WEST PALM BEACH, December 1, 2014 – ION Television and “Merry Ex-Mas” star Dean Cain will once again come together to help New Yorkers in need this holiday season through a partnership with the Coalition for the Homeless – the nation’s oldest advocacy and direct service organization helping homeless men, women and children – and a consumer-driven event promoting the network’s upcoming slate of original holiday movies.
Both events will take place tomorrow, December 2, and lead up to the premiere of “Merry Ex-Mas,” one of five all-new original holiday movies from ION Television in 2014. ION’s holiday lineup airs all day Sunday, December 7, Saturdays and Sundays December 13-14 and 20-21, as well as on Christmas Eve and Day. This year’s lineup also features the premieres of “A Christmas Mystery,” “A Christmas Kiss II,” “A Perfect Christmas List” and “Back to Christmas,” plus the return of 18 additional original favorites.
Joined by Dean Cain, ION Television will donate 1,500 gourmet sandwich wraps to help feed needy New Yorkers this holiday season. The donations will be made through the Coalition’s Grand Central Food Program, which provides hot, nutritious meals to 1,000 homeless and hungry New Yorkers on the streets of the city 365 nights a year.
“ION is again proud to join this important organization by providing additional provisions to those who are most in need of them,” said Chris Addeo, senior VP Marketing, ION Media Networks. “In this season of giving, we hope that the wraps provide added nourishment and are enjoyed by those who receive them.”
"New York City has reached a new record level of homelessness, which has stretched our resources to the breaking point,” said Mary Brosnahan, president & CEO, Coalition for the Homeless “Thank you ION Television for donating these sandwiches and wraps – they’ll make a tremendous difference for our hungry neighbors relegated to sleep on the streets. We are enormously grateful for ION Television’s generous support for our homeless neighbors.”
ION’s sandwich wrap donation will take place on December 2 at St. Bartholomew’s (325 Park Avenue at 51St Street) beginning at 5:30 PM ET. From there, donations will be made at more than 30 street locations throughout Manhattan and the Bronx by the Coalition’s three delivery vans.
Earlier in the day, ION Television will reach out to consumers with a stunt to promote its new lineup of original holiday movies. ION’s fully-branded food truck will deliver and assortment of free breakfast, lunch and dessert wraps to 1,500 visitors at three separate locations in Manhattan.
FOOD TRUCK SCHEDULE
8:00 - 9:45 a.m. ET: Broadway between West 58th Street and Columbus Circle
10:45 a.m. ET - 1:00 p.m. ET: West 48th Street between 6th Avenue and 5th Avenue
2:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET: 5th Avenue between East 23rd Street and East 22nd Street
For more about the Coalition for the Homeless, go to www.coalitionforthehomeless.org.
For more on ION Television’s holiday movie premieres, see the descriptions below and visit www.iontelevision.com/holiday-movies.
ION TELEVISION ORIGINAL HOLIDAY MOVIE PREMIERES
MERRY EX-MAS – Premieres Sunday, December 7, at 9/8c
Cast: Dean Cain, Kristy Swanson, Lochlyn Munro, Shannon Kummer, Sharon Thomas Cain, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Ernie Hudson, Rebecca Grant
Production Company: Odyssey Media/Network Pictures
When misleading photos are published of security company chief Jessie Rogers purportedly caught in a love nest with his rock star client, his humiliated wife, Noëlle, throws him out of the house and swiftly files for divorce. Unable to convince her of his innocence, Jessie fights in vain to win Noëlle back. A year later at the family ski cabin, a Christmastime blizzard snowbounds Jessie, his daughter, ex-mother-in-law, Noëlle and her wealthy suitor, Flynn, who is plotting a surprise wedding.
A CHRISTMAS KISS II – Premieres Saturday, December 13, at 9/8c
Cast: Elisabeth Harnois, Adam Mayfield, Elisabeth Röhm, Lola Glaudini, Jonathan Bennett, Celesta Hodge, Ray Laska
Production Company: MarVista
At a Christmastime event, Jenna shares an impromptu, unforgettable kiss under the mistletoe with the dashing Cooper Montgomery, a billionaire playboy who recently returned to the city. Although she doesn’t know him, Cooper learns that Jenna works for Cooper’s sister at the designer fashion house founded by their dad. Fearful of getting hurt in another relationship, Jenna vows to resist Cooper’s charms and feigns a romance with her heartbroken next door neighbor. As the two begin spending more time together, Jenna realizes that Cooper’s affection is real, but still worries that he won’t be able to shed his former ways.
A CHRISTMAS MYSTERY – Encore Airing Sunday, December 14, at 5/4c
Cast: Esmé Bianco, Ryan Bittle, John Ratzenberger, John Colton, Anne Leighton, Kristen Miller, Ben Trotter
Production Company: Hybrid
While searching through her late mother’s attic, Rebecca uncovers sealed cards from a mysterious suitor that had been addressed to her widowed Mom over the past 12 Christmases. As she begins to wonder the identity of man, Rebecca hires a handsome, yet mysterious, detective, Andrew, to help solve the mystery behind the letters. While working to unravel the family mystery, Rebecca and Andrew begin to fall for one another, but soon learn there’s more to the case than either expected.
A PERFECT CHRISTMAS LIST – Premieres Sunday, December 14, at 9/8c
Cast: Ellen Hollman, Marion Ross, Aaron Hill, Beth Broderick, Richard Karn
Production Company: Hybrid
Just two weeks before Christmas, Sara Smith gets a call from home about her grandmother Evie, who has been sent to the hospital. Having always been close, the health scare is enough to get Sara to do the unthinkable... come home for Christmas. While Sara plans to get a hotel room for her stay, her mother won’t allow it. Sara eventually relents, but it’s clear that time has not repaired their relationship, and her mother returns to her overbearing ways. With her handsome doctor’s approval, the convalescing Evie conjures up a curious challenge. As a “last wish,” she tasks her daughter and granddaughter with list of festive accomplishments to do together before Christmas, hoping that the adventure of the experience will repair their relationship. Along the way, Sara discovers an unlisted Christmas adventure with Evie’s physician.
BACK TO CHRISTMAS – Premieres Saturday, December 20, at 9/8c
Cast: Kelly Overton, Michael Muhney, Jonathan Patrick Moore, Jennifer Elise Cox, Moses Jacob Storm, Gloria Loring, Mark Hutter
Production Company: MarVista
Saddened about spending another Christmas alone, Ali meets Ginny, a quirky and spunky woman, at a diner on Christmas Eve. Ali tells Ginny that she was to be married on New Year's Eve last year, but over the course of the holidays she and her fiancé unexpectedly split. When Ali explains that she would do everything differently if she could go back in time, Ginny tells her that "sometimes people do get second chances." The following morning, Ali wakes up to find herself transported back to that Christmas before her planned wedding. While she sets out to avoid the mistakes of her past, she learns that changing the course of history is no easy task.
