First Lifetime, and now Hallmark?!
Earlier this week, the Hallmark Channel revealed that an upcoming tv movie will include a same-sex wedding. The movie is titled Wedding Every Weekend and follows two friends who wind up going to the same weddings for four consecutive weekends. But as time goes by and the two spend more time together, the weekly events and meetups become more meaningful.
Specifically, the show’s description goes as follows:
“Nate and Brooke are going to the same four weddings, four weekends in a row,” reads the description for Wedding Every Weekend. “To avoid set-ups, they go together as ‘wedding buddies.’ But what starts as a friendship soon becomes deeper.”
After reading that description, you might be thinking, “Where’s the LGBTQ angle?” Well, one of the four weddings that Nate and Brooke will participate in is a same-sex wedding. This was revealed in a recent Facebook post shared to promote the film. In the post, a picture shows two women at the altar as wedding guests clap for them. The picture is then captioned with the description, “Tune in to an all-new premiere! Amanda (Carmel Amit) and Vicky (Makayla Moore) celebrate their special day in one of the many weddings taking place in “Wedding Every Weekend,” Saturday August 15 at 9pm/8c, only on Hallmark Channel.”
Of course, this doesn’t mean that LGBTQ storytelling will play a prominent role in the movie. This is just one wedding in a movie full of, at least, four of them. That means, not only will the same-sex couple be side characters or a plot device, but they will only be significant for a small portion of the tv movie.
That said, the inclusion of LGBTQ characters is important considering the Hallmark Channel’s lack of LGBTQ representation. The tv channel was wrapped in controversy last year after LGBTQ Twitter users called out Hallmark for its lack of gay-themed Christmas programming. Then, the channel also removed a lesbian wedding-themed advertisement from its commercial break. That Zola wedding ad was pulled after the ever-angry internet group One Million Moms complained that the “once conservative network has recently caved to LGBTQ pressure and has done a one-eighty from the wholesome content the channel once aired, and the network is now catering to the Left.” One Million Moms did not win, however. After the wedding company Zola and LGBTQ internet users expressed their outrage, Hallmark’s CEO resigned and the ads were reinstated.
Now, Hallmark is openly marketing a similar lesbian wedding for its upcoming tv movie. Though, the tv channel has yet to make any announcement about a gay-themed Christmas movie. Meanwhile, Hallmark’s competitor Lifetime has announced its own gay-themed film for the upcoming holiday season. Better get to it, Hallmark!