‘The Waltons’ Homecoming’: Ben Lawson To Star As John Walton Sr. In The CW Movie; 9 More Cast

The CW has rounded out the cast for its original made-for-TV movie The Waltons’ Homecoming. Ben Lawson (Firefly Lane) stars as patriarch John Walton Sr., joining previously announced Bellamy Young (Scandal) who stars as his wife Olivia, Logan Shroyer (This is Us) as John Boy and Richard Thomas, who originally starred as John Boy Walton in The Waltons series, as “The Narrator.”

The Waltons’ Homecoming marks the 50th anniversary of The Homecoming: A Christmas Story television movie, which aired December 19, 1971, and launched the long-running series The Waltons, created by Earl Hamner.

The Waltons: Homecoming is set in the 1933 Depression Era and told through the eyes of John Boy, the 17-year-old eldest child of John and Olivia Walton. His mother expects John Boy to help her raise his sisters and brothers, and his father expects him to follow in his footsteps to help support the family, but secretly, John Boy wants to be a writer. Times are hard enough in 1933, but to make matters worse, it looked to be the Waltons’ first Christmas without John Sr. When Olivia receives a letter that John Sr. is planning to make it home for Christmas after all, the family is thrilled and races to prepare for his homecoming. But when a storm threatens his arrival on Christmas Eve, and John Sr. is nowhere to be found, Olivia sends John Boy out into the night to find his daddy – a journey that will change John Boy’s life forever.

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Lawson’s John Walton Sr. is 42 years old, and as rugged as his horsehide flannel-lined jacket. He is Olivia’s (Bellamy Young) husband, and the father of their six children. He married Olivia when he was 21, and much against her family’s wishes, because John is not much of a practicing Christian. John has left the family farm to work at a mill in Charlottesville – but he’s thinking long and hard about going back to the land, like his father. He heads home on a bus to spend Christmas Eve with his family, but it’s a tortuous journey, thanks to a winter storm and a bus crash.

Rounding out the cast are Marcelle Le Blanc (PEN 15) as Mary Ellen Walton; Christian Finlayson (Ozark) as Jason Walton; Tatum Matthews (The Artifice Girl) as Erin Walton; Samuel Goergen (Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan) as Jim Bob Walton; Callaway Corrick as Elizabeth Walton; Rebecca Koon (Sharp Objects) as Grandma Walton; Alpha Trivette (Tyler Perry’s Too Close To Home) as Grandpa Walton; Marilyn McCoo as Sister Harriet and Billy Davis Jr. as Brother William. McCoo and Davis are the original stars and lead singers of the legendary group The 5th Dimension and recently appeared on daytime drama Days of Our Lives.

The Waltons’ Homecoming is produced by Magnolia Hill Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, with executive producer Sam Haskell and writer/co-executive producer Jim Strain. Lev L. Spiro is the director.

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