Hallmark is about to get gayer. Lisa Hamilton Daly, vice president of programming, told The Wrap that 2024 will be Hallmark’s most diverse year yet.
She went on to say that inclusivity is a core goal for next year and that the channel plans on producing more “queer-forward” movies.
“We really want people to be able to see themselves in our movies, and we know that people seeing themselves means that there’s a wider range of people who really are excited when we tell their stories,” she told The Wrap.
Hallmark is already making the yuletide gay this year. Its 2023 films include Christmas on Cherry Lane and Friends & Family Christmas, which both feature queer characters.
Mean Girls actor Jonathan Bennett stars in Christmas on Cherry Lane, a story of three couples – including one gay couple – at different stages of their lives celebrating the holidays at the same address.
Ali Liebert stars in Friends & Family Christmas, a story centered around a lesbian romance between friends who pretend to date, only to develop real feelings.
Bennett, who came out as gay in 2020, spoke to Out earlier this year about queer inclusion on Hallmark Channel.
“It feels like such an honor to kind of forge this movement in the holiday movie space. And the reason I’m doing it is because I think it’s so important that everyone knows that Christmas is for everybody, you know?” he said.
Daly also spoke to Vulture about Hallmark’s plans to represent the diversity of our country, while maintaining those sticky-sweet formulaic plot-lines we all can’t help but love.
“Our movies are about romances. They’re not issue-driven movies. Those are not the stories we are telling. So I think it’s a constant evolution of, “How do we this in a way that works for our brand and our audience?’”
You can watch Christmas on Cherry Lane on the Hallmark Channel now, and Friends & Family Christmas drops this Sunday.
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