A Dog Named Christmas Premieres Tonight on CBS  11/29/09

"A DOG NAMED CHRISTMAS," A NEW "HALLMARK HALL OF FAME" PRESENTATION STARRING BRUCE GREENWOOD, LINDA EMOND AND NOEL FISHER, TO BE BROADCAST SUNDAY, NOV. 29 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

A DOG NAMED CHRISTMAS, a new "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation starring Bruce Greenwood (the newest "Star Trek" movie and "Thirteen Days"), Tony Award nominee Linda Emond ("Life x 3," "Julie & Julia") and Noel Fisher ("The Riches," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") will be broadcast Sunday, Nov. 29 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The movie tells the tale of a developmentally challenged young man with a penchant for caring for animals in need, who sets out to convince his family - and their whole rural community - to participate in a local shelter's inaugural "Adopt a Dog for Christmas Program."

Todd McCray (Fisher), a responsible and developmentally challenged 20 year old, lives on a farm in Kansas with his loving parents, George (Greenwood) and Mary Ann (Emond). Both Mary Ann and George are forever inspired and impressed by the upbeat Todd, who assists with numerous chores on the farm and is known for regularly rescuing and nursing wounded wild animals back to health. George often describes Todd as having "his own way of thinking about things." However, Todd's way of thinking clashes with George's when a radio promotion for the local animal shelter's first-ever "Adopt a Dog for Christmas Program" - which entails caring for a dog during Christmas week and the option of keeping the dog for good - creates a keen desire in Todd to adopt a lonely pup for the holiday.

Though George stubbornly opposes the idea, Todd's special gifts of persuasion result in their bringing home a yellow Labrador, whom Todd names "Christmas" and bonds with immediately. Todd soon makes it his mission to ensure that all of the shelter's numerous caged dogs are brought into friendly homes for the holiday, and he uses creative and persistent means of inspiring the families in his community to do their part.

Bruce Greenwood was seen most recently on the big screen as Captain Christopher Pike in the latest installment of "Star Trek." His additional film credits include "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," "I'm Not There," "Déjà vu," "Being Julia," "Exotica," "The Sweet Hereafter," "Ararat" and "Thirteen Days." In 2005, he earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his work in "Capote." His feature "Mao's Last Dancer," for director Bruce Beresford, premiered in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Linda Emond can currently be seen in theaters as Simone Beck in "Julie & Julia." Among her additional film credits are "Stop-Loss," "North Country," "The Dying Gaul" and "Pollock." She has a wealth of stage credits, including Broadway productions "Life x 3," for which she earned a Tony Award nomination, and "1776." Her numerous television credits include the recent movie "Georgia O'Keeffe," a recurring role on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and a guest-starring role on "The Sopranos."

Noel Fisher began his professional acting career on television series in his native Canada. Since moving to the U.S. in 2003, his television credits include a lead role in "The Riches," a recurring role on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," and guest-starring roles on the CBS series "The Mentalist," "Cold Case" and "Two and A Half Men." His feature film credits include "Max Keeble's Big Move," "Final Destination 2" and the acclaimed independent film, "After Sex." "Red," a film in which he co-starred with Brian Cox, was an Official Selection of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

A DOG NAMED CHRISTMAS is a Hallmark Hall of Fame production. Brent Shields ("The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler") is executive producer; Peter Werner ("Front of the Class") is the director; Jenny Wingfield ("The Man in the Moon") wrote the script based on the novel by Greg Kincaid.