NBC DELIVERS CHRISTMAS CHEER WITH NEW LIVE-ACTION VERSION OF YULETIDE CLASSIC "THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS," STARRING JOHN GOODMAN, CHRIS KATTAN, ETHAN SUPLEE, EDDIE GRIFFIN AND CAROL KANE

NBC DELIVERS CHRISTMAS CHEER WITH NEW LIVE-ACTION VERSION OF YULETIDE CLASSIC "THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS," STARRING JOHN GOODMAN, CHRIS KATTAN, ETHAN SUPLEE, EDDIE GRIFFIN AND CAROL KANE

Production on Family Christmas Comedy Begins July 10 in Louisiana

BURBANK � July 6, 2006 � In the 2006 holiday season, NBC viewers will get a new, live-action version of the Yuletide classic "The Year Without a Santa Claus," a heartwarming story about Santa Claus and a young boy who help each other believe in Christmas again. Emmy nominee John Goodman ("Roseanne," NBC's "The West Wing"), Chris Kattan (NBC's "Saturday Night Live," "Undercover Brother"), Ethan Suplee (NBC's "My Name is Earl," "Cold Mountain"), Eddie Griffin ("Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo," "Scary Movie 3") and Emmy Award winner Carol Kane ("Taxi," Broadway's "Wicked") star in the family Christmas comedy, which is based on the 1974 Rankin-Bass holiday perennial that featured stop-motion animation.

When his devious head elf, Sparky (Kattan), tells him that he must "keep up with the times" � no matter how materialistic � Santa Claus (Goodman) resists, fearing that the holiday has become far too commercial. Convinced that no one believes in him anymore and that people have forgotten the real meaning of Christmas, Santa decides to take the year off and not deliver any gifts, much to the dismay of his two closest elves, Jingle (Suplee) and Jangle (Griffin). When Santa tells them that he doesn't think there are any children left who still care about the true spirit of Christmas, the two elves decide to prove him wrong.

While Sparky schemes to take over Santa's job, Jingle and Jangle travel to South Town, U.S.A. to find a young boy trying to recapture the holiday magic by reviving a once-popular Yuletide festival. But their efforts are complicated by Heatmiser and Snowmiser, the two feuding sons of Mother Nature (Kane), whose help Jingle and Jangle will need if they want to save Christmas.

Mark Wolper ("Salem's Lot," "Helter Skelter") is the executive producer, and Ron Underwood ("City Slickers," "Mighty Joe Young") directs the two-hour movie from the Wolper Company in association with Warner Bros. Television. "The Year Without a Santa Claus" will be filmed in Shreveport and Natchitoches, Louisiana.