‘My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood’ to debut December 3 on HBO Max
(Joseph Llanes)
HBO Max is spreading holiday cheer with the debut of Carrie Underwood’s new music special My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood. In the Max Original, Underwood performs a combination of beloved traditional favorites celebrating the joy and hopefulness of the holiday, as well as new original material from her first ever full-length Christmas album My Gift, which was released earlier this fall. On the special, she is accompanied by her band, as well as a live orchestra and choir, conducted by Underwood’s longtime friend, Emmy® Award-winning musical director Rickey Minor.
The special features many heartfelt moments and performances, including a duet with John Legend, singing “Hallelujah,” an original song he co-wrote with Toby Gad, which appears on her My Gift album. Viewers will also get an inside look behind the scenes of Underwood recording “Little Drummer Boy” with her five-year-old son Isaiah.
My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood will be available to stream starting Thursday, December 3 on HBO Max.
“I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Playtone and HBO Max to bring My Gift to life,” said Underwood. “Just like the album, I hope this special will help bring some much-needed joy and become part of the soundtrack to people’s holiday festivities this year as it streams throughout the season and beyond.”
My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood is executive produced by Gary Goetzman and Tom Hanks for Playtone – which has garnered 52 Emmy Awards and 107 nominations – along with Underwood and her manager, Ann Edelblute. The special is directed by Emmy nominee Sandra Restrepo, with production design by Tom Lenz and wardrobe styling by multiple Emmy Award-winning costume designer Marina Toybina.
“This special is an homage to the classic, timeless holiday specials, highlighting the vocal gifts of the incomparable Carrie Underwood,” said producer Goetzman. “She’s an artist who transcends genres and shows here why audiences love her around the world.”
Produced and arranged by GRAMMY Award-winning producer, mixer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Greg Wells, My Gift, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country, Christian and Holiday charts. My Gift marks the eighth straight album Underwood has debuted #1 on the Billboard Country chart. My Gift also debuted at #1 on the UK country chart (her fifth #1 on the chart) and #1 on the Canadian country chart.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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