‘In a Holidaze’ Trailer Is Here: Maddie Ziegler Relives the Same Christmas Over and Over in Netflix’s Time-Loop Rom-Com
Few story ideas are as comforting as the time loop. Give a character the same day on repeat, and they’re forced to figure out what really matters. ‘Groundhog Day’ made it a classic, and holiday romances have been borrowing its magic ever since.
Netflix is now putting its own festive spin on the concept. ‘In a Holidaze‘ is adapted from the New York Times bestselling 2020 novel by the author duo Christina Lauren. Readers have pitched the book as ideal for fans of ‘Groundhog Day’ and ‘Life After Life’.
Now audiences have a proper look at how it translates to the screen. Netflix has released the first trailer, a roughly 2-minute teaser that shows Maddie Ziegler stuck in a Christmas time loop. The film premieres on Netflix on December 2, closing out the streamer’s slate of new holiday movies.
A directionless romantic is stuck reliving the same Christmas again and again until she discovers what makes her truly happy. Maddie Ziegler stars in IN A HOLIDAZE, based on the best-selling novel by Christina Lauren. Premiering December 2. https://t.co/2nlSpUnbEu
— Netflix (@netflix) October 15, 2026
Ziegler plays Mae, and the trailer opens with her frantically asking family friend Benny for help. Benny is played by a sleepy Rob Lowe. She has made a big romantic mistake, kissing the wrong brother when she meant to kiss Andrew, played by Graham Phillips, but instead locked lips with his brother Theo, played by Elias Kacavas.
Mae describes herself as an emotional wreck following her parents’ divorce. They’re played by Patton Oswalt and Jackie Sandler. It will also be the last Christmas that Mae and her chosen holiday family spend at their cozy cabin, which is set to be sold.
The official logline sums it up. After a romantic mistake of epic proportions, a directionless twenty-something is trapped in a holiday time loop, forced to relive the same Christmas at her family’s cabin until she discovers what truly makes her happy. The trailer adds snowy visuals of the lodge, glowing with warm lights against a dark winter night.
In the book, Mae has spent a year working up the nerve to tell Andrew how she feels. The trailer’s setup echoes that, with her kissing Theo instead. The cabin is a snowy Utah getaway where her family has spent the holidays every year since she was born.
Tiffany Paulsen writes and directs the film. She’s a familiar name in Netflix’s holiday lineup, having directed the Emma Roberts comedy ‘Holidate’. Christina Lauren is the pen name of writing partners Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, and the project is the first from Alloy Entertainment under its multi-year first-look deal with Netflix.
The ensemble goes beyond the main players. Andrea Anders, Gil Bellows, Christopher Shyer, Samer Salem, Luke Roessier and Meredith Salenger round out the cast. Leslie Morgenstein and Elysa Koplovitz produce, while Lowe also serves as an executive producer.
The snowy setting wasn’t built on a soundstage. Production took place in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada, from late January through mid-March. Those wintry British Columbia locations should help the cabin feel like a character of its own.
The film arrives as part of a broader Christmas push. Netflix revealed its holiday trailer teaser on October 12, announcing 4 new films that debut weekly from November through December. They include ‘Guarding Stars’, which stars Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki and premieres on November 18, and ‘Tyler Perry’s The Gospel of Christmas’.
‘In a Holidaze’ closes the slate. With a time-loop hook and a love triangle between 2 brothers, it offers something a little different from the usual formula. For viewers who like their rom-coms with a touch of fantasy, that could be just what the season needs.
The real question is whether the film can capture the book’s warmth while still giving the loop some surprises. If the trailer is any indication, the humor is there, and so is the heart. Ziegler’s Mae looks like a heroine worth rooting for as she tries to get Christmas right.
Which brother should Mae end up with?
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!
