Disney has confirmed that David Krumholtz will be appearing in the new Disney Plus series The Santa Clauses, based on the movie franchise of the same name. Krumholtz, who appeared in all three of the original Santa Clause movies, will be reprising his role as Bernard, Santa’s head elf; also returning will be Tim Allen as Santa Claus and Elizabeth Mitchell as Mrs. Claus.
The Santa Clause, released in 1994, features Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, a toy salesman and divorced father looking to bond with his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) in time for Christmas. However, when Scott inadvertently causes the death of Santa Claus, he’s summoned to the North Pole, where Bernard the Head Elf (David Krumholtz) explains that Scott has triggered “the Santa Clause”, which states that he must now become Santa and return to the North Pole by the next Thanksgiving. Scott initially refuses, believing Santa isn’t real, but when he starts gaining weight, growing a bushy white beard, and developing cravings for milk and cookies, he finds that he doesn’t have a choice in the matter – with assistance from Charlie and the North Pole elves, Scott slowly comes around to the idea of being Santa Claus and eventually agrees to fill the role.
David Krumholtz as Bernard the Elf in ‘The Santa Clause’
David Krumholtz reprised his role as Bernard in The Santa Clause 2 (2002) but was absent from The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, with Bernard being replaced by Curtis the Elf (Spencer Breslin). In his role as Bernard the Head Elf, Krumholtz played the second-in-command to Allen’s Santa. Bernard, described as a bit of “a grump but an effective taskmaster,” per Deadline, was first seen introducing him to the idea of the Santa Clause, then the “Mrs. Clause” in the sequel, and overall assisting him in running the North Pole as smoothly as possible.
The Santa Clauses series on Disney Plus will feature Scott nearing his 65th birthday and realizing he can’t be Santa forever; he’s losing his Santa magic, but more importantly, his two kids have never known a life outside of the North Pole. The series will follow Scott and his wife Carol (Elizabeth Mitchell) as he prepares to move his family out of the North Pole and find a suitable successor before his Santa magic runs out forever.
According to TVLine, the Disney Plus series will be executive produced by Jack Burditt (Modern Family), Kevin Hench (Mr. Iglesias), and Richard Baker and Rick Messina, who both produced The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause 2. The Santa Clauses series, starring Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, and David Krumholtz, is slated to be released later this year. The Santa Clause and its sequels are currently available on Disney Plus.