Stream the halls
Hallmark+ will be part of that “what else can we do” initiative as it allows the network to navigate its own final frontier: unscripted television. Celebrations With Lacey Chabert was one of the streamer’s September launch titles and features the Mean Girls star organizing parties for everyday heroes. That was followed by the Jonathan Bennett-hosted Finding Mr. Christmas, which sets out to discover the next Hallmark holiday hunk. “We’re playing with what feels a little different and a little more exciting to draw eyeballs,” Daly said, noting that they’ve already seen a positive response among younger viewers to these early dips into reality TV waters.
Daly confirmed that all three of those unscripted shows—along with original series like the family drama The Chicken Sisters and the star-studded limited series Holidazed—will be exclusive to the new streaming service for the immediate future. “They will be on the channel at some future time, but we want to give them a long runway for people to sample,” she notes, adding that Hallmark+ will also house an extensive library of movies from Christmases past, as well as a back catalog of mysteries and non-holiday rom-coms.
This year’s Countdown to Christmas lineup, though, is streaming only on Peacock. Hallmark signed a deal that makes the films available on NBCUniversal’s streamer—as well as its VOD partners—three days after they premiere on the cable network. Meanwhile, certain select older holiday titles won’t be available on Hallmark+ just yet but are available on Netflix. Daly said it’s all part of the network’s “test and learn phase” in the wide world of streaming.
“It’s a brave new world out there,” she emphasizes. “I’m constantly talking to people about the types of partnerships and windowing opportunities that people would never have done in the past.”
O Hallmark Night
Daly is also understanding—and even encouraging—of the Hallmark talent who have been embarking on their own explorations of the streaming space. Chabert, for example, is currently starring in the viral Netflix holiday movie Hot Frosty, which Daly saw and describes as “very cute,” though not exactly in Hallmark’s specific holiday lane.
“Netflix and, to some extent, Lifetime are going a little more into ‘sexy Christmas,’” she said. “That’s not something we’re going to be doing. We have our handsome men, but it’s a much more wholesome kind of family approach to romance and love. There’s a lane for everybody here, and ours is a clear lane that we know our audience really appreciates.”