Best LGBTQIA+ Holiday Movies Through the Years: ‘Happiest Season,’ ‘Single All the Way’ and More – Us Weekly
Making the yuletide gay. Everyone deserves to fall in love with a cheesy holiday movie at Christmas — and many networks and and streaming services are making their offerings more diverse than ever.
“[Christmas movies] give everyone everything they want,” Jonathan Bennett, who has appeared in multiple Hallmark films before executive producing 2022’s The Holiday Sitter for the network, told Us Weekly in November 2022. “Yes, [The Holiday Sitter] an LGBTQ+-led movie, but it’s not for just LGBTQ+ people. [It’s] is a movie for everyone just like Hallmark Channel is for everyone. And Christmas is for everyone.”
The Mean Girls star’s comments came shortly after Candace Cameron Bure — who starred in 10 of Hallmark’s holiday films over the course of 13 years — opened up about her decision to leave the network in favor of Great American Media. “My heart wants to tell stories that have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them,” she told the Wall Street Journal‘s WSJ. Magazine in November 2022. “I knew that the people behind Great American Family were Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment.”
She continued: “I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core.”
After the Full House alum’s comments made headlines, Hilarie Burton Morgan — who has starred in several Hallmark holiday films before opting to work with Lifetime — slammed her via Twitter. “Bigot. I don’t remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy,” Burton Morgan wrote, alongside an article about Cameron Bure’s big move. “But sure. Make your money, honey. You ride that prejudice wave all the way to the bank.”
The One Tree Hill alum also criticized Bill Abbot, who left Hallmark for GAC himself in 2020 following a controversy over the network’s decision to remove an ad featuring a same-sex couple. “Now they’re just openly admitting their bigotry. I called this s–t out years ago when Abbott was at Hallmark,” Burton Morgan wrote at the time. “Glad they dumped him. Being LGBTQ isn’t a ‘trend.’ … There is nothing untraditional about same-sex couples.”
The rise of LGBTQIA+-centric holiday movies over the past few years proves Burton Morgan’s point and allows a wider group of people to relate to and enjoy Christmas content.
“I am a huge fan of holiday movies and rom-coms, but I’d never really seen my experience represented,” Happiest Season director Clea DuVall told Elle in December 2020. “I know my experience is not singular, so there were probably a lot of other people feeling the same way I did. It felt like a great idea to tell a universal story from a new perspective.”
She later added: “There are so many [LGBTQ] stories, and they all deserve to be told. This is just one.”
Keep scrolling to see the best LGBTQIA+ Christmas romances — and where to watch them:
Credit: Philippe Bosse/Netflix
Best LGBTQIA+ Holiday Movies Through the Years: ‘Happiest Season,’ ‘Single All the Way’ and More
Making the yuletide gay. Everyone deserves to fall in love with a cheesy holiday movie at Christmas — and many networks and and streaming services are making their offerings more diverse than ever. “[Christmas movies] give everyone everything they want,” Jonathan Bennett, who has appeared in multiple Hallmark films before executive producing 2022’s The Holiday Sitter for the network, told Us Weekly in November 2022. “Yes, [The Holiday Sitter] an LGBTQ+-led movie, but it’s not for just LGBTQ+ people. [It’s] is a movie for everyone just like Hallmark Channel is for everyone. And Christmas is for everyone.” The Mean Girls star’s comments came shortly after Candace Cameron Bure — who starred in 10 of Hallmark’s holiday films over the course of 13 years — opened up about her decision to leave the network in favor of Great American Media. “My heart wants to tell stories that have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them,” she told the Wall Street Journal‘s WSJ. Magazine in November 2022. “I knew that the people behind Great American Family were Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment.” She continued: “I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core.” [jwplayer 8fMboP0g-zhNYySv2] After the Full House alum’s comments made headlines, Hilarie Burton Morgan — who has starred in several Hallmark holiday films before opting to work with Lifetime — slammed her via Twitter. “Bigot. I don’t remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy,” Burton Morgan wrote, alongside an article about Cameron Bure’s big move. “But sure. Make your money, honey. You ride that prejudice wave all the way to the bank.” The One Tree Hill alum also criticized Bill Abbot, who left Hallmark for GAC himself in 2020 following a controversy over the network’s decision to remove an ad featuring a same-sex couple. “Now they’re just openly admitting their bigotry. I called this s–t out years ago when Abbott was at Hallmark,” Burton Morgan wrote at the time. “Glad they dumped him. Being LGBTQ isn’t a ‘trend.’ … There is nothing untraditional about same-sex couples.” The rise of LGBTQIA+-centric holiday movies over the past few years proves Burton Morgan’s point and allows a wider group of people to relate to and enjoy Christmas content. “I am a huge fan of holiday movies and rom-coms, but I’d never really seen my experience represented,” Happiest Season director Clea DuVall told Elle in December 2020. “I know my experience is not singular, so there were probably a lot of other people feeling the same way I did. It felt like a great idea to tell a universal story from a new perspective.” She later added: “There are so many [LGBTQ] stories, and they all deserve to be told. This is just one.” Keep scrolling to see the best LGBTQIA+ Christmas romances — and where to watch them:
Credit: Lacey Terrell/Hulu
‘Happiest Season’ — Hulu
In this star-studded — and highly-debated — rom-com, Mackenzie Davis stars as overachieving Harper, who asks girlfriend Abby (Kristen Stewart) to pretend to be her straight roommate when they return to her childhood home for the holidays. Harper isn’t out to her image-conscious family and the whole situation begins to threaten her relationship with both her parents and the woman she loves.
Credit: Philippe Bosse/Netflix
‘Single All the Way’ — Netflix
Michael Urie stars in this 2021 movie as a single man who convinces his best friend and roommate (Philemon Chambers) to pretend to be his boyfriend when he returns home for Christmas, only to find out that his mother (Kathy Najimy) has set him up on a blind date with a hot guy in town (Luke McFarland). It’s frothy fun, complete with a fake dating trope, meddling nieces, a Britney Spears dance routine and Jennifer Coolidge as everyone’s cool aunt.
Credit: Luba Popovic/Crown Media United States LLC
‘The Christmas House’ — Hallmark
The 2020 Hallmark movie centers on a married couple who invite their adult sons — played by Robert Buckley and Bennett — home for one last Christmas in their childhood home. The Food Network host stars as Brandon, who is anxiously waiting to hear whether he and his husband, Jake, will be able to adopt their first child. Plus, there’s a sequel!
Credit: Paramount+/YouTube
‘Dashing in December’ — Paramount+
Sometimes you just need a good, cheesy holiday movie to watch by the fire. Case in point: Dashing in December, which follows a big city hotshot who comes home to his family’s ranch to convince them to sell it — only to fall in love with the dashing ranch hand who has been working on the farm.
Credit: Tubi/Amazon Studios
‘Christmas at the Ranch’ — Amazon Prime
Because men aren’t the only ones who deserve to fall in love with a sexy ranch hand, there’s Love on the Ranch, which follows a successful city slicker who has her heart stolen by a gorgeous farmer after she comes home for Christmas.
Credit: Lifetime/YouTube
‘The Christmas Setup’ — Lifetime
Fran Drescher stars as a meddling mother who sets her son Hugo (Ben Lewis) up with his former high school crush during the holidays. Unfortunately, just when it seems like their Christmas wishes might be coming true, Hugo gets an offer for a dream job in another country. For extra charm, follow this up with a rewatch of The Nanny.
Credit: Netflix/Steve Wilkie
‘Let It Snow’ — Netflix
Based on Maureen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle‘s young adult novel of the same name, this 2019 Netflix movie follows the interconnecting stories of multiple young people stranded by a blizzard in a small town. The most adorable couple is Dorrie (Liv Hewson) and Kerry (Anna Akana), two teens attempting to sort through their feelings for one another amid the backdrop of holiday cheer and Waffle House festivities.
Credit: Lifetime/YouTube
‘Under the Christmas Tree’ — Lifetime
Marketing exec Alma is distressed after she learns that Charle, a “tree-whisperer,” has chosen a tree from her family’s property to be the Christmas tree at the Governor’s mansion. It features so many classic holiday movie tropes, a slightly absurd premise and Ricky Lake as a bakery owner ready to dispense advice along with her baked goods.