''A Dog Named Christmas'' is a 2009 American/Canadian television film that debuted on CBS as a '' Hallmark Hall of Fame'' movie on November 29, 2009.A Dog Named Christmas
''

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

'', Official website. The film was produced by Brent Shields, directed by

Peter Werner Peter H. Werner (born January 17, 1947, in New York City, New York) is an American film and television director. Biography Werner was born to a Jewish family, in New York City, New York, one of three children born to Elizabeth (née Grumbach) ...

and written by Jenny Wingfield, who based the script from a novel of the same name by Greg Kincaid.

Plot

A tale of a young man with a learning disability, named Todd McCray (

Noel Fisher Noel Roeim Fisher (born March 13, 1984) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his portrayal of Mickey Milkovich on the Showtime series '' Shameless'', as well as his portrayal of Cael Malloy on the FX series '' The Riches''. He played Ellison " ...

) living with his parents in the rural midwest. The story takes place over a two-week period over the Christmas holidays when the local

animal shelter An animal shelter or pound is a place where stray, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals – mostly dogs and cats – are housed. The word "pound" has its origins in the animal pounds of agricultural communities, where stray livestock would ...

launches an "Adopt a dog for Christmas" program. Todd's unconditional love for animals enables him to embark on an endeavour to ensure that as many dogs as possible get adopted by the local community. One dog in particular has grabbed Todd's heart and through intermittent flashbacks, viewers slowly discover the reasons for his father's reluctance to fully support Todd's efforts.

Cast

Linda Emond Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake ...

as Mary Ann McCray *

as Todd McCray *

Bruce Greenwood Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He is known for his role as the American president John F. Kennedy in '' Thirteen Days,'' for which he won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion ...

as George McCray * Carrie Genzel as Brianna Lewis *

Trenna Keating Trenna Keating (born January 23, 1987) is a Canadians, Canadian actress known for her recurring role as Doc Yewll in ''Defiance (TV series), Defiance'' between 2013 and 2015. Early life Trenna Keating was born and grew up in Weyburn, Saskatchew ...

as Faye McCray

Production

''A Dog Named Christmas'' is the 237th presentation by Hallmark Hall of Fame, the long-running anthology program of American television films. It was based on a novel of the same name by Greg Kincaid, which was published in 2008. He wrote the story almost ten years prior for his wife, Michale Ann, and his five children, who ranged in age from 9 to 13. Kincaid said his family hated the original story, particularly because of the unhappy ending. Kincaid rewrote the story over the next year, with a new ending that his family liked better. He named a character in the story after each of his children. The novel was fast-tracked into a film production in January 2009. During the film's original broadcast on

on November 29, 2009, the network sponsored a nationwide "Foster a Lonely Pet" program with Petfinder.com, an online database of adoptable pets, which included more than 2,000 shelters and animal-rescue groups across North America. After the end credits, a

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

was aired featuring Greg Kincaid describing the promotion.

Reception

In its original American broadcast on November 29, 2009, ''A Dog Named Christmas'' was seen by 18.7 million households, according to the Nielsen ratings. In the ratings, the movie outperformed

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's '' Sunday Night Football'' broadcast of the NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, which drew 17.3 million households. It was also seen by more households than

's ''60 Minutes'' at 14.3 million and American Broadcasting Company, ABC's ''Desperate Housewives'' at 12.6 million, and outperformed Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox's ''The Simpsons'' (9 million) and ''Family Guy'' (8.5 million).

Location

The movie was shot in the Southey, Saskatchewan, Southey and Earl Grey, Saskatchewan, Earl Grey area, located in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Prequel

In 2013 a television film, made-for-television prequel to ''A Dog Named Christmas'' was released. It is entitled ''Christmas with Tucker'' and based on a book with the same name by Greg Kincaid. Gage Munroe plays young George McCray while James Brolin and Barbara Gordon (actress), Barbara Gordon play his grandparents, Bo and Cora McCray. Filmed in Northern Ontario, Northern Ontario, Canada, ''Christmas with Tucker'' is about thirteen-year-old George coping with the death of his father. He is helped through his struggles by his friendship with a dog named Tucker.

References

External links

* *
CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of ''A Dog Named Christmas''
*
A Dog Named Christmas
official book website {{DEFAULTSORT:Dog Named Christmas 2009 television films 2009 films American Christmas films Canadian Christmas films English-language Canadian films Christmas television films Films based on American novels Films shot in Saskatchewan Hallmark Hall of Fame episodes Films about dogs Films about pets Films directed by Peter Werner Films scored by Jeff Beal 2000s Christmas films