The CW Sets "The Waltons" Movie Starring Bellamy Young
by Andy Swift
May 25 2021


The CW is bringing us "The Waltons’ Homecoming", a new film made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1971 TV movie that launched the iconic "Waltons" franchise.

"The Waltons’ Homecoming" stars Bellamy Young (Prodigal Son) as Olivia and Logan Shroyer (This Is Us) as John Boy. Richard Thomas, who played John Boy in the original "Waltons" TV series, will serve as the narrator.




Per the official logline, Homecoming is “told through the eyes of John Boy, the 17-year-old eldest child of John and Olivia Walton. His mother expects John Boy to help her raise his sisters and brothers, and his father expects him to follow in his footsteps to help support the family, but secretly, John Boy wants to be a writer. Times are hard enough in 1933, but to make matters worse, it looked to be the Waltons’ first Christmas without John Sr.

When Olivia receives a letter that John Sr. is planning to make it home for Christmas after all, the family is thrilled and races to prepare for his homecoming. But when a storm threatens his arrival on Christmas Eve, and John Sr. is nowhere to be found, Olivia sends John Boy out into the night to find his daddy — a journey that will change John Boy’s life forever.”

https://tvline.com/2021/05/25/beebo-christmas-special-waltons-movie-the-cw/

The all-new heart-warming family holiday movie The Waltons' Homecoming airs on Sunday, November 28 (8:00-10:00pm ET).

https://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2021/10/and-just-like-that-we-get-premiere-date.html

Richard Thomas Welcomes New Walton Family & The Celebration of Faith on The CW’s The Waltons’ Homecoming
by Rosy Cordero
Nov. 12, 2021


The Walton family is back for The CW’s The Waltons’ Homecoming, premiering Nov. 28, and Richard Thomas — the original John Boy Walton — is celebrating the new chapter. Thomas will serve as the narrator on Homecoming while passing the baton to Logan Shroyer, 2021’s John Boy.

Thomas reflected on what the world was like when the original CBS series about faith and family aired from 1971-82 and why now is the perfect time to bring it back.

“When we did the series originally, this country, we were very split because of all the issues going on.” He said during a press Zoom chat Wednesday. “The line went right down the middle of the dinner table, a lot of the time. It was the beginning of a sort of balkanization where the demographic was split within the household. There were more televisions. So one of the great things about the show was that it brought people together. Young people could see a story about older people, and older people could remember their childhood.

And the faith element was just — you can’t really tell the story about people in that part of America in 1933 without a faith element. That was a huge part of people’s lives, and it still is around the country.”





He continued, “Dramaturgically speaking, we had many stories where faith and how people acted their faith out, where their prejudices were, where the benefits were. John had one point of view about going to church, which you didn’t do.

Olivia had another [point of view]. Grandpa was a pantheist, basically. It was such a big part of our storytelling and everyone had a different connection to it. So I think it’s completely valid still.”





Executive producer Sam Haskell revealed he was upfront with The CW about the importance of faith remaining an integral part of the new series.

“In my initial conversations with Mark Pedowitz, the chairman of The CW, I told him that there was going to be a faith element in this and he embraced it completely,” Haskell said. “And he feels as I do that putting faith and family and hope and joy front and center, it’s something this world needs right now. And I believe that The Waltons’ Homecoming is going to bring that to families. He and I both know that families watching something together is very rare these days. And this is the kind of program that can bring an entire family together.

https://deadline.com/2021/11/richard-thomas-the-waltons-homecoming-1234871532/

"The Walton’s Homecoming" Scores Season High Viewership for The CW
by Alexandra Del Rosario
November 29, 2021


On the heels of the Thanksgiving holiday, Christmas came early for The CW as its premiere of "The Waltons’ Homecoming" brought the network its highest viewership of the 2021-22 season.

"The Waltons’ Homecoming" premiered to approximately 0.96 million viewers and scored a 0.1 rating in the 18-49 demo, per fast affiliates. Though not necessarily strong enough to top Sunday primetime, The CW’s first ever made-for-TV-movie made for the network’s most watched night since April 14, 2021.

https://deadline.com/2021/11/the-waltons-homecoming-season-high-viewership-cw-snf-top-sunday-1234881400/