A dip in the weather, snow in the air, holiday songs on the radio– this can only mean one thing: It’s time for Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas.
Hold on, hold on. Before we start judging my favorite holiday guilt pleasure, I like to talk about Hallmark movies, truly a genre of its own. Let’s dive into the Hallmark fundamentals.
In my last article, I discussed how the romantic comedy genre has been facing a deficit. With a few recent hits here and there, like Set It Up or Anyone But You, the film industry just hasn’t been making rom-coms like they used to. But it seems like Hallmark is the on channel that is keeping the genre afloat.
These low-budget movies, featuring an array of 2000s TV shows and movie icons from One Tree Hill and Mean Girls, may be God’s great gift to Earth. Sometimes, it’s okay to sit down and watch something silly and unserious. In fact, I might say that Hallmark Movies have been the only constant stream of “rom coms” in the past few years. Along with the recent uptick in Netflix’s cheesy romantic comedy movies, Hallmark is pumping out silly love stories. And you know what, some of them are good!
The Hallmark Movie
Hallmark movies are known for being cheesy 1-hour and 30-minute films, usually centred around Christmas. These holiday genres have become a “joke” in pop culture, being criticized for their extremely formulaic storyline, usually following a “big city” character who returns to their hometown and falls in love with their hometown sweetheart. And maybe Santa is a featured character.
What’s not to love!
The best way to view a Hallmark movie? Don’t give it your full attention. These are usually low-simulating plots that you don’t need to follow intently to get the gist of the movie. It’s not a crime to want to watch a movie where you know it will have a happy ending. Personally, I love to have Hallmark Holiday movies in the background while my mom and I are wrapping gifts or doing a craft.
I would also recommend making a game out of it. Hallmark movies are full of cliches! There are hundreds of drinking games or Bingo sheets that you can print out and play while you’re watching the movie. The sillier the movie, the better.
Are Hallmark Movies Too Progressive?
Wait, the Hallmark channel is too “woke”? Yep, some argue that the channel that features PREDOMINANTLY white and straight stories has gone “too far” and is now pushing a “woke progressive agenda”.
This is simply not the case. But it was enough to spur a divide in the Hallmark community. In the Spring of 2022, multiple Hallmark staple stars, like Candace Cameron Bure, left the Hallmark Channel to join Great American Media’s channel Great American Family (GAF). Why move? Bure, who ended up taking on an executive role as Chief Creative Officer at Great Media, said her new work would “keep traditional marriage at the core”.
GAF poached a lot of Hallmark stars, who seemed to lean into the more conservative ideal. Some notable Hallmark stars who left Hallmark for GAF were Danica McKellar, taking on producer roles as well as a picture deal, Alexa and Carlos PenaVega, and Lori Loughlin, for whom Hallmark was basically “blacklisted” after her college admission scandal. Bill Abbot, who was the former CEO of Hallmark, has actually been the CEO of Great American Family since 2021. He left in the wake of a commercial featuring a same sex wedding, which he pulled during his time. After Abbot’s departure, the commercial began re-airing on the network.
Is Hallmark “woke” now? Hallmark is not a super progressive media company by any means. But they have started taking steps toward diversifying their stories in recent years, especially since Abbot and the GAF cast’s departure. Jonathan Bennet, who you may know as Aaron from Mean Girls, has been at the center of these stories. Bennet, a gay actor, along with Lacey Chabert, filled the void that Bure left open as the “spokespeople” of Hallmark. They tend to be part of a lot of their advertising and their biggest movies. In 2022, Bennet starred in a Christmas movie, featuring a same sex couple’s story every year. His first lead role in The Holiday Sitter was Hallmark’s first portrayal of a gay-centered storyline. (It’s worth mentioning that this movie came out during the holiday season of the year when GAF recruited many of their Hallmark stars to pursue “traditional marriage” stories). Bennet is now the fan dubbed “The Gay King of Christmas”. He also hosts the Hallmark competition show, Finding Mr Christmas, where he helps find the next Hallmark leading man.
Hallmark has also made efforts to feature their cast of people of color, most recently, their new reality baking show, Baked with Love: Holiday is hosted by Tamera Mowry-Housley, of Sister, Sister fame. Once again, Hallmark is not really breaking barriers as a leader in diversification, but in the last 5 years, it has made strides, and the channel looks pretty different from what it was before, with more LGBTQ+ and POC stories coming to the forefront. A recent example is the Groomsmen trilogy featuring a Black lead, a gay lead, and the stereotypical straight white man. There is still plenty of room to grow, but since the split with GAF, Hallmark has been focusing on new demographics like never before.
Also, I’d like to add, I believe the Hallmark Channel has become self-aware in the past few years. They poke fun at themselves and embrace their silliness and clichés. And it’s leading to movies that are more entertaining to watch, and sometimes legitimately funny.
My Personal Recommendations
Now for the fun part, let’s review some of my favorite Hallmark movies that you should watch this holiday season:
- Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper (2025)
- Plot: an unlucky weatherman travels to his hometown and aims to share some of his Christmas cheer with his high school crush
- Why watch: This one is so silly and almost genuinely funny. The main character (Ted) wears a woman’s cropped hot pink sweater. Ted’s best friend is his 70-year-old retired science teacher. A man is referred to as “a handsome lumberjack”.
- The Santa Class (2024)
- Plot: Kate is the owner of a Santa school, and she runs into the real Santa Claus, who has amnesia. Now she must help Santa remember who he is in order to save Christmas, while also trying to save her family business.
- Why watch? Did you read the plot? That’s insane. There is a character in this movie played by Paul Campbell, a Hallmark Actor, but he’s playing a fictionalized version of himself, “Paul Campbell,” who is attending the Santa school as a form of method acting for an upcoming Hallmark role. That’s meta.
- Round and Round (2023)
- Plot: Rachel gets stuck in a time loop, reliving her family’s Hanukkah party. Can the guy her grandma’s trying to set her up with help her make it out of the loop?
- Why Watch? This one is funny. Hanukkah representation! Bryan Greenberg (Jake from OtH) plays such a lovable love interest that I actually fully enjoy this movie.
- A Biltmore Christmas (2023)
- Plot: Screenwriter Lucy is sent into a 1940s Christmas classic by a magic hourglass in the Biltmore mansion. Before she can get back to the present, she must make sure things go right so she doesn’t alter the future
- Why Watch: Time travel! Filmed in the Biltmore mansion. This one is cute, I swear.
- Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022)
- Plot: Three brothers are forced to work together to take care of a baby left at the fire station over the holidays
- : Look at the title. This is a three-movie series. It’s so stupid and funny, you can’t look away
- A Bride for Christmas (2012)
- A single man bets his friends that he can convince any woman to marry him by Christmas. The only problem, the woman he is after just broke off her engagement and has sworn off serious relationships
- Why watch: Basically, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days but Christmas. A true Hallmark classic
This holiday season, give Hallmark movies a second chance!