Sarah Drew is bringing ho-ho-heat to the holidays in Lifetime's “A Cowboy Christmas Romance”

The 'Grey's Anatomy' alum, who wrote and executive produced the film, describes it as "'Yellowstone' meets 'Bridgerton,' with a little Christmas spiced in there" along the way.

Giddy up, partner: Sarah Drew is bringing a bit of yeehaw to yuletide this year in her new Lifetime film, A Cowboy Christmas Romance.

The Grey’s Anatomy alum serves as writer and executive producer on the network’s hottest holiday romcom yet, which follows real estate agent Lexi (Jana Kramer) as she begrudgingly returns to her hometown for the first time in a decade to convince rancher Coby (Adam Senn) to sell his prime Tubac, Ariz., property to her mysterious new client. As Lexi is forced to reckon with the family she left behind, single father Coby must decide what’s truly best for his family’s future.

Drew, who wrote and starred in her first Lifetime holiday hit Reindeer Games Homecoming last year, was inspired to get back in the saddle and write another festive flick after starring in the Western Birthright Outlaw last fall. She describes A Cowboy Christmas Romance as “Yellowstone meets Bridgerton, with a little Christmas spiced in there” along the way.

“I had just shot a Western last fall and I learned a ton about horse training and horse whisperers and what horses do for you and your soul,” she tells EW. “And I was like, ‘This could be a really interesting way to talk about how we handle and heal in our own relationships and family dynamics.’”

To prepare for the project, Drew combined her personal research into the struggles that ranch owners like Coby face today with her own knowledge of horses and exciting anecdotes that her friends on the Birthright Outlaw horse wrangling team told her between takes. “I read a ton of articles about about small ranch owners really being shoved out and bought by by very, very rich moguls and property value going through the roof from out-of-towners coming in,” she recalls. “There's so much that they're all dealing with that's making it really, really hard for the American rancher. I was like, ‘Oh, gosh, this is big, deep-rooted drama that we could dive into, but still keep it in this Christmas vibe.'”

And drama is certainly what unfolds when Lexi and Coby — blissfully unaware of how they’ll change each other’s lives in the forthcoming days — first meet at a bar. Thinking that she's the blind date he'd been set up with, Coby tries to flirt with her but quickly gets the cold shoulder. “The movie that inspired the whole opening bar sequence with them is Meet Joe Black,” Drew says, pointing specifically to the 1998 film’s diner scene between Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani. “There's just such a beautiful exploration and connection that happens for a long time, like that scene is very, very, very long, but it really moves because it's taking different twists and turns.”

Lexi and Coby's sizzling chemistry takes center stage throughout the film, which made headlines prior to its release when it was revealed to be the first-ever Lifetime holiday film to feature a sex scene. When Drew saw early footage of the spicy sequence, she couldn't have been happier. “When I saw the stuff in the kitchen, I was like, ‘Exactly what I wrote. You nailed it. You guys are in it. I am thrilled,’” she says. “I had it written in my stage direction: He hoists her onto the countertop. He moves things out of the way. Like, go in there. Go in!”

Still, Drew notes that she wrote the steamy scene with purpose in mind. "It wasn't like, 'Oh, let me try to do this thing that'll get headlines.' I was like, ‘No, I think this makes sense. They're falling in love,'" Drew says. "And every single step of the way is drawing them closer together. And they're super connected to one another. And they're grown ups. They're grown ups and they’re feeling the vibes!’”

But the couple's blooming relationship is more than just physical — it teaches them a few important life lessons, too. “They have to learn how to surrender and let go, and there's something really beautiful and profound about that,” Drew says. “And in the surrender is where they find love, and she finds healing with her family.” 

Lexi shares an estranged relationship with her father Harrison (Bruce Thomas) and brothers Walton (Sterling Jones) and Jack (Max Ehrich), with none of them truly able to bridge the gap after so many years lost. Drew notes that their family dynamic highlights “the ways that we find ourselves in conflict with people we love, because of a massive misunderstanding.” She adds, “I feel like so much of pain in relationships is just from people missing each other.”

She hopes that A Cowboy Christmas Romance gives viewers “a sense of hope” during the festive season. “I do think holidays can be so stressful and hard because of so much dysfunction in families, and I think everybody has a taste of that in some piece of their family. It's not all sugar cookies and hot chocolate. It is hard,” she says. “And I hope that people kind of witness it and have just a cathartic experience of like, ‘Oh, that made me gush, and feel all the feels,’ but also like, ‘I'm crying because it's so beautiful to see restoration happen in real time.’”

She continues, “That is so real and so grounded to me, which is what I think sets this movie apart from a lot of other Christmas movies. It's just very grounded and real. It is real family stuff... But you get to let your cowboy take you away, also.”

A Cowboy Christmas Romance boot scootin' boogies its way onto Lifetime on Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

• How to watch all 116 new Christmas movies this year

• Lifetime to release 12 new Christmas movies starring Teri Hatcher, Tia Mowry, and more — see the schedule

• Teri Hatcher is a writer searching for her merry meet-cute in How to Fall in Love by the Holidays trailer

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.