The Hallmark Channel is the go-to destination when it comes to holiday movies. This year's lineup features 40 new movies, including the network's first-ever LGBTQ film.
While some are championing Hallmark's trailblazing decision, others have criticized the production. One of the channel's longtime stars was so upset over the movie featuring a gay leading couple, that she left the network all together.
"The Holiday Sitter" is set to premiere on Sunday, Dec. 11 as part of Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas.
The film stars "Mean Girls" actor Jonathan Bennett as Sam, "a workaholic bachelor" who has offered to babysit his niece and nephew when his sister and her husband have to go out of town before the holidays. Realizing he's out of his element, Sam "recruits help from their handsome neighbor Jason," played by Canadian actor George Krissa. One thing leads to another and Sam "finds himself in an unexpected romance."
Bennett posted on Instagram about the movie back in September, saying it will "make history as the first Leading Gay Couple in a Hallmark Christmas movie EVER!"
"Words can't describe what it feels like to have Executive Produced and starred in such an incredible story that will mean so much to so many! A HUGE APPLAUSE to @hallmarkchannel and all the leadership and executives, they not only believed in this story but took such good care of it championed it wholeheartedly the entire process," he said.
Krissa also posted about the movie, saying it not only makes history for Hallmark as its first Christmas-themed film centered on a gay couple, but as the "first EVER LGBTQ rom com on their network!"
One of the network's stars was so upset with the movie that she decided to leave after years with the Hallmark Channel. Despite filming dozens of movies with Hallmark, "Full House" star Candace Cameron Bure no longer wants anything to do with the network.
Bure, who announced in April she was leaving the Hallmark Channel after 14 years, recently told The Wall Street Journal that she decided to move to the more conservative Great American Family network because she "wants to tell stories that have more meaning and purpose and depth."
"I knew that the people behind Great American Family were Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment," said Bure, a devout Christian and a conservative. "I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core."
Bure explained that Hallmark "basically is a completely different network than when I started because of the change of leadership."
Bill Abbott was the CEO of Crown Media Family Network, the parent of Hallmark Channel, for 11 years until he left the company in 2020 to create the Great American Family network.
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis called Bure's comments "irresponsible" and "hurtful."
"Bure is out of sync with a growing majority of people of faith, including LGBTQ people of faith, who know that LGBTQ couples and families are deserving of love and visibility," Ellis said in a statement. "If [Great American Family's] plan is to intentionally exclude stories about LGBTQ couples, then actors, advertisers, cable and streaming platforms, and production companies should take note and seriously consider whether they want to be associated with a network that holds exclusion as one of its values."
While Abbott wouldn't comment directly if the network only plans to feature same-sex couples as leads in movies, he told the WSJ: "It's certainly the year 2022, so we're aware of the trends. There's no whiteboard that says, 'Yes, this' or 'No, we'll never go here.'"
Meantime, a Hallmark spokesperson told the WSJ the network is committed to storytelling that centered diverse perspectives and experiences.
"We want all viewers to see themselves in our programming and everyone is welcome," the spokesperson said.
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