Scripps Networks celebrates the holidays with five new original movies on ION and Bounce

ATLANTA, Oct. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Five new original holiday movies will premiere on ION and Bounce beginning Sunday, Nov. 21. In total, the Scripps Networks will combine to air over 200 hours of holiday movies and programming. Last year, ION ranked No. 1 among all networks airing original holiday programming. *

The new original Scripps Networks holiday movies for 2021:

• Bounce
• "Who is Christmas Eve?" - Premieres 8 p.m., Nov. 21
  Eve Simons (Paige Audrey-Marie Hurd, Power Book II: Ghost, Hawaii Five-O) was abandoned as an infant on the steps of a church 30 years ago on Christmas Eve. Now, struggling to move forward with her life, she embarks on a search to uncover the mystery of her birth with the help of her boyfriend Chris (Romeo Miller, Romeo!, Empire) and famed investigative genealogist Pamela Slaton (Juliana Harkavy, Arrow). The movie is inspired by Slaton's work, and she serves as an executive producer. Paige Audrey-Marie Hurd serves as a co-executive producer.
• ION
• "Christmas Down Under" - Premieres 8 p.m., Nov. 21
  After a fight with her husband (Paul O'Brien, Home & Away, Neighbors), a tightly wound wife (Justine Kacir, Home & Away) follows him to his hometown of Sydney, Australia, in hopes of saving their marriage. Tracking him down proves complicated, and she must rely on an Aboriginal tour guide and a social media influencer ride-share driver to help - all just days before Christmas.

• "A Christmas Witness" - Premieres 8 p.m., Nov. 28
  A no-nonsense federal marshal (Arielle Kebbel, Ballers, The Vampire Diaries) is tasked with protecting a low-level, charming mobster (Colin Egglesfield, Rizzoli & Isles, All My Children) until he testifies against his mafia boss two days after Christmas.

• "The Christmas Thief" - Premieres 8 p.m., Dec. 12
  Lana Lawton (Michelle Borth, Hawaii Five-O), a fledgling private eye home for the holidays, realizes the only way to save her career is by solving a string of local burglaries where the main suspect is Santa Claus. With little evidence and having to contend with a local detective with an investigative style that clashes with hers, the season may prove to be anything but holly and jolly. Vivica A. Fox co-stars as the head of a local detective agency.

• "A New Lease on Christmas" - Premieres 8 p.m., Dec. 11
  A single real estate agent (Clair Coffee, Grimm, Lincoln Rhymes - Hunt for the Bone Collector) falls for a handsome coffee shop owner (George Stults, 7th Heaven) - only to discover that the job she just took requires her to evict him from his shop.

In addition, Laff will air a week of primetime family-friendly holiday movies beginning Dec. 6 and Grit will present holiday-themed Westerns on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

About Scripps
The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As the nation's fourth-largest local TV broadcaster, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Grit, Laff, Court TV Mystery, Defy TV and TrueReal. Scripps is the nation's largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, "Give light and the people will find their own way."

*Source: Nielsen Media Research, A25-54 C3 Impressions, 2020 (11/26/20 - 1/1/21), competitive set based on networks with original holiday movies, total day excluding kids programming.

Contact:                    Jim Weiss                  770-672-6504                       [email protected]

SOURCE SCRIPPS