Ashlee Simpson to Star in ‘The Recipe Files,’ Anchoring QVC and HSN Streamers’ Holiday Originals Slate Packed With Product Tie-Ins (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Retail-focused sister streamers QVC+ and HSN+ are marking their second year of original holiday programming with a new TV movie starring Ashlee Simpson.

Titled “The Recipe Files,” the holiday baking mystery — filled with cameos from QVC hosts and plenty of plugs for tie-in products and partner brands — is directed by Lindsay Hartley (“Passions,” “Days of Our Lives”) and will launch on QVC+ Nov.

24. That film marks the consumer-product-focused streamer’s second holiday original movie, following last year’s “Holly and the Hot Chocolate,” but is not the only piece of new holiday content set to rollout on QVC+ and HSN+ this fall and winter, with additional titles including a new series from Curtis Stone; competition “The Ultimate Gift Wrapping Challenge”; food show “Seasoned,” featuring the personal stories of chefs including Carla Hall; curated holiday retail therapy in weekly series “The Edit”; and more.

While QVC+ and HSN+ are upping their holiday originals count this year, leadership says that does not mean the platforms are looking to mimic what you would see in a scripted seasonal original from Hallmark, Lifetime or Netflix, and then just add in their “retailtainment” part. “I think that we are creating our own special brand of storytelling,” Soumya Sriraman, president of streaming for QVC and HSN parent company Qurate Retail Group, told Variety.