Regardless of how you feel about Hallmark and its Christmas movies, there’s no denying their popularity and success. Many have poked fun at the seemingly systematic yet outlandish storylines that have enveloped audiences for years, and the jolly channel has only continued to build its offerings. Now, Hallmark star, Jonathan Bennett is opening up about how the company translated the classic tropes they use over and over again into a reality competition show.
Hallmark’s release schedule is already in full swing, but with Finding Mr. Christmas coming out today, October 31st, the network is dipping its toe into another genre -- reality competitions -- and making it festive. However, it's also poking fun at and paying homage to what makes Hallmark, Hallmark: its romance movies. To that point, Bennett, who has been in six of the festive flicks and hosts the upcoming show, broke down how the series came to be with Us Weekly, saying:
We base challenges off the different tropes of the Hallmark movies that everyone’s come to know and love.
He shared that the game show was created by pulling key elements out of the Hallmark Christmas movie structure that we all know and love. He went on to share more specifics of what contestants will face, explaining:
We found a way to gamify the meet-cute. We found a way to gamify the apology scene in every movie. If you’re going to be in a Hallmark movie, you got to shoot the poster. So there’s a photo shoot in there.
Finding Mr. Christmas has ten contestants all vying for a spot as the leading man in the upcoming movie Happy Howlidays. It’ll be quite the adventure for us all to see who lands as the top dog. Plus, it'll be super entertaining to see them play into the things that make a Hallmark movie a Hallmark movie.
Overall, I love this self-aware and fun take on Hallmark's signature tropes. It's important to remember that there are some things to just not overthink while dabbling in Hallmark’s festive movies and shows. They're light-hearted, fun, and yes, repetitive, but that's because the tropes they use are irresistible.
As Bennett said, we love a meet cute, we love an apology, and we love that classic poster. So, it'll be fun to see all that gamified!
Along with hosting this totally new show, Bennett has also helped the holiday-obsessed channel open up for more LGBTQ+ inclusive storylines too. Most recently he has been open about being a part of a trilogy that naturally included a same-sex relationship alongside two heteronormative ones. So, along with being here for the romance tropes Hallmark has always used, he's also helping make the network a more inclusive place.
Both Bennett and I are excited about the upcoming series and what it will hold for the future of the channel. Specifically, I can't wait to see just how close the events on the new show mirror parts of our dear Christmas movies.
If you’re looking to watch the series, you can do so with a Hallmark+ subscription. And make sure to bookmark these 10 classic Hallmark Christmas movies or our list of 32 movies and TV shows that feature Hallmark stars while you’re waiting for the release of Happy Howlidays.