A Keller Christmas Vacation: Jonathan Bennett and Brandon Routh Introduce the “Griswolds of the Hallmark Channel”

A Keller Christmas Vacation starring Jonathan Bennett, Brandon Routh, and Eden Sher brings the infamous dysfunctional family trope to Hallmark Channel just in time for the holidays.

The film follows three grown siblings struggling with their parents’ request to spend Christmas together on a European cruise after years spent growing apart from each other.

When I spoke to Bennett and Routh, the nuances of an aging family dynamic were very much at the forefront of this project for them.

“I think it’s cool to see,” Routh agreed. “We have different phases of life, and people grow up. They experience the world, and they come back with newfound information, and sometimes families aren’t very good about letting you change. It’s very disruptive to other people to have a family member change, so a lot of time we don’t reconnect with our families, because they want to pretend that we’re still the 10-year-old version of ourselves.”

In the film, the Keller siblings are separated from their parents, pushing them to rely on each other for guidance for the first time in years.

“We’re forced to listen to each other and grow how we see our other siblings, which creates a more honest, authentic appreciation for them, because we see that they have evolved into an adult and that now we have more in common than we did in the past,” Routh continued.

“And that’s what I think life is about, is continually evolving and growing and allowing people to change for the better.”

Watch the full interview with Brandon Routh and Jonathan Bennett:

Bennett and Routh, who have known each other for many years, finally have the chance to play siblings on-screen. And there was one particular scene they felt captured the magic of that dynamic.

“There’s a scene where we go to the inn, and there’s one bed. You [Routh] and I are fighting over who sleeps on the bed, and there’s a moment when we’re both have our backs up against Eden [Sher], and our six-foot-three legs are up on the wall,” Bennett recalled.

“That scene, when it happened, it just sang. It was like, ‘Boom, there it is. That’s what it is really like.'”

Bennett is an Executive Producer on the project, and A Keller Christmas Vacation was inspired by his family’s vacations. So, the scene in the hotel room was “loosely based” on the actor’s annual houseboat trip with his family.

“When we get to the houseboat, we all run and I always want the back lower cabin. But if you get to the boat late, you’re getting the worst room back by the motor, where you’re hearing the engine the whole time. So there is a fight to get the bed.”

When asked what classic family Christmas movies they watch every year, Routh gave a shoutout to one of the most dysfunctional families of all time: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is my number one favorite movie of all time, not just Christmas. I just think it’s the perfect movie. So I drew a lot of inspiration from that with the dynamic of the family for this.”

“I hope the Kellers become the Griswolds of Hallmark Channel, because I think there’s room to keep telling these stories.”

And Routh casually plugged one of the most adored Hallmark holiday films ever made: “I heard a lot of people like this movie called Nine Lives of Christmas that was also on the Hallmark Channel.”

“But I think my go-to Christmas movie that I don’t really want to miss is Home Alone. It just has so much Christmas, you know. The Hallmark thing is Christmas in every shot and I think Christmas is in every shot of that movie. And I remember going to the theater as a kid and the music is great in it, too.”

—

A Keller Christmas Vacation premieres November 9 at 8/7c on Hallmark Channel and streams the next day on Hallmark+.

Follow us on X and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!