Lifetime’s annual programming event It’s a Wonderful Lifetime for 2023 begins with Christmas Plus One, the movie takes us through the charming streets of New York City.
Directed by Meeshelle Neal from a script of Katy Breier and Erica Deutschman, the holiday movie follows two thirty-something sisters Amy and Cara Martin, who have a pact to spend the upcoming Christmas night with their respective soulmates. Will they succeed?
The movie is from Reel One Entertainment and Champlain Media, that first premiered in 2022 in Canada, now re-released as a Lifetime Channel movie inside the United States.
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Christmas Plus One Filming Locations
Though set in the bright lights of New York City, the Lifetime’s holiday romance movie ‘Christmas Plus One’ was actually filmed in Southern Ontario, Canada.
Principal photography took place over approximately three weeks in February 2022 in and around the city of Hamilton. The production team cleverly transformed local Canadian spots into convincing NYC locations.
Since the director is from Hamilton, she didn’t find any problem in managing the cast and crew members, and setting those big camera rolls that captured an actual winter storm, Yikes!!!
You can see the afternath of blizzard, Neal has shared.
Liuna Station, Hamilton
In the opening scenes, lead character Cara gets off a train at a bustling Manhattan terminal. This was actually filmed at the historic Liuna Station in Hamilton at 360 James Street North.
Built in 1931, the imposing arched walls and period details of this impressive former railway exchange allowed it to stand in for an NYC station.
Both exterior and interior scenes were shot on location at Liuna Station. Director Neal shared the first day of filming on her Instagram.
Hamilton, Ontario
In addition to the train station, many of the New York street scenes and building establishing shots were done on location in Hamilton, Ontario.
Local roads were decorated with taxi cabs, street vendors, and other urban set dressing to seem like Manhattan city blocks.
For example, Pete’s Cafe, the eatery where Cara reconnects with her old acquaintance Michael for the first time is a working restaurant in downtown Hamilton.
It was outfitted to look like an NYC cafe for the shooting of Christmas Plus One movie.
The filmmakers had the challenge of picking general interior and exterior dining locations that could reasonably pass for being in a bustling Big Apple neighborhood.
Meeshelle updated on Instagram that Christmas Plus One has wrapped filming on Feb 25, 2022.
Other Southern Ontario locations
Though Hamilton served as the primary shooting site for Christmas Plus One, some additional filming seems to have been done across southern Ontario to capture other brief establishing snippets meant to read as NYC.
With so many diverse architecture styles and neighborhood feels, Toronto and environs have often stood in for Manhattan and Brooklyn.2
By tapping into the range of urban and suburban looks, the creative ‘Christmas Plus One’ team was able to pull off the illusion that this heartwarming holiday story unfolded right in New York City.
In reality, it was largely Canadian cities, businesses, and talent that powered this Lifetime Christmas feature! Here’s a pic of the set, director shared after a year.
Some of the latest Lifetime movies that were also shot on the same location includes Yes! Chef Christmas, Silent Night Fatal Night, and Mistletoe Match. Even AppleTV+ sci-fi romance film Fingernails was shot in Hamilton.
Behind the Scenes
Vanessa shared a few bts pictures on her instagram to share her wonderful filming experience with cast and crew of Christmas Plus One. She said,
Okay I actually had the best time making this adorable Christmas flick. In addition to being about soul mates and whatnot, it’s also about the bond between sisters(!), so obviously it hit me hard. We had an amazing cast and crew, and Meeshelle knows stories in her bones.
Jane Moffat posted a picture on her Instagram while having a coffee on the set.
Christmas Plus One Cast
- Emily Alatalo as Cara Martin
- Corey Sevier as Michael Williams
- Andrew Bushell as Chace
- Jane Moffat as Amelia Martin
- Glen Michael Grant as Phil
- Daniel Henkel as Chris Waters
- Richard Lee as Giles
- Vanessa Smythe as Amy
- Isaiah Rockcliffe as Gregory
- Michael Dickson as Gary Martin
- Leighton Alexander Williams as Pete (as Leighton Williams)
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