About The Santa Clauses Season 1 – TV Series

The Santa Clauses Season 1 TV Series Details

The Santa Clauses is an American Christmas comedy television series created by Jack Burditt for Disney+ and based on The Santa Clause film series. It serves as a sequel to The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006) and features Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Eric Lloyd, and David Krumholtz reprising their roles from the film series. Jack Burditt serves as showrunner and executive producer. It premiered on November 16, 2022. In December 2022, The Santa Clauses was renewed for a second season which was released with two episodes on November 8, 2023.

STORY

Episodes 01

“Chapter One: Good to Ho”

In 2022, 28 years have passed since Scott Calvin took on the role of Santa Claus. While doing his rounds with his assistant elf Noel, Scott’s magic falters causing the reindeer to go off course, resulting in them landing back to the North Pole. Meanwhile, Scott’s wife, Carol eavesdrop on her children, Buddy “Cal” and Sandra, the former of who is playing virtual reality. Sandra notes that growing up at the North Pole she hasn’t had any friends and notes how Mrs. Claus is perceived. Meanwhile, Simon Chokshi, a head executive at EverythingNow, is trying to balance life as a single father of his daughter Grace after his wife died. Scott returns and learns he is losing weight, causing him to start gaining weight. The following year as he is doing his rounds, he falls off a roof, leading to Carol being worried as Betty, Noel’s wife and head elf is worried about Scott. Grace confronts Simon about his beliefs about Santa, but he explains he doesn’t know if he is real.

Note: The ending scene where Scott falls off the roof is a callback to The Santa Clause, when Scott had the roof mishap with Santa on Christmas Eve.

Episodes 02

“Chapter Two: The Secessus Clause”

Betty informs Scott of yet another clause called the Secessus Clause, which would allow Scott to retire as Santa once he chooses a worthy successor. Scott initially considers his sons for the role, but Charlie turns him down as he is happily married with a family of his own and Cal expresses a desire to see the real world. Meanwhile, Simon tries to get investors for his business to improve his delivery system, but it backfires when one of his automated drones malfunctions. Returning home, Simon and Grace find their living room decorated for Christmas just before the elves come to take them to the North Pole.

Episodes 03

“Chapter Three: Into the Wobbly Woods”

Scott meets with potential candidates for Santa Claus (including Peyton Manning) while Carol and Cal look forward to life outside the Pole, though Sandra, however, is reluctant to leave. While Scott meets with Simon, Sandra takes Grace on a tour of the Pole and discovers she can understand animals. She and Grace go to the Wobbly Woods to meet with Befana, the Christmas Witch. Scott and Simon go looking for them and bond over their mutual struggles as fathers. Scott decides to make Simon the new Santa Claus and he and his family depart for Chicago.

Episodes 04

“Chapter Four: The Shoes Off the Bed Clause”

The Calvin family starts adapting to life in the real world. Carol is offered a job running a local school, Cal becomes smitten with a girl named Riley and Sandra makes friends by joining an equestrian club. Scott, however, struggles to adapt to no longer being Santa. At the North Pole, Simon’s first day as Santa is off to a rocky start as he has lost the Santa coat and then decides to launch a new campaign called Christmas Every Day, which massively backfires by lowering the Christmas spirit and causing the elves to start disappearing, worrying Betty, whom Simon fires after she begins questioning him. Betty visits Befana in search of an old friend only to find the Santa coat.

Episodes 05

“Chapter Five: Across the Yule-Verse”

Bernard appears before Scott and tells him he needs to return to his role as Santa. To convince him, Bernard takes him to visit Scott’s predecessor, Santa XVII, who reveals that all previous Santas were ethereal and Scott was chosen to become Santa because of his giving spirit as a child. The clauses were created to help guide him in his endeavors. Learning of Simon’s campaign, Scott returns to the North Pole much to his family’s concern. When they realize what is going on, they decide to follow. At the North Pole, Scott is locked up by Simon.

Episodes 06

“Chapter Six: A Christmas to Remember”

After breaking out, Scott reunites with his family, who split up when they learn that the Santa coat is searching for him. Unfortunately, Simon beats them to it and threatens to burn the coat but is stopped by Grace. Showing her father a snow globe containing memories of the last Christmas with her late mother, Simon comes to his senses and apologizes to Grace for everything. Reembracing the Christmas spirit with his family, Scott returns to the role of Santa and the elves return. After returning the Choksis and wiping their memories, Scott and his family set out to deliver presents. Cal even delivers a bouquet of poinsettias to his girlfriend Riley, who believes the truth about Cal’s family and kisses him. Returning home, Scott and his family celebrate, more than ready to prepare for next year.

CAST

Tim Allen as Scott Calvin / Santa Claus: A former successful businessman, who became Santa Claus in 1994 and chose to remain in the role out of the goodness of his heart. After almost 30 years in his role, Calvin believes that he is losing his magical abilities due to aging and chooses to retire after choosing a successor. He is revealed to be the first human to take up the mantle of Santa Claus after the army of previous Santa Clauses determined that the world needed someone who would be familiar with the development of technology and given the nature of Santa Claus that Calvin had naturally within; all of his traits being what the world needs. Liam Seja portrays Calvin as a child during a flashback sequence.
Elizabeth Mitchell as Carol Calvin / Mrs. Claus: Calvin’s wife, who he married during The Santa Clause 2. Carol has grown inquisitive as to her greater purpose as Santa’s wife over the years, and is receptive to his decision to retire. Finding success once again in her role as a school principal when they move out of the North Pole, she begins to believe that Calvin’s decision was best for the entire family.
Austin Kane as Buddy “Cal” Calvin-Claus: Scott’s youngest son, Carol’s only son, Sandra’s brother, and Charlie’s paternal half brother. Cal at first is excited to experience life in his own way, believing that he did not hold the same skills that his father seems to have. Over the course of the series, it is revealed that he possesses magical abilities due to being born in the North Pole and the spirit of Christmas. The character first appeared in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, where he was named Buddy after his maternal grandfather.
Elizabeth Allen-Dick as Sandra Calvin-Claus: Scott and Carol’s daughter and youngest child; Buddy’s sister and Charlie’s paternal half-sister. Sandra enjoys living in at the North Pole, and is hesitant to move away when her father decides to retire. At the confusion of her parents, she often develops close friendships with animals. Over the course of the series, it’s revealed that she has magical abilities that she inherited from Santa Claus and the spirit of Christmas.
Matilda Lawler as Betty (season 1; recurring: season 2): Chief of Staff at the North Pole, and Noel’s wife.
Devin Bright as Noel: The current right-hand elf at the North Pole, Betty’s husband, and one of Santa’s best friends.
Rupali Redd as Grace Choksi (season 1): Simon’s kind-hearted daughter, who believes in the spirit of Christmas. Grace is excited to live at the North Pole, and experience the joys of Christmas every day. Her mother expressed desires for the feelings of Christmas every day, prior to passing from a major illness.
Kal Penn as Simon Choksi / Santa Claus (season 1): The man that Scott Calvin chooses to be his successor as Santa Claus at the North Pole. Prior to his new role, Choski is a game inventor, product developer, and single father with aspirations to become the equivalent of “the next Jeff Bezos” in the technology world. When he is appointed as the next Santa Claus, he views the efficiency at the North Pole as an opportunity to realize his unsuccessful business aspirations. Leading in his new role forcefully, Simon determines that every day will be Christmas, providing the world with instant gratification through a combination of his business technology and the North Pole’s magic. Over the course of the series, he becomes disillusioned and an antagonist to the spirit of Christmas. As the magic at the North Pole begins to fade, Choksi finds himself at odds with Calvin who returns to reclaim his role as Santa Claus.

PRODUCTION

Development

In January 2022, it was announced that a limited series that would serve as a legacy-sequel to The Santa Clause films was in development, with Tim Allen reprising his role in addition to serving as executive producer. Initially given the working title of “The Clauses”, the project was conceptualized with intent for a streaming release exclusive to Disney+. Jack Burditt serves as showrunner and executive producer, while Jason Winer is a director in addition to serving as an executive producer.

According to Allen, “It originally had a lot of otherworldly characters, and ghosts, and goblins. I said no, this is Christ-mas. Its Christ-mas. It literally is a religious holiday. We don’t have to blow trumpets, but I do want you to acknowledge it. That’s what this is about. If you want to get into Santa Claus, you’re gonna have to go back to history, and it’s all about religion.” On December 14, 2022, The Santa Clauses was renewed for a second season, with Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell set to return.