The Santa Clauses is a spin-off series on Disney Plus which picks up where the movie franchise left off.
Fans of the 1994 movie The Santa Clause and its sequels will be delighted to see Tim Allen reprise his role of Scott Calvin, an ordinary man who was forced to step into Santa’s shoes to save Christmas. But now Scott has realised he is rapidly approaching retirement and must find a worthy successor.
"As I walked on set for the first time in the full Santa regalia, everybody got very quiet, both adults and kids," reveals Tim Allen. "There were big smiles on people's faces. Little kids go quiet and I had totally forgotten that. It did feel like Santa was in the room."
So here’s everything you need to know about the new Disney Plus series The Santa Clauses season 1…
The Santa Clauses release date
The Santa Clauses series will launch worldwide on Disney Plus on Wednesday November 16 so we’ll be able to catch up with Scott, Mrs Claus and the family over a month before Christmas 2022.
Is there a trailer for The Santa Clauses series?
Yes there's both an official and teaser trailer for The Santa Clauses available and as you'll see there's so much Christmas fun packed into it, even though it carries the worrying statement in which Santa says: "I Santa Claus have decided to retire!". Do take a look below...
The Santa Clauses series plot
The Santa Clauses telly series joins Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) as he is about to reach his 65th birthday. His Santa duties are finally taking their toll on him and he’s not as efficient as he once was. Plus, he feels his family could benefit from life outside the North Pole, especially his daughter Sandra (played by Tim Allen’s real-life daughter Elizabeth Allen-Dick) who is lonely with no other humans for company.
However, with his elves, the world’s children and Christmas depending on him, he must make sure he chooses the right successor for the role before he can prepare his family for their next adventure.
While his family — wife Carol, aka Mrs Claus, while their children are Cal (Austin Kane) and 13-year-old Sandra — move back to the regular world in anticipation of Dad’s retirement, they are soon drawn back to the magical North Pole when it becomes clear Santa has ‘retired too soon and hired the wrong guy’. Elves begin disappearing and Christmas itself is at risk of ending. It all plays out over the six enchanting episodes with more twists and turns than any of Santa’s sleigh rides.
The Santa Clauses season 1 cast — Tim Allen as Scott Calvin.
Tim Allen played the role of Scott Calvin in the original 1994 movie of The Santa Clause and its sequels. He’s also the voice of Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear. Tim has also starred in Home Improvement, Last Man Standing, Wild Hogs and Big Trouble.
Elizabeth Mitchell as Mrs Claus
Elizabeth Mitchell played the role of Carol/Mrs Claus in the movie sequels The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Claus. She’s also starred in the hit TV series Lost, ER, V, Once Upon a Time, Outer Banks and First Kill.
“I loved coming back to Mrs Clause when she’s more settled into her role,” says Elizabeth Mitchell says. “I think her and her book and cocoa is right where she’s been for the last 16 years!”
Who else is starring in The Santa Clauses season 1?
Tim Allen’s daughter Elizabeth Allen-Dick is playing Scott’s daughter Sandra.
“It’s really an honor to be able to join the franchise and work on it this way,” says Elizabeth while her dad Tim adds: “It blurred a lot of weird lines. It was another challenge as an actor. There’s no way you can get away with a scene and you’re looking into the eyes of your real daughter... but it is here. That means it was an easy way to be organic.”
Designated Survivor star Kal Penn will play ambitious Simon Choksi who visits the North Pole while Rupali Redd is playing his daughter.
“Arc-wise, I hope fans will love what we seem to love about a love of Christmas movies — which is ultimately good triumphing over evil and discovering hope and joy. It’s really his daughter who reminds him about the true meaning of Christmas,” explains Kai Penn.
The Gilded Age star Matilda Lawler is Santa’s chief of staff, Betty. Austin Kane (Lethal Weapon) is Cal Calvin, Scott and Carol’s eldest son, while Devin Bright (The Unicorn) is Santa’s right-hand elf Noel. David Krumholtz reprises his movie role as Bernard the Elf. He revealed all about the return of Bernard in an Instagram post (see below). David said: "I think you’re going to love it! I loved every minute of revisiting this character, including this moment, when the hair team pinned my wig on for the first time. Tune in!"
More about The Santa Clauses
The Santa Clauses reunites Allen with his Last Man Standing creator Jack Burditt, who serves as executive producer and showrunner. Tim Allen is also executive producer along with Kevin Hench (Last Man Standing), Richard Baker (1994's The Santa Clause), and Rick Messina (2002's The Santa Clause 2, Jungle 2 Jungle). Jason Winer (Modern Family, Single Parents) wrote, directed, and executive produced the series for Disney's 20th Television.
More about the original movies
Original movie The Santa Clause was a huge hit in 1994 and has become a Christmas favorite on TV around the world. In the film, Tim Allen is divorced father Scott Calvin, who is desperate for his son Charlie to keep believing in Santa.
One night Scott accidentally kills Santa and, as instructed to in a letter Santa left behind, he puts on his red suit. But what he doesn’t realise is he’s now duty bound to carry out Santa’s duties and deliver the presents around the world. The film spawned two sequels The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Claus.
* All three movies of The Santa Clause are currently available on Disney Plus.
* Take a look at the trailer for the original 1994 movie of The Santa Clause below....
