Amanda Tavarez is ready for her OWN Christmas…

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network has expanded its holiday season programming with the new original holiday movie First Christmas, starring the Dominican American actress.

First Christmas, which also stars Idara Victor and Tonea Stewart, will premiere on Tuesday, December 22. The movie joins the previously announced Our OWN Christmas gospel music special hosted by Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin, which airs on Tuesday, December 1 at 9:00 pm ET/PT.

Given up for adoption and placed in foster care at a young age, writer Halle Downing receives the blessing of a lifetime when she’s invited to spend Christmas in New Orleans with the biological family she never knew she had – The Moores. Halle’s grandmother “Memaw” welcomes the young woman with open arms, completely overwhelming Halle with emotion at the significance of finally finding her family. Extremely excited to meet her twin siblings Tiffany (Samantha Smith) and Glenn (Mason Beauchamp) along with younger brother Drew (Peyton Jackson) for the first time, Halle soon faces the hard reality that finding her place in this close-knit family is going to take longer than she thought, something that becomes particularly evident when she witnesses Tiffany’s apprehension about introducing her new girlfriend Paris (Tavarez) to the family for the first time. However, as Christmas approaches, Halle begins to gain perspective on the Moore family dynamic and ultimately comes to embrace and celebrate her first family holiday with a special gift that tells her she is right where she is supposed to be. 

First Christmas is produced for OWN by MarVista in association with Harpo Films.

Tavarez’s previous credits include Queen Sugar, Dynasty, Cake: The Series and The Resident.