming from across the Discovery portfolio of brands.

"With Candy Coated Christmas, we've created a unique viewing experience for the more than 100 million viewers who watch Food Network every year, including the most ardent fans of one of our biggest stars, The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond," said Kathleen Finch, Chief Lifestyle Brands Officer, Discovery Inc. "This is a movie gift for anyone who loves the holidays and has a passion for cooking, baking and spending time with family, but it's also a respite from the daily grind. You can watch, breathe, feel and believe -- even if it's only for two hours."

Viewers can join Ree Drummond, host of The Pioneer Woman and one of Food Network's most popular stars, for an exclusive "making of" journey as she prepares to shoot her first acting role. From wardrobe fittings to meeting the cast and crew, and from her first scene to when the director called wrap, Ree will share many memorable moments leading up to her feature debut in the special, including sharing how some of her own recipes were used in the feature and a quick on-set candy-coated trick. Candy Coated Christmas: Behind the Scenes with Ree Drummond, streams Monday, November 1 on discovery+.

"I am so incredibly honored that Food Network asked me to play Bee the bakery owner in Peppermint Hollow," said Drummond. "If I get to be in just one movie in my life, I want it to be a Christmas movie."

Candy Coated Christmas stars Molly McCook (Last Man Standing) as Molly Gallant, a Beverly Hills marketing executive whose carefully planned life takes an unexpected turn when she takes a business trip to the picturesque town of Peppermint Hollow. The movie also stars Aaron O'Connell (The Haves and The Have Nots) as mint entrepreneur Noah Winters, John McCook (The Bold and the Beautiful, and real-life father of Molly McCook) as Molly's father Fred Gallant, Lee Garlington (Broken) as Kim Winters, Jae Suh Park (The Big Short) as Gracie, newcomer Landry Townsend as Dakota Winters, Lonzo Liggins as Patrick, Dia Frampton as Chloe, and Food Network's own Ree Drummond as bakery owner Bee. Directed by Ellie Kanner (Love and Sunshine) and written by Alex Yonks and Kanner & Joey Plager, Candy Coated Christmas is produced by MarVista Entertainment in association with Go Films. The executive producers are Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew for MarVista Entertainment along with Ellie Kanner and Joey Plager.

Fans can head to Food Network and discoveryplus social platforms for a sneak peek at the set of Candy Coated Christmas with Ree and go behind the scenes in Peppermint Hollow. Plus, get to know Molly, Aaron and the cast, watch how Ree makes her famous treats for Bee's Bakery and enter for a chance to win special Candy Coated Christmas swag. To join the conversation, use #CandyCoatedChristmas this holiday season.

ABOUT CANDY COATED CHRISTMAS

Molly Gallant was counting on seed money from her father to help launch an exciting new venture with her best friend. However, just as she and her dad are supposed to be jetting off to Hawaii for their annual Christmas trip, Molly learns that the family business is facing bankruptcy. The only way to recoup the funds she needs is to sell her late mother's childhood home in the town of Peppermint Hollow, Washington: the "Peppermint Capital of the World." Molly fully intends to get the house on the market and get out of the cold to sunny Hawaii by Christmas, but then she meets the current renters, Noah Winters and his family, who warmly welcome her into their home, sharing their holiday traditions with her. It begins to seem as if fate, and the weather, are conspiring to keep Molly in Peppermint Hollow, even as she begins to appreciate the value of family. And she and Noah may discover a new way to make a mint... together.

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ABOUT DISCOVERY+

discovery+ is the definitive non-fiction, real life subscription streaming service. discovery+ features a landmark partnership with Verizon that gives their customers with select plans up to 12 months of discovery+ on Verizon. discovery+ has the largest-ever content offering of any new streaming service at launch, featuring a wide range of exclusive, original series across popular, passion verticals in which Discovery brands have a strong leadership position, including lifestyle and relationships; home and food; true crime; paranormal; adventure and natural history; as well as science, tech and the environment, and a slate of high-quality documentaries. For more, visit discoveryplus.com or find it on a variety of platforms and devices, including ones from Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Roku and Samsung.

FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring, empowering and entertaining through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to nearly 100 million U.S. households and draws over 46 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine's rate base has grown 13 times and is the No. 2 best-selling monthly magazine on the newsstand, with 13.5 million readers. Food Network is owned by Discovery, Inc., a global leader in real life entertainment serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world and spanning 220 countries and territories; the portfolio also includes direct-to-consumer streaming services such as discovery+ and Food Network Kitchen, along with premium brands Discovery Channel, HGTV, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, S

cience Channel, and the multi-platform JV with Chip and Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Network as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport.

ABOUT MARVISTA ENTERTAINMENT

Los Angeles-based MarVista Entertainment is a leading global independent studio that produces and distributes a variety of content across the world. With a library showcasing nearly 2,500 hours of content, and with approximately 60 new movies per year added to the company's development and distribution pipeline, MarVista has become one of the largest suppliers of movies to the worldwide marketplace. MarVista has an expansive distribution footprint spanning more than 125 global territories and is a pre-eminent programming partner to major streamers and cable networks including Netflix, Hulu, Discovery+, Tubi, Disney Networks, Lifetime, Hallmark Channel, NBC Universal, OWN, Nickelodeon, BET and other Viacom Networks, as well as key international platforms.