‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ Saved By Roku For A Holiday Movie
Great news for fans of the wonderful ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist‘. Roku has stepped in to save the cancelled NBC series for a feature-length Christmas movie, coming to the Roku Channel this holiday season in the UK and USA. Also, whilst we don’t have an exact date, it looks like Season 2 is finally due to land in a few weeks time on E4 in the UK.
‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ stars Jane Levy (‘Suburgatory’) as Zoey Clarke, a whip-smart computer coder forging her way in San Francisco. After an unusual event, she starts to hear the innermost wants and desires of the people around her through songs. At first, she questions her own sanity but soon realises this unwanted curse may just be an incredibly wonderful gift (which also gave them an excuse for big musical numbers!)
The project, which will bring the original cast back for a holiday encore, is the first Roku Original feature-length film announced for The Roku Channel. Production for ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas’ will commence in Vancouver this month and will air exclusively for free on The Roku Channel in the US, as well as streaming on Roku in Canada and the UK.
“‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ is the kind of show that doesn’t just entertain people, it speaks to them,” commented Colin Davis, Roku’s Head of Original Scripted Programming. “The show has a healing power about it, which is brought to life by the incredibly talented cast through music and dance. That connection with the audience is what makes bringing a holiday-themed film like Zoey to life with the original cast so special. We are absolutely thrilled to call ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas’ our first Roku Original film and make it available to both longtime fans and new ones on The Roku Channel this holiday.”
The film will pick up where season two left off, continuing Zoey’s journey as she navigates work, family, love, and everything in between. Golden Globe-nominated Jane Levy, Skylar Astin, Alex Newell, John Clarence Stewart, Andrew Leeds, Alice Lee, Michael Thomas Grant, Kapil Talwalkar, David St. Louis, Mary Steenburgen, Peter Gallagher, and Bernadette Peters (nominated for an Emmy for her performance in the series), will all reprise their roles, bringing the same love and passion to the full-length feature film that loyal fans have come to know from the television show.
“I am so extremely grateful to The Roku Channel for helping us get Zoey to sing again, adds Creator Austin Winsberg. “I can’t think of a more appropriate time to hear someone’s heart song than the holidays. And ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas’ will be an opportunity to provide the fans and new viewers alike a chance to all tap their toes and get in the holiday mood. This show has always been about empathy, compassion and the triumph of the human spirit. The Roku Channel has sure lifted mine and I hope that our film can have the same effect on viewers everywhere…”
Austin Winsberg will write and executive produce. Richard Shepard, director of the “Zoey’s Extraordinary Play” pilot, will direct. Kim Tannenbaum, Eric Tannenbaum, Paul Feig, David Blackman and Daniel Inkeles will serve as executive producers. Dan Magnante, Jason Wang and Mandy Moore will serve as co-executive producers with Michele Greco serving as producer. Sam Laybourne and Samantha McIntyre are Consulting Producers. ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas’ is produced by Lionsgate in association with the Tannenbaum Company, Feigco Entertainment and Universal Music Group’s Polygram Entertainment and Zihuatenejo Productions.
“The fans were passionate and unwavering in their support, and their perseverance paid off. There’s no better encore than a Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist movie on Roku available to stream for the holidays,” said Lionsgate EVP, Television & Head of Development Scott Herbst and Lionsgate EVP, Television & Head of Current Programming Lee Hollin. “We’re proud to partner with The Roku Channel in bringing compelling, original programming to their fast-growing and engaged audiences. ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas’ is a continuation of our beloved story and Roku is the perfect home for it.”
For those of you unclear about what “The Roku Channel” is, it’s possible you already have access without realising it. It is obviously available on Roku streaming players and the Hisense Roku TV, but you can also get it as an app on NOW streaming devices and on the Sky Q box.
‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas’ will premiere Christmas 2021 on The Roku Channel in the UK and USA. As I mentioned at the top of the article, ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist‘ Season 2 is due to land in a few weeks time on E4 in the UK (exact day/time TBC), but if you want to keep track of this, or any other show, you can add it via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
