The Santa Con is Lifetime’s latest conviction!

Christmas is that time of year when one turns to thoughts of Jaleel White and John Ratzenberger, because hearing Jingle Bells for the ten thousandth time is enough to drive you criminally insane. Well, Lifetime has come to the rescue of the Christmas Crazies with their latest Christmas flick, The Santa Con! Not only do you have those two former tv superstars, but Melissa Joan Hart is along for the ride! And by that, I mean she also directed the film in addition to appearing in it! It’s about a mall Santa promising a kid that he’ll get his parents back together, and then the mall Santa guy goes out to do that, except maybe it doesn’t work out or he’s in love with the mom or something. The plot description sort of gets confusing. But just think, what if Bad Santa….found Jesus? Lifetime and Melissa Joan Hart have the answers!

Small-time con man Nick DeMarcco (Barry Watson, Hart of Dixie) is ordered by his parole officer to take a minimum-wage job as a department store Santa during the holidays…and he hates it. Near the end of his first shift, he hastily promises a young boy, Billy (Tucker Meeks), that Santa will bring his estranged parents back together by Christmas. When his sister Rosemary (Melissa Joan Hart, Melissa and Joey) hears this, she is livid and can’t believe he would break a little boy’s heart with an empty promise. After a long night of soul searching – and with the help of an insightful female pastor (Wendy Williams) – Nick decides to make good on his promise to the child, somehow. But after meeting the boy’s mother Carol (Melissa Sagemiller, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), will Nick ultimately choose to put the happiness of others ahead of his own? Jaleel White (Family Matters), Scott Grimes (Party of Five) and John Ratzenberger (Cheers) also star. Hart also directs this film.

In addition to the above cast, the film is written by David Breckman, who wrote some episodes of SNL and Monk.

The Santa Con premieres Saturday, December 13, on Lifetime!

via A&E, photo via Lifetime/A&E Press