Desperate times call for the happy distractions these happy holiday Hallmark movies deliver.
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Love Actually and Diehard are movies that many people point to when asked to unwrap their picks for favourite holiday movies.
“Truly, fans can’t get enough of these movies. They often describe the movies as a comforting escape every weekend, especially during stressful times,” said Jennifer Abrams, SVP, programming and multiplatform at Corus Entertainment, which airs Hallmark movies on its W Network.
“The heartwarming stories, likable characters, and predictably happy endings create a sense of emotional safety that resonates deeply with viewers. For many, Hallmark movies serve as a way to relax, unwind, and find solace during busy and stressful times.”
Shot usually sometime between June and October, the holiday movie requires the cast and crew to suspend summertime vibes and fully commit to the festive illusion, something Winning says he finds easy to do when he’s helming one of these productions.
According to Nielsen, more than 80 million Americans watch at least part of a Hallmark movie each Christmas season. In 2023 in Canada, the Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas programming on the W Network reached 10 million Canadians.
Screenwriter Zac Hug, who teaches TV writing in the University of B.C.’s optional residency program and has penned 10 Hallmark holiday films, isn’t surprised that these movies do such big numbers.
“It’s stories about joy. Stories about people seeking happiness — and getting it,” said Hug, who lives in Los Angeles but often works in Vancouver. “It’s an incredibly important thing.”
After the crazy U.S. election cycle, the current international wars and cost of living concerns, people are seeking uncomplicated entertainment.
Bloomberg News reported that in the week after the U.S. election, Hallmark rose to the third-most-popular U.S. cable channel in prime time, ahead of both MSNBC and CNN. Fox News and ESPN took the top two spots.
According to Bloomberg, Hallmark “steadily gained audience members each week since the first of its holiday movie lineup debuted Oct. 18.”
Hug, who was raised on an Ohio Christmas tree farm, expects “the ratings will go through the roof this year.”
“I want to be able to leave the room and come back in and still understand what’s going on. And I think there is … a lot of value in providing entertainment that you can easily sit with, and it’s ultimately going to end in a happy ending that might make you cry a little,” said Hug, whose first Hallmark Holiday film was 2018’s Road to Christmas shot in Vancouver.
Winning completely agrees that desperate times call for the happy distractions that Hallmark stories deliver.
“The one thing I’ve always said is Hallmark offers Safe Harbor. And I think, in dark times, people kind of lean towards not getting too heavy. The darker the times get, the more people want Christmas movies to fill their time,” said Winning.
The industry that is the holiday movie isn’t just a port in a storm for viewers, but is often a life-raft for many people who work in the TV/film business in Hollywood North. As other studios have contracted their content production, Hallmark has been as steady as a small-town librarian.
“It is a reliable and stable source of income for actors in B.C. (for all filmmakers really),” said Omari Newton, a Vancouver actor and the co-head of film production and head of acting for the Vancouver Film School in an email to Postmedia News. “Getting in the good graces of Hallmark producers will keep you working consistently.”
Newton, who recently helped run VFS’s three-day boot camp for aspiring actors, directors and writers looking to learn how to create a Hallmark movie, says his Hallmark work always gets noticed.
“More than anything else I do, when I am on a Hallmark movie, people take screen captures/pics and send them to me. Just a few days ago, someone sent me a pic of me on screen as the sheriff,” said Newton about his role as Sheriff Brody Omar in Hallmark’s Every Christmas Has a Story.
Langley’s Martini Studios backlot, dubbed Martini Town, is a Hallmark hot spot. In 2024, it was home to 13 Hallmark productions, eight of those holiday movies.
“It’s nostalgic, right? It kind of always represents what Christmas is, that we believe Christmas should be,” said Gemma Martini, Martini Studios founder and CEO, about the holiday films. “I don’t know very many people whose Christmases are as is represented, but it’s a very nice kind of nostalgia.”
Martini extols the financial benefits of the steady Hallmark jobs as well, adding there is something to be said about going to work and pretending it’s Christmas.
“The crews are happy to be working on these joyful movies,” said Martini, whose lot is in full Christmas mode from June to October. “They just love it because it’s, again, a positive atmosphere. It just kind of really filters all the way through the crew and onto the screen.”
It also filters out to the public, as this time of year Martini Town is lit up like, you guessed it, a Christmas tree for its annual Merry & Bright at Martini Town holiday event. Packed with local artisans, food, drinks and entertainment, the immersive experience is open to the public until Jan. 5.