Barrington native's scripts become Lifetime holiday movies

The 12 Days of Christmas Eve premiers Saturday, and A Christmas Spark airs Sunday

Posted 11/25/22

Three movies written by Barrington native Eirene Tran Donohue are being aired on the Lifetime network over the Thanksgiving weekend.

• “Sugar and Spice” was re-broadcast on …

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Barrington native's scripts become Lifetime holiday movies

The 12 Days of Christmas Eve premiers Saturday, and A Christmas Spark airs Sunday

Posted

Three movies written by Barrington native Eirene Tran Donohue are being aired on the Lifetime network over the Thanksgiving weekend.

• “Sugar and Spice” was re-broadcast on Thanksgiving Day. (It was originally aired a year earlier.)

• “The 12 Days of Christmas Eve” will premier Saturday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. 

• And “A Christmas Spark” will air on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. 

Donohue, who went to Barrington High School and Brown University, said she enjoys writing Christmas movies. 

“They bring people joy,” she said. “They bring people comfort.”

Donohue said that while Christmas movies are sometimes criticized for being formulaic or predictable, they also share wonderful messages of hope, belief, and magic.

“It makes me feel great,” Donohue said. 

Donohue has written numerous scripts, and found success with holiday movies. She said the movie industry now creates around 150 Christmas movies each year. 

“Everyone loves Christmas movies,” she said. 

Movie summaries 

Following are the movie descriptions offered on the Lifetime website:

• The 12 Days of Christmas Eve: “Brian Conway is a successful businessman whose relationships with those around him have really suffered. While this Christmas season has been the most successful for his business, he’s divorced, his relationship with his daughter Michelle is strained and he doesn’t have a meaningful connection with his only granddaughter. After Brian gets into a car accident on Christmas Eve, Santa gives him twelve chances to re-do the day and repair the relationships in his life to find the true meaning of Christmas. For Brian, these twelve days are a journey of self-realization about life, love and happiness as he attempts to right the wrongs of his life in pursuit of the Christmas spirit. Starring Kelsey Grammer and Spencer Grammer (2022).”

• A Christmas Spark: “Recently widowed Molly has lost her zest for life and given up on ever finding love again. But when she decides to visit her daughter for Christmas she has no idea what holiday magic is in store for her. A former drama teacher, Molly reluctantly takes on the job of directing the town’s Christmas pageant and soon finds herself falling for her leading man, Hank, the town’s most eligible bachelor. As Molly and the irrepressible Hank fall in love, she rediscovers her inner free spirit and finds a new lease on life. And when the star of the pageant loses her voice moments before the show, it will be up to Molly to step into the spotlight and shine brightly for the first time in her life. Starring Jane Seymour, Toni Braxton, and Joe Lando (2022).”

• A Sugar and Spice Holiday: “The movie A Sugar & Spice Holiday follows Suzie (Jacky Lai), a rising young architect, who returns to her small hometown in Maine for Christmas where her Chinese-American parents, Pete (Tzi Ma) and Mimi (Lillian Lim), run the local Lobster Bar. Following the loss of her beloved grandmother who was a legendary baker in their community, Suzie is guilted into following in her grandmother’s footsteps by entering the local gingerbread house competition. Teaming up with an old high school friend Billy (Tony Giroux), who grew up to be a catch, Suzie must find the right recipes and mix of sugar and spice infused with her cultural traditions to win the competition and perhaps find some love in the process.”

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