Just How Formulaic Are Hallmark and Lifetime Holiday Movies? We (Over)analyzed 424 of Them.

The Hallmark and Lifetime networks are known for their prolific output of made-for-television holiday movies each year. Even in the age of streaming, they bring in impressive cable television ratings, perhaps aided by how easy they are to leave on while, say, baking several batches of gingerbread for a tree lighting ceremony.

They also have something of a reputation for following a very specific story line: A recently dumped, high-powered female executive from the city finds new love, purpose and appreciation for Christmas in a small town with the help of a handsome local fellow.

But how much does that formula hold up across the hundreds of holiday movies released since 2017 by Hallmark and Lifetime? Based on data from IMDb, internet recaps and our own viewing, our answer is quite a bit! With some caveats. Here’s what we found.

1 Are they all about Christmas?

Yes, 99 percent of them. The networks began featuring Hanukkah starting in 2019, but often the holiday appears in conjunction with Christmas. In one Hallmark movie, the characters celebrate Kwanzaa, and Christmas.

Of the 424 movies we analyzed, 73 percent have “Christmas” right in the title.

This might be starting to change. Just 53 percent of Hallmark’s 40 holiday titles for this year include the word Christmas. “I think people should know that they are holiday movies, but you run out of adjectives and adverbs to use with Christmas at some point,” said Lisa Hamilton Daly, the network’s programming executive.

Ms. Daly also said the network was trying to mix up its poster art, which has been mocked for its repetitive depiction of a man and a woman in a green or red sweater.

But Christmas still provides much of the backdrop for the movies. Samantha DiPippo, a senior vice president in charge of Hallmark’s holiday movie development, said the goal was to make the sets look organic and aspirational.

“We try not to put bows on things where bows should not be, because that’s not how someone would decorate their house,” she said. “I want to watch one of these movies and go, ‘Oh man, I should do that to my tree.’”

2 Are all of the leads women with high-powered jobs?

Actually, no! Though it’s true that most of the protagonists are women, just 22 percent of female leads start the movie in a big-city corporate job, like lawyer, developer, architect or brand strategist. Nearly as many work at a local shop, or are employed as writers or reporters.

While some of the women start off having trouble at work or feel they missed their true calling, others are working toward a promotion or new job. When it comes to love, many have experienced a recent breakup or other romantic troubles. About 10 percent are single moms.

The most common name for a female lead? Emma (9 movies), followed by Lucy and Olivia (7), and Emily, Holly, Molly and Sarah (6).

Many of the regularly featured actors, like Lacey Chabert, Jodie Sweetin and the Mowry sisters, are known for roles they played as teenagers. Ms. Daly said she thinks there is a comfort and familiarity to watching actors we’ve seen grow up on screen. “Those are gold for us,” she said.

Here are the women who have appeared in leading roles most often since 2017:

Hallmark in particular has been criticized for its lack of casting diversity. Of the movies released by Hallmark since 2017, 18 percent have featured a nonwhite star on the poster, compared with 44 percent of those released by Lifetime. But Hallmark’s rate has been increasing, from 9 percent in 2017 to 20 percent in 2023.

“We just want everyone who watches to be able to see themselves,” Ms. DiPippo said.

Since 2020, both networks have released a handful of movies featuring gay main characters. And more movies of late have used ensemble casts or emphasized family and friendship, not just couples finding love.

“Lifetime has been a destination for a lot of firsts in the Christmas space,” said Sapna Vyas, the vice president for scripted content at Lifetime. In 2020, the network released its first holiday movie featuring an all-Asian cast. In 2022, it filmed “Merry Textmas” with an all-Latino cast in Mexico, in a debut by a Mexican-Canadian filmmaker, Alba Gil.

3 Do they all take place in a small town?

Mostly! It’s understandable, given how much small towns are associated with closeness, community and tradition.

While 40 percent of the stories begin with a woman traveling to a small town (often where she grew up), nearly as many find her already living there (or somewhere small-town adjacent, like a cozy suburb). Most of the movies take place in the U.S., but 70 percent are filmed in Canada.

In recent years, both Hallmark and Lifetime have expanded where they film into destinations abroad.

Ms. Chabert, who has an exclusive contract with Hallmark, has appeared in three holiday movies set in Europe. “It’s not contractual, but she enjoys filming around the world, so we’re happy to oblige,” Ms. Daly said.

4 Are all of the love interests handsome local men?

Just some of them. About 20 percent of male love interests can be categorized as locals that the women meet on a visit to a small town. They are more likely to be someone from the woman’s past, like an old friend or ex-boyfriend.

Twenty percent of the men are single fathers. Suffice to say, this is higher than the actual number of single dads in the U.S. While Ms. Daly said that different family situations make characters more relatable, she also admitted that “we found that watching men be parents is very attractive to women.”

The most common name for male leads is tied between Jack and Ryan (9 movies each), followed by David, Michael, Nick and Ben (8).

Most featured leading men since 2017:

The romantic plots have always been limited to a chaste kiss or two. But in what Ms. Vyas says is a reflection of Lifetime’s desire to showcase relatable, modern adults, one of the network’s 2023 releases features a sex scene.

5 Do the stories all share major plot points?

No, but there are several common tropes, such as a Christmas Eve gala or a struggling shop.

Patrick Serrano has watched every holiday movie from Hallmark and Lifetime since 2016, publishing recaps on his blog, Lifetime Uncorked, and discussing them on a podcast.

The reliance on tropes is “very similar to horror movies or a Marvel movie,” Mr. Serrano said. “These certain things happen in every movie.”

Nearly half revolve around an event like a holiday festival, competition or performance.

A quarter of the plots feature a business or town in trouble.

About 10 percent involve some kind of secret that must be revealed by movie’s end.

The scripts lean heavily into nostalgia and tradition. In many cases, someone is very into Christmas, and someone is not (until they come around). In others, characters are helped along by some Christmas magic. Despite these commonalities, “we’re continually trying to push ourselves out of what we’ve done in the past,” Ms. DiPippo said.

Other elements that show up in many movies: musical acts, travel mix-ups, royalty, military veterans, true stories, time travel and mistaken identities. About half involve grief over a dead or estranged family member.

6 Do they all have happy endings?

Do you even have to ask? In many endings, the woman does leave her job and the city in favor of the town (and her new man). But as the networks work to modernize these stories, they are finding other ways to keep the new couples together.

For instance (spoilers ahead), in “Jingle Bell Bride” (2020), a New York City wedding planner in search of a rare flower meets a handsome botanist in rural Alaska. But he’s the one who ends up following her back to the big city.

And in “A Glenbrooke Christmas” (2020), a woman taking over her family’s Los Angeles-based real estate company does decide to move to a small town to be with a fire chief. But she will still operate as C.E.O. remotely!

“We always say that whatever our woman’s path is, that her relationship is icing on the cake,” Ms. DiPippo said. “If she’s career driven, or there’s some goal that she has, that’s what she’s going for.”

If the formula is changing, what will stay put?

Hallmark executives say there is pressure to make their holiday movies more distinct as competition grows. But there are some elements that are unlikely to change.

“I think we’d be crazy to just walk away 100 percent from the formula,” said Ms. Daly. “What we see as the essential formula is connection, love, people coming together.”

But the network’s favorite metric? “Our ratings this year.”

Source: Television - nytimes.com