Stonestreet’s Santa: ‘Modern Family’ alum joins ‘The Santa Clauses’
Stonestreet’s Santa: Viewers are used to seeing Eric Stonestreet as bubbly Cameron Tucker in “Modern Family,” but for his next TV project, the Emmy-winning actor will be decidedly more “mad.”
Stonestreet has joined the Season 2 cast of the Disney+ original series “The Santa Clauses.” He’s been tapped to play the role of Magnus Antas, a.k.a. the Mad Santa, who reigned during the 14th century. And Mad Santa (Stonestreet) is an important part of Season 2, as he tries to take down Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) and reclaim the North Pole.
A series followup to the “Santa Clause” films (1994, 2002 and 2006), the Disney+ comedy brought back the two film leads, Tim Allen (“Last Man Standing”) and Elizabeth Mitchell (“Lost”), and was one of the streamer’s mostwatched original series last year following its Nov. 16 debut. The first season centered on Tim Allen’s character, former businessman Scott Calvin. Years after assuming the role of Santa Claus, Scott was struggling to balance his work and his family, and he was even contemplating giving up the job.
He’s still Santa in the second season, since he had to put his retirement plans on hold due to his inability to find a replacement. Maybe Scott’s son, Cal (Austin Kane, “Bizaardvark”), can be counted on to take over the family business as Santa? We’ll see how that idea plays out in Season 2.
Stonestreet isn’t the only newcomer to “The Santa Clauses.” Marta Kessler (“The Mysterious Benedict Society”) will appear as Olga, Mad Santa’s surly gnome sidekick who doesn’t understand feelings or even empathy. Other guest stars include Liam Kyle (“Pinocchio,” 2022) and Laura San Giacomo (“Just Shoot Me!”) in the role of La Befana, the Christmas Witch.