By Taylor Neumann
Bring a bit of nostalgia into your Christmas plans this year by sitting down with People Presents: Blending Christmas, a story of family and love and … Bradys?
Yes, this movie, which premiered Sunday, Dec. 12, on Lifetime, reunites a number of stars from The Brady Bunch, including Barry Williams, Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen.
The former Brady children play the extended family of a couple, Emma and Liam (Haylie Duff and Aaron O’Connell), who are discussing marriage. Liam plans on proposing over the holidays, but only if both of their families can be there. The families show up, but drama ensues, and the couple find themselves questioning their relationship. Now, both sides of the family must join forces to work together and get Emma and Liam back on the same page.
Members of the Brady family have reunited for other projects, but each time it’s as easy as ever.
“I describe them as my second family,” explains Williams. “We’re in touch on a regular basis. We know what’s going on in each other’s lives and where we are and discuss things as they come up, whether they’re projects or getting together. It’s a very comfortable fit for us, or we wouldn’t work together as much as we do.”
And as much as viewers love to see the gang back together again, Williams and his old costars love to get together, as well.
“The No. 1 question I am asked is, ‘Hey, do you guys really like each other?’ People want to know if what they saw is real. And it is.”
Williams also has an idea as to why The Brady Bunch has endured the way it has.
“I think our show was a great idealistic example of a functional family,” he says. “For those, like most, who have slightly dysfunctional families, it was a good sort of image to see what it would look like if you had one too.”
Which is exactly the point of Lifetime Christmas movies as well — a sweet holiday glimpse into a happy ending.