Actor and comedian Tim Allen is best known for his successful family movies—The Santa Clause movies, Toy Story and Toy Story 2—as well as adult comedies like Joe Somebody and Big Trouble. His latest TV series — The Santa Clauses — premieres this month, and he recently told Kelly Clarkson that it contains some faith-based elements.
The new series by Disney+ follows a dad named Scott Calvin who used to take on the role of Santa Claus and has decided to try it again — but in a new way. The experience forces him to examine his role as St. Nick, as well as his role as a father.
While promoting the series on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Allen — who is also executive producer of the series — mentioned that he pushed to eliminate other-worldly characters like ghosts and goblins from the story, relating that he said,
“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.”
Allen shared that episodes 5 and 6 contain more of a religious storyline.
“They found a brilliant way to do this … It’s really wonderful.”
Allen told Clarkson that the series also includes the religious history behind Santa Claus:
“We dive deep as it gets later about St. Nicholas and the Turkish priest that started this,” he says. “It honors the heart of Christmas. [It’s] is about giving. It’s really important to understand … Getting is what we’ve gotten used to. But the whole thing is about what it’s like to give.”
Here’s the clip, which also features Allen’s daughter Elizabeth Allen-Dick, who also stars in The Santa Clauses. Allen not only plays a proud dad in the show, but he’s clearly proud of what his real-life daughter has accomplished.