Fox announced Tuesday the first actor cast in its upcoming “A Christmas Story” live three-hour television event.
“Saturday Night Live” alum and Emmy winner Maya Rudolph has been cast as the mother of Ralphie, the center of the now classic holiday story.
The network also announced that the event will air on Sunday, Dec. 17 — just before Christmas.
“A Christmas Story” is based on the classic 1983 film and the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical, aptly titled “A Christmas Story: The Musical.” The play, which opened in 2012, was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
The version airing on Fox this winter will feature several new songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who scored the “Christmas Story” musical. The duo recently won Tonys for their work on “Dear Evan Hansen” and were lyricists on the Oscar-winning song “City of Stars” from “La La Land.”
Additional casting will be announced in the coming months.
The beloved movie, which also airs every year on TBS for 24 hours, is a coming-of-age story about a nine-year-old named Ralphie who is on a quest for a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and “this thing which tells time.” The film — based on Jean Shepherd’s 1966 book “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash,” also features multiple subplots about his Ralphie’s parents and other people in the neighborhood.
The musical event will be produced by Warner Horizon Unscripted Television and Alternative Television. Marc Platt and Adam Siegel with executive produce with Jonathan Tolins and Robert Cary (“Grease: Live”) also serving as executive producers and writers.