Hallmark just announced its Christmas lineup, and the network's first LGBTQ-centric holiday movie is finally, finally, FINALLY here.
The Holiday Sitter will star Jonathan Bennett and George Krissa, and Hallmark released the following synopsis:
“Sam is a workaholic bachelor who babysits his niece and nephew before the holidays when his sister and her husband have to go out of town. Completely out of his element, he recruits help from their handsome neighbor Jason and finds himself in an unexpected romance.”
While this will be the network’s first Christmas movie centered around a same-sex couple, it isn’t the first to include one.
The Christmas House premiered on the family-friendly network in 2020, but was an ensemble movie about a hetero couple inviting their adult sons, one of whom was married to a man (and also played by Bennett), home for Christmas.
Hallmark also released a movie earlier this year called Love, Classified that featured Katherine McNamara and Arienne Mandi as love interests, but it didn't receive the promotion or fanfare the network generally gives its Christmas movies, and the two queer characters were not the main focus of this movie, either.
So now we’re back to Bennett gaying up Christmas in a film that is sure to send One Million Moms crying about heathens and children and whatever else they think will help their regressive cause these days. 'Tis the season!
A single LGBTQ+ movie in the lineup of 40 premiering this winter, after years of heteronormativity and controversies surrounding inclusion at the network, doesn’t feel like much, but it’s also unquestionably a step in the right direction — even if it is a painfully belated one. And with former Crown Media Family Networks CEO Bill Abbott out the door and busy with Candace Cameron Bure at his new network, it leaves hope that this is truly the start of a more welcoming holiday season at Hallmark for the LGBTQ+ community.
Welcome to the 21st century, Hallmark! You've got a lot of catching up to do, but we’re glad to have you.
The Holiday Sitter will premiere on The Hallmark Channel on December 11, and you can check out the remaining lineup of movies here.
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