Rejoice! Hallmark—the television network that has been supplying audiences such hilariously-titled holiday rom-coms as Mingle All the Way; Moonlight & Mistletoe; and Fir Crazy—is finally expanding its line-up to celebrate Hanukkah.
The announcement came on Friday when Crown Media, Hallmarks parent company, revealed that it has two Hanukkah-themed films in development. The first, Holiday Date, which is currently being written, will boast “Hanukkah elements.” A spokesperson for the company told Forbes that the programming update “is a lot of fun as Hanukkah and Christmas overlap in 2019.”
All in, Crown Media will unveil 37 titles during the current holiday season—up from 2017s 34. The company has been cranking out its calmingly formulaic fare since 2009, relying on a stable of veteran television actors like Danica McKellar, Candace Cameron Bure, Lori Loughlin, and Lacey Chabert.
This will not be the first time that the Hallmark Network honored the Jewish faith. In 2012, the channel debuted Hitched for the Holidays, with a plot description as fabulously enticing as its title: “Joey Lawrence of TVs Blossom and Emily Hampshire [play] characters pretending to be a couple to get their meddling families off their backs, only to fall in love for real.”
In an interview earlier this year, Crown Media C.E.O. and president William J. Abbott said that Hallmark is trying to evolve its programming to remain authentic in the the current cultural climate.
"We work very hard to stay out of that stereotypical dialogue and situational behavior because its just not reality, and its not authentic,” Abbott told Glamour. “We really try to empower women. We really work hard to ensure that our women are strong—while they dont need a man, theyd 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.”
Abbott is even open to Hallmark movies in which the main couple do not wind up together. “As we delve into our content and [look for] a more authentic way, well progress,” he said. “Everything is on the table.”
And the network isnt sweating its reputation for providing predictable programming. Michelle Vicary, Crown Medias executive vice president for programming and publicity, said, “When people use the word predictable, often its thought of as a negative, but for us, there is a positive notion to it. People know when they come to Hallmark that the promise that they will feel a little better about themselves or about their community or about life, in general, is a promise we make.”
Hallmark began airing its holiday slate on October 27.
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Julie MillerJulie Miller is a Senior Hollywood writer for Vanity Fairs website.
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