‘Cool when it’s recognized’: Rom-com filmmakers return to Libertyville

Roseanna Shipley, partner/owner of Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters in downtown Libertyville, didn't have any dialogue but was happy with a fleeting role in a television movie being shot at her place.

Turning the sign from “closed” to “open” Wednesday admittedly will be a blip in production, but Shipley is thankful for the opportunity.

“I got to be the store opener,” she said. “They had to do three or four takes but it was fun.”

The team that created “The Exes of Christmas Past,” a holiday rom-com currently streaming, was here in April and returned for a new feature, “Christmas at the Zoo.”

Five days of filming in Libertyville wrapped up this weekend with many of the same stores and some new locations added.

While the village depicts a cozy, hometown atmosphere, Brookfield Zoo Chicago is the primary shooting location. Scenes will feature the new primate habitat, dozens of animals and the Holiday Magic experience with more than 3.5 million lights.

Inside Conscious Cup, the main seating area filled with actors and extras, production crew and equipment for a scene between two main characters at their favorite coffee shop.

“It's so fun and it’s amazing how they transform the store with the lighting and decorations,” Shipley said. “It was enlightening to be there for the full day and see how it all works.”

Actually, it’s the second time this year Shipley and Conscious Cup, as well as other businesses and dozens of local residents as extras, have played a part in movie making.

“I think people really like seeing their town featured in films like this,” said Shipley’s son, Michael, who oversees the daily operations of five Conscious Cup locations. “It’s just such a fun atmosphere here for the holidays and it’s cool when it’s recognized.”

So do filmmaking partners Chris Charles, who lives in Madison, Wisconsin, and Mundelein resident John W. Bosher. Beginning in 2021, they made “Christmas with Felicity,” “Reporting for Christmas” and “Christmas on the Ranch” with scenes filmed in area communities.

They initially scouted Libertyville for “Christmas at the Zoo,” Charles said, but the shoot was postponed. The pair got the script for the “The Exes of Christmas Past” and thought the village would be a good fit for that project, too.

“We’re now returning to film the movies we wanted to shoot in Libertyville in the first place,” Charles said.

“It’s incredibly difficult to make an independent film. When you have the support of a community like Libertyville, it makes the world of a difference,” he added.

“Christmas at the Zoo” is about an entrepreneur brokering a sponsorship to build the city zoo’s new penguin habitat caught between business and romance after falling for a compassionate zookeeper over the holidays.

Brittany Underwood, who played the romantic lead in “Exes,” returns in “Christmas at the Zoo,” written by Bosher, Charles and Buffalo Grove resident Adam Rockoff.

The delay in filming that movie allowed the James & Elizabeth Bramsen Tropical Forests, the reimagined Holiday Magic including more than 1,000 decorated holiday trees as well as interactive experiences at Brookfield Zoo Chicago to be incorporated in the film, noted Julianne Olivo, public relations director.

“We have supported other filming programs over the years but this is the first time Brookfield Zoo Chicago has been a significant setting for and the focus of a holiday film,” she said.

The film will be released during the 2026 holiday season.