*Amber Stevens West and Corbin Reid aren’t just selling a holiday movie — they’re inviting audiences into a kind of love story that rarely takes center stage: genuine female friendship.
Their OWN holiday film “The Christmas Showdown,” now streaming, follows two former best friends whose lives circle back to each other just as Christmas arrives. But the heart of the story isn’t romance — it’s reconciliation, history, and the complicated love women share when they’ve grown together and, at some point, apart.
That dynamic wasn’t hard for the actresses to tap into. In fact, much of it mirrors their real-life bond.
“We didn’t have to work for the chemistry,” Reid said. “It was either there or it wasn’t. And we had it from the beginning.”
The two met years ago while testing for the Starz series “Run the World,” and the connection was immediate — the kind where laughter comes fast and feels earned. Stevens West recalled both of them as kids who often had their “heads in the clouds,” while Reid openly embraced her clumsiness, laughing about how little that part of her has changed.
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“She’s still clumsy,” Stevens West teased, noting Reid’s rolled ankle during the interview. The joke landed not as shade, but as familiarity — the kind that only exists between people who genuinely feel safe with each other.
That closeness became the foundation for “The Christmas Showdown,” which the duo also produced together. The idea came together casually during a lunch after helping a friend with interior design — a shared hobby that would later influence the film’s creative DNA.
“It really was lightning in a bottle,” Stevens West said. “We both love stories about female friendship, and we didn’t see enough of that in the holiday space.”
For Stevens West, stepping into producing wasn’t a long-planned pivot, but it came at exactly the right moment. Years of navigating sets, relationships, and storytelling prepared her for leadership behind the camera.
“Learning how producing really works gave me a lot of confidence,” she said. “I liked being someone people could come to so we could figure things out together.”
Reid’s path was more intentional. With a background spanning Broadway, television, writing, directing, and shadowing other creatives, she described producing as the natural result of years spent observing the entire storytelling process.
“I knew what tone meetings were. I’d been on location scouts,” she said. “So even though I hadn’t done it at this level before, it didn’t feel unfamiliar.”
That preparedness extended to how they ran the set. Both women were deliberate about creating a collaborative, women-forward environment — one rooted in mutual support rather than competition.
“It comes down to wanting the other person to win,” Reid said. “When that’s the mindset, collaboration feels effortless.”
Casting reinforced that spirit. Securing Loretta Devine early in the process gave the project credibility and momentum. Stevens West recalled being honest with Devine about the production’s scale — and being met with enthusiasm instead of hesitation.
“She read the script and said yes right away,” Stevens West said. “That changed everything.”
At a time when Black audiences continue to ask for stories centered on joy rather than trauma, “The Christmas Showdown” arrives with intention. Reid didn’t mince words about why holiday films resonate.
“People want warmth. They want community. They want to see themselves happy onscreen,” she said. “Black audiences have always loved Christmas movies — we just haven’t always been included.”
Ultimately, the film isn’t about winning a job or saving Christmas. It’s about remembering who held your hand before the world complicated things — and choosing to meet them there again.
And for Stevens West and Reid, that message isn’t just seasonal. It’s personal.
From the column: Black in the Green Room By Keith L. Underwood – Follow: @mrkeithlunderwood (IG), @blackinthegreenroom (IG), YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook
Keith L. Underwood is a writer, producer, director, and former celebrity publicist whose work explores the intersection of Black culture and entertainment. He is the creator and host of Black in the Green Room, a syndicated column and radio series spotlighting Black creatives in television, film, theater, and music. The column runs weekly in the Los Angeles Sentinel, and the companion radio show airs on KBLA Talk 1580. The series can be seen on YouTube (@blackinthegreen) and heard across most major podcast platforms. You can also follow Keith on Instagram (@mrkeithlunderwood), TikTok, and Facebook (@keithlunderwood).
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