Hallmark Is Releasing Their First Christmas Movie With a Gay Couple in the Lead
Hallmark Channel
In 2018, we pondered what it would be like to see a same-sex couple grace the Hallmark channel in their annual holiday movie lineup. Earlier this year, we reported that Lifetime is releasing their first Christmas film featuring a romance between two men. And Hulu is debuting a Kristen Stewart-led holiday flick about Stewart's character going home with her girlfriend for the holidays and chaos ensues. And finally, finally, Hallmark is hopping on the bandwagon. The Christmas House, a brand new movie on the Hallmark Channel's Christmas schedule, features a married gay couple at the helm.
Last year, Hallmark vowed to increase diversity and representation into their 2020 lineup after all 40 of their new 2019 holiday films featured a whopping zero same-sex couples. And although this step forward is a small one, it's a step forward nonetheless.
The Christmas House follows Brandon Mitchell (played by Mean Girls' Jonathan Bennett) and his husband Jake's (Brad Harder) holiday pilgrimage home, during which they're anxiously awaiting a call confirming the adoption of their first child.
"Working through some difficult decisions, Mitchell family matriarch Phylis (Sharon Lawrence) and patriarch Bill (Treat Williams), have summoned their two grown sons—Mike (Robert Buckley) and Brandon—home for the holidays," the movie's description on the Hallmark Channel website reads. "It is their hope that bringing the family together to recreate the Christmas house will help them find resolution and make a memorable holiday for the entire family and community."
Bennett, who also hosted Food Network's Cake Wars, Halloween Wars, and Cupcake Wars, told Entertainment Tonight he's so excited to be a "part of the progress."
"This movie is so important because I'm part of the progress, and it feels good," he said. "I can only imagine what younger me would have thought seeing a Christmas movie with a storyline like this; two men in love, having a baby together. I think I would have been so excited, and I know I'm excited."
He added, "Representation is so important, and to represent this storyline on Hallmark Channel, it's an honor to make a little history."
Hallmark Channel
"I am so proud of Hallmark Channel and everyone there for doing what they did this year, which was taking the holiday table and making it bigger and more welcoming than ever," Bennett continued. "I think so many people are gonna feel seen and so many people are gonna feel like they belong in the Hallmark family—and they do. It's gonna be a really special year for so many people."
Though it's taken Hallmark a bit longer than other channels and streaming platforms to introduce a main same-sex storyline to one of their holiday films, we're just happy that's it's happening late rather than never.
