Sarah Drew Says Making ‘Reindeer Games Homecoming’ With Justin Bruening Was a ‘Total Dream’

Lifetime’s new Christmas movie is a Grey’s Anatomy reunion. Reindeer Games Homecoming stars Sarah Drew – aka April Kepner – and Justin Bruening, who played April’s husband Matthew on the long-running ABC series. It airs Nov. 12. Drew, who also wrote the movie’s script, said in a social media update that she was “pinching myself that we actually got to make this movie.”

What is ‘Reindeer Games Homecoming’ about? 

In Reindeer Games Homecoming, Drew plays MacKenzie Graves, a whip-smart, ultra-competitive high school biology teacher who lives in Vermont. Several years ago, her father, the town’s beloved fire chief, died. Every year since then, she’s honored his memory by competing with her dad’s former team in her town’s holiday fundraising tradition: The Reindeer Games. 

Mac is a Reindeer Games champion. But this year, the competition – and her world – is rocked when Chase Weston (Bruening) returns home. Chase was Mac’s biology partner and high school crush. After they graduated, he built a successful career as an actor. But with his fame fading, he’s come back to Vermont to help his pregnant sister. He gets roped into participating in the Reindeer Games, and in the process, he and Mac rediscover their old connection. Chase finds himself eager to not only win the games, but also Mac’s heart. 

Sarah Drew said she’s ‘so excited’ to share her writing debut 

The day before The Reindeer Games premiere, Drew took to Instagram to share what she said was one her favorite scenes in the movie. The clip shows Drew’s character encountering Chase in their former high school’s auditorium, where both are hunting for costumes for a Reindeer Games challenge. 

Drew went on to say that she “loved” working with the “fantastic” Bruening (who also stars in Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias) and everyone else involved in the movie. 

“This was a total dream team and I’m still pinching myself that we actually got to make this movie!” she wrote. 

Drew said her past work with Bruening was beneficial when making the movie 

In an interview with People, Drew and Bruening opened up about working together again on Reindeer Games Homecoming. 

Drew said she hadn’t written the part of Chase with her former Grey’s Anatomy co-star in mind. But when his name came up, she realized he was “so perfect” for the role. She went on to explain that their history of working together on the medical drama helped sell their characters’ relationship in Reindeer Games Homecoming. 

“I wanted to create a relationship that felt really true and really honest and didn’t scratch the surface, but had legs to it and had roots to it,” she said. “And I think it was super beneficial getting to work with Justin since we’ve been working together for 10 years. We’re just able to immediately leap in and there’s no kind of trying to figure out the chemistry. We have a decade of history.”

Reindeer Games Homecoming airs Saturday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime. 

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