Hallmark Christmas movies have become a true staple of the season. They’re simple, formulaic forays into holiday romance that provide an easy comfort for anyone aiming to stay in the Christmas spirit and enjoy a little will they/won’t they with a guaranteed happy ending.
And while the specifics of the Hallmark Christmas formula differ from movie to movie, one thing always stays absolutely unshakably the same — the two characters that fall in love are a man and a woman.
But after being confronted with that fact, the CEO of Hallmark’s parent company, Bill Abbott, is claiming that could change.
“We’re open to really any type of movie of any type of relationship,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in a podcast episode last month.
Among the 40 Hallmark and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Christmas films set to premiere over this holiday season, diversity is essentially non-existent. Besides having zero films with LGBTQ main characters, only four of those 40 films feature a black character in one of the main two roles.
“I think that generalization isn’t fair either, that we just have Christmas with white leads,” Abbott continued. “In terms of broadening out the demographic, it’s something we’re always thinking about, always considering, and we’ll continue to make the movies where the best scripts are delivered to us and what we think have the most potential.”
It’s a common refrain — just choosing what or who is “best” and then somehow ending up with a bunch of films about straight white people. But it would take zero effort to cast people of color in Hallmark roles that are repeatedly played by white actors, and close to that to switch some of the roles around to result in same-sex couples.
Is there anything to Abbott’s claim that the Hallmark channel is open to branching out its holiday films to include more representation on screen? Despite his comments, it feels like that one could require a Christmas miracle. We’ll believe it when we see it.
