Lifetime’s ‘A Picture Perfect Holiday’ Turns the Camera on Yuletide Romance

Romance is “in focus” on Lifetime tonight, Saturday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m. ET, with the premiere of A Picture Perfect Holiday, starring Tatyana Ali and Henderson Wade.

A Picture Perfect Holiday is the second installment in the cable channel’s “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” holiday slate of romance movies, following the sugary-sweet premiere of An Ice Wine Christmas last night.

With the new TV movie in our viewfinder, we’ve rounded up some details about the plot and cast…

A Picture Perfect Holiday follows an ambitious fashion photographer named Gaby, whose new magazine-editor boss encourages her to hone her skills at a Christmas-themed photography retreat in the (fictional) town of Pine Falls. Gaby is a bit of a Scrooge when it comes to the holidays, but she signs up anyway.

Upon her arrival at the retreat, however, Gaby realizes her rental has been double-booked, and her new roomie is wildlife photographer Sean. But Gaby soon discovers “there’s more to a photo than what you see through the lens,” Lifetime teases. And as she and Sean fall for one another, life gets in the way, and the lovebirds “must decide if they’re willing to take a risk in order to share a picture perfect holiday together.”

Leading the cast of the TV movie are Tatyana Ali as Gaby and Henderson Wade as Sean. Tatyana is best known for playing Ashley Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and she later recurred as Roxanne on The Young and the Restless.

Henderson, meanwhile, has had significant roles in the TV shows The Last Ship, Riverdale, A Million Little Things, Swamp Thing, and Dear White People.

Other cast members include Dina Meyer (Beverly Hills, 90210), Paula Andrea Placido (Shameless), and Rivkah Reyes (School of Rock), and Ahaise Clinton Bradt (Andi Mack).

The movie was directed by J.E. Logan and written by Anna White. Fun fact: Anna has 11 other Christmas movie screenwriting credits, including Hallmark Channel’s Christmas CEO, premiering on Nov. 26.

According to an Instagram post from a stylist who worked on the film, A Picture Perfect Holiday was filmed in Utah. Lifetime also filmed the upcoming movies A Fiancé for Christmas and Hot Chocolate Holiday in the Beehive State, as the Utah Film Commission reports.

The holiday event picks back up again next weekend with Dancing Through the Snow on Friday, Nov. 19, You Make It Feel Like Christmas on Saturday, Nov. 20, and Baking Spirits Bright on Sunday, Nov. 21.

In Dancing Through the Snow, a devoted single father (Colin Lawrence) falls for his daughter’s ballet teacher (AnnaLynne McCord). In You Make It Feel Like Christmas, a busy designer (Mary Antonini) gets a reminder about the holiday spirit from her childhood best friend (Michael Xavier). And in Baking Spirits Bright, a baker (Rekha Sharma) recruits a marketing maven (Dion Johnstone) to help her expand her fruitcake business. Seriously!