Danica McKellar will put her dancing skills to use in a new film for Great American Family

Actress Danica McKellar says she will put her dancing skills to use in a new film for Great American Family.

“I can’t give you a lot of details yet, but I’m working on one that involves some dance, which is a lot of fun,” she said during an interview with The List. “I haven’t done a lot of dancing since ‘Dancing with the Stars’ several years ago, but I love it. And it’s just a fantastic fun exercise and art form all at once.”

McKellar, who recently moved to Tennessee with her family (read all about it here), made headlines when she announced that she had signed an exclusive contract with Great American Family, a new network started by Hallmark Media’s former CEO Bill Abbott. As part of the deal, she will star in and executive produce four movies for the company.

Her most recent movie, Christmas at the Drive-In, is playing during the Great American Christmas lineup.

The actress said there’s nothing better than making romantic, feel-good films for viewers.

“Romantic comedies go all year round,” she said. “And I think what audiences love about Christmas is this feeling of nostalgia and family and traditions and warm fuzziness. Really, what we want is that warm fuzziness.”

Making the switch

McKellar first appeared on the small screen as Winnie Cooper in the ABC program The Wonder Years, which ran from 1988-1993. After finishing the series, she went on to study mathematics at UCLA.

In her work as an undergraduate, she helped author a mathematical-physics theorem, the Chayes-McKellar-Winn theorem. She has written 11 books about math and runs a website devoted to the subject.

She continued her acting career as well, making guest appearances on The West Wing and the The Big Bang Theory. Over the years, she has appeared in the Hallmark romcoms Crown for Christmas (2015), Christmas at Grand Valley (2018), and Christmas at Dollywood (2019). She also starred in Crown Media’s Matchmaker Mysteries series.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the actress said she was excited when Bill Abbott approached her about working for Great American Family.

“So when he was getting ready to launch this new network, I was thrilled that he reached out to me to sign a multi-picture deal as an actress and executive producer,” she said.

New network, new role

McKellar said she having a lot of fun in her new role at Great American Family.

“I’m executive producing and acting in these movies, and I have a little bit more creative say,” she said. “And so, it was really fun to be more hands-on and helping to make more creative decisions, not just in the script, but also just random things, like the props or whatever, just being more involved.”