Christmas got a whole lot more romantic after Love Actually hit the big screen back in 2003. The movie brought together an all-star team of British actors for a handful of vignette stories that could warm even the coldest of hearts in the holiday season. Sure, some of the stories are a bit odd in hindsight, but who can be a Scrooge when Prime Minister Hugh Grant is dancing around Downing Street? Now, a Love Actually sequel is in the works. Members of the cast will come together for a "Red Nose Day" short film on NBC.
"Red Nose Day Actually" will revisit many of the key characters from Love Actually in real time, so we'll get to see what the Christmas crew has been up to for the past 14 years. Returning are Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Keira Knightley, Andrew Lincoln, Colin Firth, Lucia Moniz, Liam Neeson, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Olivia Olson, Bill Nighy, Marcus Brigstocke, and Rowan Atkinson. Love Actually writer and director Richard Curtis will pen the script, and the video will run for 10 minutes. I'm not sure how Curtis will be able to do justice to all the characters with only 10 minutes, but it could be pretty great.
Judging by the list of returning actors, I'm guessing that we're in for an update on whether all those Love Actually happily-ever-afters really stayed happy. Andrew Lincoln and Keira Knightley will be back as Mark and Juliet, but Chiwetel Ejiofor doesn't seem to be back as Peter. Apparently we're going to find out if Juliet ever chose Mark and his slightly creepy poster boards of love over life with her husband. I'm mostly just curious about whether Andrew Lincoln will shave his Rick Grimes beard for "Red Nose Day Actually."
Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Olivia Olson both returning may mean that the most adorable and innocent romance of Love Actually is still going strong. The two kids were positively charming in the movie; a love story that continued into 2017 could be absolutely adorable. Hopefully Hugh Grant will bust out the dance moves from his days as the Prime Minister. He evidently hated filming the Downing Street dance back in 2003, but what's a little embarrassment when it's for a good cause?
Red Nose Day certainly is a good cause. The campaign features celebrities in all kinds of sketches designed to raise money and awareness for children living in poverty around the world. In years past, we've seen everything from Margot Robbie in a bathtub to Anna Kendrick in an Indiana Jones spoof to Ramsay Bolton singing a song about how he's really not such a bad guy. "Red Nose Day Actually" could be a highlight of the 2017 Red Nose Day event.
You can catch "Red Nose Day Actually" when it airs during the Red Nose Day Special in the U.S. on May 25 on NBC. Folks across the pond can catch the short film a little earlier when it makes its BBC debut on March 24. Check out our midseason TV premiere schedule to see what you can watch in the meantime.
