Bionic Buzz® interviewed Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, the writers and producers behind A Very Jonas Christmas Movie. Known for their work on hit projects like This Is Us and How I Met Your Father, the creative duo brings their signature heart, humor, and character-driven storytelling to this holiday musical adventure. Our own Steve Sievers sat down with them to dive deeper into the making of the special and the passion behind it.

Steve Sievers (Bionic Buzz): Isaac and Elizabeth, I’m Steve Sievers from Bionic Buzz! We’re going to dive into your amazing work on A Very Jonas Christmas Movie, but first—here at Bionic Buzz, we’re all about people’s passions. I’d love to start by asking: where did your passion for storytelling begin, and how did it lead you on this incredible journey through projects like How I Met Your Father, This Is Us, and now this holiday film?

Elizabeth Berger: What a good question. I fell in love with writing as a little kid. I was not good at math, so writing seemed like the path that was my destiny. My dad was a television writer when I was growing up—he was the head writer of Sesame Street—so I saw that it was a real job you could actually do as an adult. That set an incredible example for me. I went to NYU to study dramatic writing, where I met Isaac, and things continued from there.

Isaac Aptaker: Similarly, I grew up loving movies and TV shows from a very young age. When I was a preschool kid, my favorite movie was the old musical Mary Martin: Peter Pan that my mom recorded off NBC or wherever it aired. And it’s funny because Elizabeth and I have always wanted to try our hands at doing a musical. So when this project came along, we were next-level excited because it’s so different from anything we’ve ever done before. But it’s always been on the bucket list—and who better to check that off with than the Jonas Brothers, right?

A VERY JONAS CHRISTMAS – (Disney/John Medland)

KEVIN JONAS, NICK JONAS, JOE JONAS

Steve Sievers: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie has such a fun, self-aware energy. The humor lands, the story has heart, and even as someone who didn’t know much about the Jonas Brothers going in, I found myself totally entertained. The film pokes fun at itself in all the right ways, and the musical moments really help carry the storytelling. What was it like working with the Jonas Brothers creatively, especially when it came to developing and integrating the songs into the narrative?

Elizabeth Berger: It was awesome. They were incredibly collaborative from moment one, and they had a very clear vision for what they wanted: a movie the entire family could enjoy together—kids loving the music, parents genuinely laughing at the jokes. They saw it all clearly, and we were excited to help bring it to life. The musical component was so much fun—coming up with set pieces and ideas for the numbers, then handing it over to the guys and to our brilliant songwriter Justin Tranter and our director Jessica Yu. It was such a joyful, exciting, collaborative process and so different from anything we’d done before. An amazing experience.

A VERY JONAS CHRISTMAS – (Disney/Mark de Blok)

CHLOE BENNET

Steve Sievers: I’m a huge Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fan, so it was such a treat to see Chloe in this film—and even more fun watching her sing alongside Joe Jonas. They had great on-screen chemistry. What was it like developing her character’s backstory and building that emotional and musical connection between her and Joe?

Isaac Aptaker: It was great. We’ve been fans of hers for a long time. I really loved her on Dave—she brought so much life to that role. She was high on our list, and we also knew she was essentially a teen pop sensation in another life. So we said, “Hey Chloe, how would you feel about coming to do this… and also dusting off the vocal cords and singing again?” I think she was equal parts terrified and thrilled. Filming with her and Joe in Amsterdam for a few days was amazing—that was the only real way to capture those iconic canals and that European Christmas vibe. She was so fun to work with.

Steve Sievers: The film is packed with fun cameos—and it was great seeing members of the Jonas Brothers’ real-life family. Did you write the script knowing they’d be part of it, or did that come together later?

Isaac Aptaker: We held a national casting call for their parents, and it just so happened their actual parents got the job. (Laughs.) No, no—they were involved from the beginning. They were immediately excited to be part of it.
Those were our first couple days on set, filming the big family scenes. It was so cool to see how much they all genuinely like each other. It wasn’t hard to capture that Christmas magic. I don’t think tzhey’d all been together for a while, so everyone was thrilled to reunite in that house.

Steve Sievers: Thank you both so much for taking the time to talk with me! Everyone should check out A Very Jonas Christmas Movie, premiering Friday, November 14 on Disney+. It’s the perfect film to make you laugh, sing along, and get into the holiday spirit.

A VERY JONAS CHRISTMAS – (Disney/John Medland)

KEVIN JONAS, JOE JONAS