This is quite the confluence of some of your favorite TV icons.
Family Tree is a new holiday film that centers around three estranged adult siblings who must come together at Christmastime to sell their rundown childhood home. Once there, they find that repairing the house is perhaps the key to repairing their fractured relationships.
Deadline reports that Pathway Pictures has signed on to produce the dramedy, which was created by celebrity best friends and collaborators William Shatner, Star Trek icon, and Tom Bergeron, former host of Dancing With the Stars. The film was co-written by Katie Amanda Keane and Marla Sokoloff, who is directing.
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Full House fans will fondly remember Sokoloff as Gia Mahan, the enemy-turned-friend of middle Tanner daughter Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin). Gia was quite the rebellious teenager on the original series, and Sokoloff reprised the role for Fuller House, where she ended up marrying DJ’s (Candace Cameron Bure) love interest Matt Harmon (John Brotherton) in the final season.
In Family Tree, Shatner stars as Frank and Bergeron stars as Jeff. They are also executive producers on the project.
“Family Tree is about the kind of healing that only happens when you’re stuck together with the people who know you best, and challenge you the most.” — Marla Sokoloff
Deadline
“Family Tree is about the kind of healing that only happens when you’re stuck together with the people who know you best, and challenge you the most. It’s a story with grief, growth, and humor, wrapped in holiday warmth. Katie Amanda Keane and I have always wanted to collaborate on a holiday movie that is rooted in family reality with a touch of holiday magic, and I think we accomplished that with this script,” said Sokoloff in a statement.
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Shatner added, “I am so pleased to be involved in this magical mysterious Christmas show that celebrates love!”
“I am so pleased to be involved in this magical mysterious Christmas show that celebrates love!” — William Shatner
Deadline
The film is set to begin production in 2026 after a long road to even getting made. On Instagram, Sokoloff detailed how hard it has been to get a studio to produce their film, writing, “This one’s been a journey. One baby, two studios, and a whole lot of patience later… we’re still standing. 🎬✨.”
Indeed, Bergeron first started teasing Family Tree over two years ago. In January 2023, he posted a photo to Instagram of the script.
Fans are super excited, with one fan named Karl writing in the comments on Sokoloff’s post, “OMG Tom Bergeron teaming up with Captain Kirk from Star Trek TOS and Gia Mahan from Full House in one project together? Cool. 😎.”
Sokoloff and Shatner previously worked together on The Practice, where Shatner originated the role of Denny Crane that was spun off onto Boston Legal. Bergeron is primarily known for his hosting jobs, but he has dabbled in acting here and there, appearing on episodes of Castle and American Auto, and starring on the streaming series Down the Middle.
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