The Hallmark Channel holds these truths to be self-evident: Santa Claus is real, Luke Macfarlane is his hunky son and storks deliver babies to doorsteps. The network plans on maintaining its PG appeal. While kissing scenes may get "a little spicier," Hallmark movies will not begin featuring sex scenes, said network boss Lisa Hamilton Daly.
In a Feb. 2024 interview with Variety, Hallmark's executive vice president of programming put the kibosh on more grown-up romance. The network's naughty cousin, Lifetime, has long featured light sex and violence in its 14-and-up movies. (Speaking of Luke Macfarlane, have you seen "Amish Stud: The Eli Weaver Story"?) 2023's "A Cowboy Christmas Romance" was the first Lifetime Christmas movie to feature a sex scene.
Don't expect such wild abandon from Hallmark's feel-good holiday fare. "In a Christmas movie? No," Daly told the outlet, adding that climactic kissing scenes will continue to be the network's gold standard. "Our movies are very much leading up to that final kiss. It's all built up to that."
Lifetime's "A Cowboy Christmas Romance" (Lifetime)
Sex scenes in Hallmark movies are out of the question, but the network's original shows leave room for more impassioned embraces because they "occupy a little different space" than the feature films:
"Our series have a different pattern to them. Some of those kisses go a little longer, they get a little spicier, but we are never going to be anything but pretty much PG. I consider us to be pretty living room friendly. You know your kids are never going to walk in and you'd have to turn it off."
Instead, Hallmark is focusing its efforts on cast reunions and international romps, said Daly. 2024 Countdown to Christmas will reunite "When Calls the Heart" stars Erin Krakow and Daniel Lissing in a new holiday movie, "Santa Tell Me."
Another priority is diverse casting. Hallmark's inclusivity and diversity chief Wonya Lucas stepped down in 2023, but the effort to bring in more Black and LGBTQIA+ actors "hasn't gone away."
"We really think about casting. I think making sure that our casts are diverse, that the stories we're telling are diverse — that's still a big front-and-center issue for us," Daly said, adding: "We are trying to tell everyone's story, so that means making sure people see themselves when they come to us."
When asked whether any recent Hallmark hits would get a sequel, Daly said to "standby" for new announcements. Forget sex scenes in Hallmark movies. Give us the "Three Wise Men and a Baby" sequel we've been waiting for!
