Given that 16 years have passed since the previous installment of the Santa Clause franchise, audiences may be curious about when on the timeline The Santa Clauses is set. The Disney+ limited series serves as a swan song for Tim Allen's Scott Calvin, who was introduced in the 1994 movie The Santa Clause as a toy salesman forced to become St. Nick after causing his predecessor to fall off a roof. The Santa Clauses now Scott struggling to fulfill his responsibilities after years of overseeing Christmas. But just how many years has it been?
Having begun with the original Santa Clause movie in 1994, the franchise has spanned nearly three decades, providing a fairly extensive exploration of Scott Calvin's career as Kris Kringle. The 2022 release of The Santa Clauses on Disney+ comes about following the longest gap between installments in the holiday franchise, both in real-time and in-universe. The show is set 29 years after The Santa Clause, 21 years after the 2002 sequel The Santa Clause 2, and 17 years after The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, which came out in 2006.
How Long Has Scott Been Santa In The Santa Clauses
The Santa Clauses begins 28 years after The Santa Clause but is mainly set 29 years after that first movie. This is because the Santa Clause sequel show features two Christmases in episode 1, "Good to Ho." The first one occurs at the beginning of the episode, which introduces Scott Calvin's struggles being Santa Claus. The second one happens near the end of the episode, which takes the show into 2023. This is revealed in The Santa Clauses episode 2, "The Secessus Clause" when Scott mentions he's been Santa for 29 years. This means the first half of "Good to Ho" takes place in 2022, and its second in 2023.
Why Scott Wants To Retire In The Santa Clauses
Santa Claus is typically portrayed as an ageless being who performs his duties for countless years. The Santa Clauses shows a different side of that. After nearly 30 years, Tim Allen's Scott Calvin/Santa Claus decides to find a replacement when he realizes life at the North Pole isn't the best for his family. Though 29 years is a long time to be at any normal job, considering Santa's typical longevity in popular culture, Scott is technically still new to the gig. However, having him quit after a relatively brief tenure makes sense given his reality.
Despite having been born at the North Pole, Scott's children are human, and they yearn to experience the outside world, which justifies his decision to leave. The series also shows the toll that Santa's duties have had on Scott. He kept his toy-making operation going year-round on top of traveling the world one night each December. The franchise makes clear these responsibilities were daunting, which makes Scott stepping away from the role in The Santa Clauses a fitting end for his magical journey.