Naman Shrestha
In Lifetime’s ‘A Pickleball Christmas,’ we get acquainted with Luke Hollis, a young and renowned tennis star who recently won the biggest game of his career. After he heads to his family home in Florida to relax with his loved ones, he receives an unexpected news — the family’s racquet club is on the brink of getting sold. In a desperate attempt to save the club, Luke agrees to join forces with the club’s pickleball coach, Caroline, and participate in a high-stakes pickleball tournament.
While training to win the competition and save the family’s club, Luke and Caroline end up falling head over heels in love with one another, changing the former’s perspective of life and priorities for the future. Directed by Monika Mitchell, the romantic drama film is set in Florida and at the racquet club, where most of the story unfolds. The family’s racquet club becomes a significant driving force of the narrative as it brings Luke and Caroline closer.
Where Was A Pickleball Christmas Filmed?
‘A Pickleball Christmas’ was reportedly filmed in its entirety in British Columbia, particularly in Greater Vancouver. From what we can tell, principal photography for the Lifetime production took place over the course of a few weeks in the spring or summer of 2025. Thanks to the vastness and versatility of the province’s cityscape, British Columbia can easily be turned into other towns and cities for a wide range of projects, including the Christmas-themed film.
Greater Vancouver, British Columbia
In order to shoot ‘A Pickleball Christmas,’ the filming unit set up camp in Greater Vancouver, a metropolitan area that consists of the city of Vancouver and the surrounding areas. Given the similarity between its buildings and overall landscape, the city of Vancouver has doubled for various American cities in movies and shows. For the Hallmark film, it served as a stand-in for Florida, where the story is set. By focusing on the beach areas of Vancouver and tall buildings, the makers managed to depict it as if it were Florida. The scenes involving the family racquet club and tennis courts were supposedly taped at one of the actual tennis courts or a park in Vancouver or nearby areas.
Several pivotal sequences were also reportedly lensed in the city of Maple Ridge, situated in the northeastern section of Greater Vancouver. In the establishing and exterior shots, you might be able to spot a few landmarks and places of interest, such as Stanley Park, the Lions Gate Bridge, Science World, Harbour Centre, Living Shangri-La, The Butterfly, and One Wall Centre, among others. In an interview, James Lafferty revealed, “I was cast in the role five days before the shoot, so we didn’t have much time to prepare, but James brought us all up to speed on the nuances of the game. He did an incredible job giving us these two-hour cram sessions. He was instrumental in going through the script beats to identify the necessary context for the sports choreography.”
A Pickleball Christmas Cast Details
The cast of ‘A Pickleball Christmas’ is led by the impressive performances of James Lafferty and Zibby Allen. Alongside an actor, the former has served as a director for ‘All American,’ ‘The Royals,’ ‘One Tree Hill,’ and ‘Everyone Is Doing Great,’ as well as an executive producer for ‘The Caul,’ ‘Hours Before,’ and ‘Everyone Is Doing Great.’ As for Zibby, she has a writing credit for the 2019 film ‘The Living Worst.’
James Lafferty as Luke Hollis
In the Lifetime production, James Lafferty steps into the role of Luke Hollis, the talented tennis star who does everything possible to save his family’s racquet club. Multi-talented James has showcased his acting range in various kinds of projects — ‘The Right Stuff’ as Scott Carpenter, ‘One Tree Hill’ as Nathan Scott, ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ as Ryan, and ‘Everyone Is Doing Great’ as Jeremy Davis. He also stars in numerous films, including ‘Small Town Crime,’ ‘Waffle Street,’ ‘Lost on Purpose,’ ‘Red Right Hand,’ and ‘Oculus.’
Zibby Allen as Caroline
Zibby Allen essays the character of Caroline, the racquet club’s coach and Luke’s romantic interest, in ‘A Pickleball Christmas.’ Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, California, she is widely recognized for her portrayals of Brie Sheridan in ‘Virgin River,’ an actress in ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ Julie in ‘The Twilight Zone,’ and Dr. Tanya Lamden in ‘The Flash.’ You might also recognize her from several other movies and shows like ‘A Stranger’s Child,’ ‘Lies Between Friends,’ ‘The Vows We Keep,’ ‘The Story of Us,’ ‘Scaredy Cats,’ ‘Nancy Drew,’ and ’30 Second Somebodies.’ The lead actors are supported by several other talented actors, including Ashley Alexander as Amy Wallace, Brandi Alexander as Susan, John Cassini as Burt, Thomas Darya as Keith Hoffman, Matty Finochio as Tobey Thicke, and Sari Mercer as Tinley Grace Thicke.
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