After An Uproar From The Community, Hallmark Is Leaning Towards Approving LGBTQ Themed Holiday Films
Last winter, Gay Twitter and other social justice equalizers were voicing their support to have LGBTQ themed Holiday movies on the Hallmark Channel. Most agree that Hallmark Holiday movies are well, tacky, but quite an easy watch. We find something comforting about their mellow, predictable storylines involving a busy city woman who heads back to her hometown for Christmas and falls in love with a furniture maker, or some other beefy guy we can drool over. Like the similar Lifetime network, Hallmark has a handful of LBGTQ fans for their humble content, but we’ve never seen a direct RomCom-Holiday story where the focus is on a “rainbow” couple. But, that could be changing.
According to NBC News, Hallmark’s 2020 Holiday lineup doesn’t include any main LGBTQ storylines, but will include LGBTQ characters, actors, and minor plot points. Many of the films have finished production pre-COVID-19, which is great, so we may get to see some familiar LGBTQ faces. We’ve also been promised inclusion with actual LGBTQ actors. Hallmark’s parent company Crown Media and its executive, George Zaralidis, has promised to creating films with main LGBTQ focus and is dedicated to bringing these stories to the small screen. He’ll be updating with details when possible, but with the entertainment industry likely shut down throughout the end of the year due to the global pandemic, it’s doubtful there will be many moves made as winter is slowly creeping up on us.
Crown Media has been a little iffy on LGBTQ issues. At first they supported the community greatly with a same-sex wedding advertisement until the unstable group One Million Moms launched complaints. Following perhaps their most active fan base (the moms?), Hallmark pulled the advertisement and the internet went wild. The decision caused such a stink that former Crown Media President, Bill Abbott, stepped down and Mike Perry took his place. However, we can be a little more grateful as Perry is focused on bringing some LGBTQ representation to the network’s films. But, we may have to wait until the 2021 Holiday season to see it come to fruition. The Holidays may be canceled this year anyway!
Writer’s Note: This is the opinion of one Instinct Magazine contributor and does not reflect the views of Instinct Magazine itself or fellow contributors.
H/T: NBC News
