Sophia Michaels
The landmark 2003 romantic comedy, “Love Actually,” turns 20 next year. To mark the occasion, cast members are reuniting on ABC next week for a TV holiday special with Diane Sawyer. The anniversary feature will include interviews with Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, Laura Linney, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and Olivia Olson.
The film’s writer and director, Richard Curtis, will also be taking part in the special to reflect on the success and impact the film has had in the past two decades.
In a promotional clip from ABC, Sawyer poses the ever elusive question to cast members: “Love actually is?” Naturally, Grant, who plays the British prime minister stricken with dance fever, answers, “Dead!”
The one-hour special “will look at how the film became a beloved Christmas tradition and a global sensation, with new insight into behind-the-scenes secrets and iconic scenes,” according to a release. The reunion will also “examine how the COVID-19 pandemic refocused the ways we love and connect and the omnipresent acts of kindness inside our families and communities.”
In 2017, cast members also reunited for the short sequel, Red Nose Day Actually, which was also made by Curtis and further developed key character storylines. Several scenes from the short echoed iconic moments from the film such as the cue card scene with Keira Knightley’s and Andrew Lincoln’s characters. In the mini sequel, Grant, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Colin Firth and Rowan Atkinson made appearances.
For the upcoming reunion this season, “The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later – A Diane Sawyer Special” airs on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC, and will be available to stream next day on Hulu.
