Kal Penn Joins Disney+ ‘The Santa Clause’ Limited Series

Kal Penn has joined the upcoming Disney+ Original limited series based on The Santa Clause films.  Last week, The DisInsider revealed that the series would be titled “The Clauses.”

The new series was announced in January with Tim Allen reprising the beloved role of Scott Calvin and Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost) returning as Carol a.k.a. Mrs. Claus.  Tim Allen will also executive-produce the series.

Allen starred in all three original films.  Mitchell first appeared as Carol in the 2002 film The Santa Clause 2 and also again in 2006 for The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.

In the Disney+ series, Scott Calvin is on the brink of his 65th birthday and realizing that he can’t be Santa forever. He’s starting to lose a step in his Santa duties, and more importantly, he’s got a family who could benefit from a life in the normal world, especially his two kids who have grown up at the Pole.  With a lot of elves, children, and family to please, Scott sets out to find a suitable replacement Santa while preparing his family for a new adventure in a life south of the pole.

According to Deadline, Penn has been cast as Simon Choksi. An ambitious game inventor and product developer, and a devoted single father, Simon can talk the tech mogul talk but can’t walk the walk and his dreams of being the next Bezos falls drastically short. But all that changes after a visit to the North Pole.

Penn is best known for his starring roles in the Harold & Kumar franchise, House, Designated Survivor and Sunnyside.  The actor has also been cast as the male lead of Belated, FX’s comedy pilot written, directed and executive produced by Peter Tolan.

Jason Winer (The Big Leap) has been tapped as director and executive producer.

Production on “The Santa Clause” is set to begin in Los Angeles this month. Award-winning Jack Burditt (“30 Rock,” “Modern Family,” “Frasier,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) is the executive producer and showrunner and Kevin Hench (“Last Man Standing”), Richard Baker and Rick Messina will also serve as executive producers.

The Disney Branded Television series is a production of 20th Television.

Source: Deadline