The Facts of Life’s core four — Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, Lisa Whelchel, and Nancy McKeon — have come together for Lifetime’s upcoming holiday movie You Light Up My Christmas.
The cable channel dropped the trailer for the film on Wednesday, giving fans a sneak peek at the actresses’ new roles.
Though McKeon is nowhere to be seen in the trailer, Fields, who also serves as an executive producer in the movie, confirmed to Extra that McKeon has a cameo appearance in the film. “Nancy McKeon had a really difficult, unexpected family emergency she had to work through [in the middle of filming],” Fields shared. “[But] she still stayed committed and said, ‘I will still do the part — I can’t come to Vancouver and film with you guys, but I will do my part and you can put it in there.’ We’re still on screen together.”
“It was one of the hardest things that she ever had to go through, [and] she still put it down for me,” Fields added of McKeon.
Inspired by true events, You Light Up My Christmas tells the story of Emma (Fields), who returns to her hometown built around her family’s pioneer Christmas Light Factory two weeks before Christmas. However, upon Emma’s return, she discovers the lights have gone dim in the once festive town, prompting her to reconnect with an old flame (Adrian Holmes) to set their hearts and the town ablaze with light again.
McKeon, Cohn, and Whelchel play the three owners of the town’s ice skating rink, which is named Charlotte in loving memory of their The Facts of Life co-star Charlotte Rae, who passed away in August 2018.
You Light Up My Christmas will mark the first time Fields, Cohn, Whelchel, and McKeon will be on screen together since the end of The Facts of Life. A spinoff from Diff’rent Strokes, The Facts of Life ran for nine seasons from 1979 to 1988 on NBC.
You Light Up My Christmas premieres this Sunday, December 1st at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.