Hallmark Casts Jonathan Bennett in its 1st Gay Christmas Movie

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Hallmark is getting into the gay Christmas rom-com act with The Christmas House, set to star out Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett. The movie will costar Robert Buckley (One Tree Hill), Ana Ayora (In the Dark), Treat Williams, Sharon Lawrence, and Brad Harder, Good Morning America reports.

The movie tells the story of a gay couple trying to adopt their first child while also heading home to see family, according to Michelle Vicary, executive vice president of programming for Crown Media Family Network.

The official synopsis reads:

"Working through some difficult decisions, Mitchell family matriarch Phylis (Lawrence) and patriarch Bill (Williams), have summoned their two grown sons — Mike (Buckley) and Brandon (Bennett) — home for the holidays. It is their hope that bringing the family together to recreate the Christmas house will help them find resolution and make a memorable holiday for the entire family and community. As Brandon and his husband, Jake (Harder), make the trip home, they are anxiously awaiting a call about the adoption of their first child. Meanwhile, Mike reconnects with Andi (Ayora), his high school sweetheart."

Regarding making a queer holiday movie, Vicary said, "Our holiday table is bigger and more welcoming than ever. This year's movies reflect our most diverse representation of talent, narratives, and families. Our movies are rooted in warmth and positivity, meaningful connections, family gatherings and seasonal traditions — a winning formula we hope will bring our millions of viewers much-needed levity and holiday cheer at the end of a tough year,” she added.

The Hallmark movie is the latest in a recent line of holiday movies with LGBTQ+ stories including last year’s Netflix’s Let it Snow and Freeform’s Valentine’s Day movie released earlier this year, The Thing About Harry. Lifetime’s upcoming The Christmas Setup is set to star real-life married couple Ben Lewis and Blake Lee. And this November, the Clea DuVall helmed Happiest Season, starring Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis as a couple who go home for the holidays, will be the first queer-themed holiday movie from a major studio (Sony).

https://www.advocate.com/film/2020/9/24/hallmark-casts-mean-girls-jonathan-bennett-1st-gay-christmas-movie