Photo: Great American Family
Who knew Christmas movies could be so competitive?
While theHallmark Channelis still the reigning leader in feel-good holiday flicks and rom-coms,Great American Family(formerly known as GAC Family) has been making waves since it launched in September 2021.
The cable channel first caught the eye of Christmas movie fans after it announced that several of the latter network’s stars would be making the jump over to Great American Family, includingDanica McKellarandTrevor Donovan, who signed on in October 2021. In April 2022, GAC Media revealed thatCandace Cameron Bure, who previously starred in more than 25 Hallmark movies, hadsigned a dealto develop, executive produce and star in content for their networks.
In October 2022, Great American Family announced it would release18 original Christmas moviesfor the holiday season, with air dates starting on Oct. 22. The lineup includedDestined at Christmas, Catering ChristmasandA Royal Christmas on Ice. Shortly after, the network made headlines again after Cameron Bure said itdoes not plan to feature same-sex couplesin its Christmas movies.
What is Great American Family?
Great American Family
In July 2022, the company announced that GAC Family and GAC Living wouldbe renamedGreat American Family and Great American Living. In a press release, Abbott explained, “As the company expands across different media verticals, renaming our linear networks Great American Family and Great American Living better reflects our vision for each brand and firmly aligns the company under our new Great American Media umbrella.”
Which stars left Hallmark for Great American Family?
Michael S. Schwartz/Getty ; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty ; Frazer Harrison/Getty
With Abbott, a former Crown Media Family Networks CEO, at the helm, Great American Family is clearly trying to compete with Hallmark Channel. Not only is the network working to attract loyal Hallmark viewers, but it has poached current and former Hallmark Channel actors.
One such actress is Candace Cameron Bure, who departed Hallmark in favor of Great American Media in April 2022. It was announced that Bure would be taking on a “prominent executive role at the company to oversee and curate programming for the networks as a whole.”
A Crown Media spokesperson told PEOPLE that there wereno hard feelingsassociated with Cameron Bure’s departure. “Crown Media has enjoyed over 10 years of collaboration with Candace,” the spokesperson said. “We respect her decision and thank her for her many contributions.”
Similarly, longtime Hallmark actress Danica McKellar signed anexclusive four-picture dealwith GAC Media.The Wonder Yearsalum went on to star inThe Winter Palace, which premiered in January 2022 on Great American Family.
Twelve-time Hallmark movie star Trevor Donovan also signed a deal tostar and executive producewith GAC Media in October 2021. Soon after, he appeared in Great American Family’sJingle Bell Christmas.
Lori Loughlinjoined Great American Family in September 2022 and is set tostar in the channel’s movieFall Into Winter. The project will mark Loughlin’s first movie since 2018, after the Hallmark Channelfamously droppedtheWhen Calls the Heartactress following her involvement in the college admissions scandal in 2019.
Hallmark Media’s EVP of programming, Lisa Hamilton Daly,spoke about the cast crossoverin August 2022 during a Television Critics Association press conference, according toVariety.
“We’ve kept a lot of our talent under options, say for Christmas movies. We’re looking for new talent all the time,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of talent out there that we’ve worked with in the past that GAC is now working with, but I think that we also are constantly trying to evolve the talent pool that we’re working with.”
She continued, “We have, I think, retained almost everybody that we’re really excited to have. So that’s where we are.”
Since then, Great American Family has increased its portfolio of actors. In June 2023,the network announcedthatMatthew Morrisonand Jen Lilley would star inParis Christmas Waltz,a sequel to Hallmark Channel’s 2020 filmThe Christmas Waltz.
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Inan interview withThe Wall Street Journalpublished on Nov. 14, 2022, Bure, who serves as the chief creative officer for Great American Family, said, “I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core.”
“All of you who know me, know beyond question that I have great love and affection for all people. It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think I intentionally would want to offend and hurt anyone,” she said, in part. “It saddens me that the media is often seeking to divide us, even around a subject as comforting and merry as Christmas movies. But, given the toxic climate in our culture right now, I shouldn’t be surprised. We need Christmas more than ever.”
Bure added of Great American Family, “I have long wanted to find a home for more faith-based programming. I am grateful to be an integral part of a young and growing network. I had also expressed in my interview, which was not included, that people of all ethnicities and identities have and will continue to contribute to the network in great ways both in front of and behind the camera, which I encourage and fully support. I’ve never been interested in proselytizing through my storytelling, but in celebrating God’s greatness in our lives through the stories I tell.”
“My life wouldn’t be where it is today without the love, support, and guidance of the LGBTQIA+ community… I owe them a great debt,” the actor said in a statement shared withVariety. “As someone who struggled as a young man with our society’s extremely narrow definition of masculinity, it was their community that provided me with refuge and a guiding light when my life felt lost.”
“And now, if I cannot stand up for that community in their time of need, my debt to them means nothing,” he added. “So, I want to be very clear: my support for the LGBTQIA+ community is unconditional – nothing is worth my silence or their ability to live and love freely in a world that we are lucky enough to share with them.”
“When [Bure] was talking about the portrayal of heterosexual couples in the movies, she started the sentence with ‘I think,’ which is not definitive, and she ended it with ‘at its core,’ which doesn’t mean exclusively,” McKellar continued.
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Bure’sFuller Housecostar,Jodie Sweetin, criticized Great American Family when she claimed that her upcoming filmCraft Me a Romancewassold to the channelwithout her knowledge.
“Sometimes, we, as actors, don’t have control over which network buys the projects we are in, nor are we a part of the process in which they get sold,” the actress told PEOPLE.
Sweetin added that she was “disappointed” to learn that the film was sold to Great American Family, adding that “in keeping with my mission of supporting the LGBTQ+ family, any potential or future money made from this sale will be donated to LGBTQ+ organizations.”
How can I watch Great American Family?
source: people.com
