So, GAF is bringing us the origin story of “I Heard the Bells,” the Christmas carol, not the Taco Bell you’re craving after one too many eggnogs. This holiday season, get ready for a dose of 19th-century heartbreak and poetic redemption with “I Heard the Bells,” a made-for-TV movie chronicling the life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
GAF aims to illuminate the man behind the well-known carol, exploring how personal tragedy—specifically, the loss of his wife—and the Civil War’s backdrop stymied Longfellow’s creative spirit. The film will trace Longfellow’s journey from grief-stricken silence to the Christmas morning epiphany that birthed the iconic poem, which later became the carol we all hum along to (or endure in endless holiday store loops).
Stephen Atherholt takes on the mantle of America’s poet laureate, so to speak, starring as Longfellow. He’s joined by Jonathan Blair and Rachel Day Hughes.
Tune in to GAF on Thursday, November 28 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT for “I Heard the Bells.”
