Some savage posts from Twitter users perfectly nail every Hallmark Christmas movie ever made. The Hallmark Channel, a television channel owned by the same parent company as Hallmark Cards, launched as viewers now know it in 2001. Though having undergone several format changes since then, Hallmark is best known for its animal specials – such as the Kitten Bowl and Puppy Bowl that run concurrently with the Super Bowl – and for its seasonal programming. In 2009, Hallmark debuted its now-famous Countdown to Christmas block, which runs from the final week October to January 1 and features holiday movies, specials, and other Hallmark original programming. To date, Hallmark has made over 150 original Christmas films, many of which are known to follow very familiar formats of young, unlikely couples falling in love.With holiday season well underway, some Twitter users have nailed the usual Hallmark Christmas movie recipe. The memes mock Hallmark’s usual plot of high-powered, city-based businesswomen going back to their small, rural hometowns for the holidays, and who ultimately fall in love with country boys that “teach [them] the meaning of Christmas.” Check out the Tweets below:Related: Every Upcoming Hallmark Christmas Movie In 2022
Why Hallmark Movies Are So Beloved (& So Often Mocked)
Though Hallmark is embarking on yet another year of what many see as the same holiday movies over and over, there is a massive market for Hallmark Christmas films. Hallmark originals tend to be low-budget, high-earning movies, because fans have come to expect certain things from them, namely a cozy, warm predictability. Hallmark Christmas movies are family-friendly, feel-good, and incredibly romantic – all of which are popular enough to make the Hallmark Channel the most-watched cable network among women aged 18 to 54 during the months of November and December. Despite some criticisms that these holiday movies recycle the same plot time and time again, their success hasn’t dipped.
However, that isn’t to say there aren’t valid criticisms of the films. Since the start of Hallmark’s Christmas movie popularity, there have been comments that the vast majority of their films have little-to-no representation. Hallmark’s holiday formula typically surrounds white, high-powered women falling in love with white, small-town men. Though there have been efforts made in more recent years to become more diverse, the first Hallmark Christmas movie to star a Black couple was only released in 2018, and the first Hallmark Christmas movie to star a gay couple, The Holiday Sitter, will premiere this year on December 11.
While generally being very feel-good, highly romantic movies, Hallmark’s Christmas originals tend to massively divide viewers; audiences either adore them or mock them. But criticisms haven’t stopped the channel from going full-steam-ahead this holiday season, with 31 Christmas films slated for this year’s Countdown to Christmas. Other companies have also followed in Hallmark’s footsteps, including Netflix, which is producing its own feel-good, slightly cliché Christmas movies. Whether viewers love them or hate them, nothing is stopping Hallmark‘s now-famous Christmas movie collection from expanding.
