and not in just the cheerful way!
This holiday season, celebrations have gotten more inclusive as many major networks and streaming services release holiday tv shows & movies with LGBTQ+ characters, themes, & storylines.
With a record of 7 different tv shows & movies being released in the next few weeks, 2020 marks a turning point for the LGBTQ+ community in the holiday genre, but more importantly the mainstream media.
Happiest Season stars Kristin Stewart as Abby and Mackenzie Davis as Harper a same-sex couple headed to Harper’s parents’ home for the holidays where Abby will propose to her.
What is the wrench(s) thrown in this holiday romantic comedy?
The first being that Harper’s family have no idea who Abby is (pretty typical for a holiday rom-com) and second, being that the family has no clue that their daughter/sister is a lesbian.
Many people know of the classic “bringing home a new boyfriend/girlfriend to meet the family” scenario either personally or from previous films, which makes Happiest Season relatable to all regardless of sexual preference/orientation.
While the rest of the plot could be considered gay cliché for most in the LGBTQ+ community, it can be overlooked because it is the first time this LGBTQ+ struggle is being told in a realistic, authentic, & non-camp way and is being seen outside of the LGBTQ+ community on larger platform.
Authenticity and realism to the story is evident because the production of Happiest Season is full of LGBTQ+ artists & allies. The films co-writer and director (Clea DuVall), lead actress (Kristin Stewart), & supporting actors (Schitt’s Creek’s, Dan Levy; Parks and Recreation Aubrey Plaza; and Alias & Titanic’s Victor Garber) all identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Even though the theatrical release of the film was spoiled by the COVID-19 pandemic, Happiest Season being released in the US on the streaming subscription service Hulu is still a major win for the LGBTQ+ community.
The film is still the first holiday rom-com centered on a same-sex/queer love story to be backed by a major studio, an achievement that the COVID-19 pandemic can’t take away.
The Walt Disney Company, majority owner of Hulu, reported that Hulu reached 36.6M subscribers of the service in the final quarter of 2020. Due Hulu’s 36.6M subscriber count, this gives the Happiest Season a greater chance of being seen by millions of more viewers that wouldn’t have forked over $12 to see the film in movie theatres (regardless of the pandemic).
Another reason the Hulu release is a major win is because of Hulu’s majority owner being an International media powerhouse, The Walt Disney Company. Happiest Season is the second Hulu Original, after Love, Victor, depicting LGBTQ+ lead characters and storylines that has been released on the platform this year.
With the steady growth of Hulu’s subscribers and the success of its LGBTQ+ original content, that this is only the beginning of more inclusion and representation of the LGBTQ+ community in content released on the streaming service.
More exciting firsts for the holiday movie genre, are the releases of Lifetime’s first leading gay couple in The Christmas Setup and The Hallmark Channel’s first on-screen same sex couple (the latter being slightly more thrilling due to the networks yearly domination of the holiday movie season).
Last year, The Hallmark Channel came under fire by conservative viewers after the network aired a commercial featuring a same-sex female couple prompting the wedding company Zola.
So, it was a shock when the network announced that there would be a storyline featuring a same-sex couple in an upcoming movie for the 2020 holiday season.
The Christmas House was released on November 22nd and stars Mean Girls actor Jonathan Bennett. While the same-sex couple featured in The Christmas House isn’t the main storyline/relationship in the movie, having the inclusion and representation of a gay couple hoping to receive cheerful Christmas news in order to complete their family is another universal story that everyone can relate to no matter their sexual preference/orientation.
LGBTQ representation in TV & Film is important for the millions of people around the world who identify as being part of the LGBTQ community and those that are allies. Releasing LGBTQ content in the mainstream media allows individuals to know that they aren’t alone and that their story has many different possibilities than they might know.
It is equally as important to expose LGBTQ+ characters, stories, & themes to “outsiders” in order to expand viewers’ world views.
To see the full list of LGBTQ+ TV shows and films being released this holiday head over to NewNowNext.
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