It’s been a stressful year, but at least you can count on Hallmark, Lifetime, and Netflix to come through with the holiday cheer. After all, what’s more relaxing than watching an overworked woman fall in love with a Christmas tree farmer? So decompress with all of our delightful holiday content right here.
Like the rest of the country, you’re probably looking forward to the holidays. But in the world of Hallmark, it’s already Christmas…and has been since October 27, when the network started debuting its original holiday movie premieres. Hallmark’s annual “Countdown to Christmas” programming has made the Hallmark Channel the highest-rated and most-watched cable network this season. And I attribute that, in no small part, to me.
I’ve watched hundreds of hours of Hallmark Channel Christmas programming this year. In January, I re-watched my favorites on DVR, mourning the passing of Christmas. In July, I celebrated the return of Hallmark’s “Christmas Keepsake Week,” which is, you guessed it, a full week of Hallmark holiday movies right when I need it most. To me, summer is a season to endure on the way to Christmas, and Hallmark was there to get me through.
And now, I’ve once again immersed myself in the world of Hallmark, a dream world where the small-town guy and the big city girl always find each other, where you can step away in the middle of the movie but come back later and still know exactly what’s happening, and where the plots always follow a predictable path toward a guaranteed happy ending. Basically, it’s the world we all need right now as we try to make it out of 2018 in one piece.
So, in the Hallmark spirit of sharing, I’ve ranked all 22 of Hallmark’s 2018 “Countdown to Christmas” premieres based on what I’ve seen so far. But, to be fair, each and every holiday Hallmark movie is objectively excellent. And don’t worry about there being spoilers in this list—because as we all know, Hallmark movies inherently spoil themselves, anyway.
Plus, if you find yourself burning through these 22 original Hallmark Christmas movies too fast—no judgment here, fam—fear not: There are plenty more on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel for your viewing pleasure. (See a full list here.) Happy viewing and happy holidays to all!
Two days before the start of Hanukkah 2018, Hallmark delivered some exciting news to Jewish kids (and adults) everywhere: A Hallmark Hanukkah movie is on its way. Actually, make that two Hanukkah movies, according to Forbes.
The business publication says Hallmark is in the early stages of developing the movies for 2019. One is called Holiday Date, and per a Hallmark spokesperson, will have Hanukkah elements because the holiday falls over Christmas next year (December 22-30, to be exact). Further details on Holiday Date, as well as the second Hanukkah movie, weren’t immediately available.
The announcement comes in line with what Hallmark executives Bill Abbott and Michelle Vicary told Glamour.com recently: that their plans are to be “completely inclusive” in regards to both their holiday content and the viewers that tune in every day. When asked specifically about a Hanukkah movie, Vicary revealed that back in October, one of her development executives brought her a really exciting Hanukkah script. “I said, ‘Great! Let’s meet about it and talk about it for 2019.'”
While it remains to be seen if that same script is one of the two Hanukkah movies planned for 2019, it is in line with the network’s plan to go even bigger for Countdown to Christmas next year (and 2018 was already a record-breaking year with 37 Christmas movies across Hallmark’s two networks). In fact, Vicary said that 90 movies were produced for both networks in 2018, and they’ll “produce 100 movies next year.”
If that sounds like a lot (and it is), Vicary wants to make one thing clear: “We do not just make movies to throw them on and have a volume play. We make movies for an experience. So in terms of doing more [movies], we want to do more because our audience keeps asking for more.”
As a singular member of that audience (and I’m one of many: Vicary says 85 million viewers tuned into the networks between Halloween and New Years last year), I’ve been asking for a Hanukkah movie for years. (In fact, one of my colleagues wrote about this just two years ago.) So from brainstorming the idea of a #HallmarkHanukkah on social media to actually bringing it up to Hallmark execs over the years, it’s an announcement that I couldn’t be more thrilled about.
I am a holiday fanatic, and I love the Christmas spirit (and decorations—lots of decorations). But I don’t celebrate Christmas. I’m Jewish, and I celebrate Hanukkah with nearly the same amount of decorations (menorahs, dreidels, lots of blue and white lights) that I see on Hallmark Christmas movies each year. Ever since I was a little kid, though, I remember being very aware that I was in the minority. So to have Hallmark say, “Hey, we’re going to release two Hanukkah movies next year”…well, it truly feels like you’re being seen.
And, at a time when antisemitism is on the rise, it’s more important than ever for viewers who may not live in cities with large Jewish populations—or even know someone that is Jewish—be exposed to people of a different faith. The movies on Hallmark are never particularly religious—nor do they need to be—but they are about kindness, love, and family. And that message—no matter what religion you are—is exactly what the holidays are about.
It’s been a stressful year, but at least you can count on Hallmark, Lifetime, and Netflix to come through with the holiday cheer. After all, what’s more relaxing than watching an overworked woman fall in love with a Christmas tree farmer? So decompress with all of our delightful holiday content right here.
Decorating for the holidays is serious business for many—but if you’re CEO of Crown Media Networks (a.k.a. the Hallmark Channel) the bar is on a different level. “Oh, I’m a Christmas nut,” William J. Abbott, Crown Media’s CEO and president, tells Glamour.com. “We actually built [an addition] in our house so we could accommodate a 12-foot tree in the middle of our den, so, yeah, we just love the holidays.” The same goes for Michelle Vicary, the network’s executive VP of programming and publicity. “Christmas decorations go up the day after Halloween,” she jokes. “I’m a little [like the] Griswolds.”
Tinsel and trees aside, Abbott, Vicary, and the entire team at Crown Media actually live the business they’re selling. And they’re selling it well. Vicary says nearly 85 million people lay eyes on the network between Halloween and New Years. If that sounds more like a Christmas miracle than reality, you haven’t been paying attention to the Hallmark Channel—or its sister property, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries—the last few years. When the network says it is “cable’s biggest success story,” it’s true.
This year Hallmark is in the midst of airing 37 original holiday movies for its Countdown to Christmas programming (and planning the 2019 holiday slate). And watching these movies is no longer a guilty pleasure—it’s appointment television. From unofficial drinking games to a user-friendly app, it’s become cool to stay home and watch two people in sweaters fall in love in a town named like a Bath & Body Works lotion.
PHOTO: Hallmark
‘Christmas at Pemberley Manor,’ starring Jessica Lowndes and Michael Rady.
Abbott says Netflix is partially to thank for changing viewer habits, particularly among millennials. “They have a formula that certainly has worked for them in terms of driving people toward watching on their smart TVs,” he says. “Ultimately the more people that consume entertainment, the better off we all are.”
But Netflix is only a small part of Hallmark’s success. Vicary cites the constant, and often depressing, 24/7 news cycle as another factor. “I think people can only take so much,” she says. “We purposely look to be an escape. We try not to be issues-oriented in terms of creating polarizing conversations because there are places to get that. We are a place that is a haven from that. We’re just a different conversation.”
Abbott agrees. “I think it’s not only the political landscape, but the entertainment landscape to a degree too. There are just very few options that are not shocking, looking to shock, or looking to be over-the-top in terms of violence or salacious for salacious sake. I think people tire of that.” Abbott admits that’s not the only reason people tune into the channel, it is a big one—and something that Hallmark has included in its strategy. “It’s tapping into emotion in a positive way and making you feel a little better about relationships and how people interact,” he explains. “The Hallmark brand is all about people connecting. The secret, I think, to our success is that we focus on that relentlessly.”
“We really work hard to ensure that our women are strong—while they don’t need a man, they’d love to fall in love.”
This secret to success doesn’t come without detractors, though. Abbott and Vicary know there are plenty of people who think the content is cheesy, but that doesn’t have to be a negative. “I have to be honest, I don’t always think predictable is a bad word,” Vicary says. “I think of every Nora Ephron comedy I ever watched—the first time I saw Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan on screen, I knew they were going to end up together. But it was the journey! So I don’t mind when you tune in that you know our characters—who are on two separate journeys—are going to end up together by the end. It’s about how they get there.”
OK, so how did Hallmark get here? How did it go from a brand-new network in the early aughts to a holiday empire? For one, consistency. Hallmark premieres most of the original movies on Saturdays and Sundays, a time when other networks air sports or re-runs. “It’s the perfect time to unwind and get away from reality,” Abbott says. “We appeal to people wanting that escape over the weekend.”
Second, it’s investment. “Our movies are so much better because our production value, our stars, our music, our scriptwriting, our development, and our production are so much better than they’ve ever been,” Abbott says. “Success snowballs. The more you do right, the more people notice; the more people notice, the more you invest; the more you invest, the more you pay attention, and the better it gets.”
PHOTO: Hallmark Channel
LeAnn Rimes in ‘It’s Christmas, Eve’.
And finally, as Vicary points out, it’s about creating an experience. “We’re an emotionally-driven brand. We’re about enhancing relationships and enhancing life.” She says in the last decade the network has tapped into viewers’ love of celebration. “The Hallmark brand already lives in that space, so it really is about delivering on the experience of the brand.”
And then there’s the wish-fulfillment aspect, those picturesque, snow-capped towns and leads in color-coordinated holiday attire. “We’re not embarrassed to say, ‘Let’s make it sound even more holiday oriented,” Vicary says with a laugh. “We are not shy about creating an environment that compliments and enhances that great story.”
Still, that “environment” has come under more scrutiny in the past few years for being predominantly white, straight, and without much diversity. The network needs to do more to reflect America today—and Abbott says the Hallmark Channel team is aware and working on it. “Absolutely, no question about it,” Abbott says. “We’ve worked really hard at it. It’s the type of thing we should have been doing all along, but we’re pleased at where we are.”
Where they are is a more diverse slate of programming than years past. It’s not perfect yet, but one example of progress is a recent full-page ad Crown Media took out in The Hollywood Reporter to showcase its holiday slate. Of the 14 actors in the ad, nine were women, seven were people of color, and five were women of color.
“I don’t care what political party you’re part of or where you live, people like to feel positive.”
“Our goal is to do everything we can to represent the public faces on television and represent the United States as it really looks on our air,” Vicary says. “I think we have some terrific casting this year with Tatyana Ali, Dondre T. Whitfield, Patti LaBelle, Christina Milian, Jerrika Hinton, Tia Mowry, and more. We have our most diverse slate ever.”
In addition to what viewers see on air, Vicary notes that “more than 50% of the scripts that were written this year were written by women.” She also said they’re consciously trying to hire more female directors and behind-the-scenes crew. “I think in the last year we have added three more women to our roster of directors,” Vicary says. “We are very conscious of it.”
But Abbott or Vicary know that’s not enough. The executives are discussing a possible Hanukkah movie to join their holiday lineup (“One of my development execs brought me one this week that they were really excited about,” Vicary says. “I said, ‘Great, let’s meet and talk about it for 2019.”) According to Abbott, he’s even open to a Hallmark movie where the main couple doesn’t end up together. “As we delve into our content and [look for] a more authentic way, we’ll progress,” he says. “Everything is on the table.”
PHOTO: Hallmark
Danielle Panabaker and Matt Long in ‘Christmas Joy’.
That progress is important to Abbott and Vicary, who want Hallmark to stay current and evolving. “It’s particularly important that we represent the reality of the twenty-first century in that everybody is different and unique,” Abbott says. “It’s a pet peeve of mine when I read a story and kids are portrayed a certain way. The reality is girls can play baseball or be into science or play with dolls.”
Abbott even acknowledges that the network’s older movies were guilty of playing into stereotypes.”You look back at some of old, old movies, and it’s kind of the stereotypical situation of the woman at home,” he says. “We work very hard to stay out of that stereotypical dialogue and situational behavior because it’s just not reality, and it’s not authentic. We really try to empower women. We really work hard to ensure that our women are strong—while they don’t need a man, they’d love to fall in love. But at the end of the day, that is not what they need to be successful or happy or fulfilled or have a good career. That is something that is very important to all of us to portray.”
That awareness is one of the reasons Abbott credits the Hallmark Channel’s growth in markets like Chicago, New York, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, and D.C. “I think there’s this feeling that we’re flyover country and that it’s all red-state people,” he says. “That’s just completely not true. Everybody likes to feel good. I don’t care what political party you’re part of or where you live, people like to feel positive.” Yes, Hallmark’s content isn’t edgy—”and never will be”—but it’s certainly smarter than it’s ever been. “And that wins.”
It’s been a stressful year, but at least you can count on Hallmark, Lifetime, and Netflix to come through with the holiday cheer. After all, what’s more relaxing than watching an overworked woman fall in love with a Christmas tree farmer? So decompress with all of our delightful holiday content right here.
