Welcome to my freemium newsletter by me, King Williams. A documentary filmmaker, journalist, podcast host, and author based in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a newsletter covering Atlanta's hidden connections to everything else.
In the drafts: my unreleased works
Hey everyone, I hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. I hope everyone is resting and gearing up for a much better 2024. I know I am!
As we all enjoy the season, I will release some things I have had in the drafts for a while. I call this series ‘In the drafts,’ a collection of explainers, reporting, and deep dives on topics I’ve worked on for a while but never got quite out.
I plan on spending my 2024 finishing older projects that I’ve been too precious about, too fastidious, or missed out on their initial period of relevance.
The first is on TV Christmas movies. Yep, those cheesy holiday movies. I find them as guilty pleasures and the business/culture behind them fascinating.
I hope that you all enjoy it!
-KJW
Tis the season of holiday movies
Americans love Christmas, err ‘Holiday’ movies. Holiday movies are over a century old, dating back to the first appearance of Santa Claus in an 1898 silent film of the same name.
The genre has expanded into various sub-genres, plot machinations, tropes, and stereotypes audiences have loved for decades. But over the last 25 years, with the expansion of cable networks, streaming services, and YouTube, the holiday film has arguably reached its greatest saturation point ever, so what does this mean going forward?
1. The Business of Christmas movies
The rise of Christmas movies over the last decade comes at a crucial point in the entertainment industry, as the continued decline in cable television and its profitable business model has the industry at a crossroads. Accompanied by the unprofitable but steadily growing streaming business model. Holiday films are now becoming as crucial for gaining and retaining subscribers as pro sports, albeit at a much lower price point.
The dollars and cents of holiday films
Holiday films are much more manageable with minimal sets, outdoor locations, wardrobes, actors, and no VFX. But this doesn’t mean the projects are without costs. Holiday films have risen in cost, but producing several dozen films is still far more economical than greenlighting several series.
In previous years, a big-budget holiday film with a star could cost about $2 million. With increased production and competition, this year’s films are slated to cost between $3-5 million for some bigger companies like Netflix.
Despite this upturn in some projects, these films are still easier to stomach as most are usually under $1 million to make. In addition, most are filmed within two weeks. Often in cheaper locales such as US states like Georgia (which offers tax rebates) and portions of Canada (usually Vancouver). Canada works even better as the dollar often stretches further, a large professional film/television industry (also English speaking), alongside locations similar to general American cities/small towns.
2. Why does everyone have a holiday movie?
In the economics of the television industry, holiday films are a reprieve from the constant TV and streaming arms race, which is only now starting to fall.
Holiday films are a solid hedge against rising television costs.
Holiday films come at the right time as television costs continue to rise. Even accounting for the 2023 strike, television shows within the same genre are now twice (or more) more expensive than a decade ago.
From Cosmopolitan - The Big Business of Cheesy Christmas Movies -11/2018:
…actors have discovered that this holly, jolly niche of the film business has some unique draws. While budgets may be smaller than, say, feature films—Lifetime’s cost around $1 million each, while budgets for Hallmark range between $2-3 million and up to $5 million per movie for those starring established talent…
Why the dollars make sense to create holiday films
For example, an episode of Insecure, an HBO series with a loyal audience but low ratings, was estimated to cost $3.5 million per episode. For a fraction of the costs, media companies can attract and retain the same demo of viewers with a wider variety of content versus the tens of millions of dollars needed to launch a new series or maintain an original one.
The cost of a single episode of Insecure is closer to the mid-range premier holiday film on a mainstream cable network or streaming service, leading to why more companies are spending more on original films, especially holiday films, versus new original series. The holiday movie dollars make sense.
The money for shows is too high. Holiday films are a better use of money
In comparison, teen drama Euphoria, which at the time became the network’s most-watched show since Game of Thrones, was rumored to cost about $11 million per episode for Season 2. This pales to the costs of the Disney Star Wars and Marvel shows, which cost between $15 and $25 million per episode.
Netflix’s Stranger Things 4 costs an eye-popping $30 million per episode. Or Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series, which is costing an eye-popping 1 billion dollars for a 5-season series, including $250 million for the rights to the franchise and over $400 million in dedicated spending in New Zealand for the duration of the series.
3. How many companies have a holiday movie?
While the official count is 116 new films this year, there are likely even more holiday films in the current marketplace. Hallmark is the genre leader, producing over 40 films this year. This is in addition to the hundreds of films in its library, the films available on NBCUniversal’s Peacock service, those licensed to other networks, its cable channel, and their films within its standalone app, Hallmark Movie Now.
But Hallmark is not alone in producing holiday films. This year features films from rivals Lifetime and the Great American Family Channel, alongside other cable channels, OWN, BET, TVOne, Vh1, Freeform, E!, and Comedy Central. Even the Food Network and HGTV now have holiday movies.
Other lesser-known cable channels such as UPTV, Ion, and Bounce TV have launched holiday-themed films. UPTV, in particular, gained notoriety in 2017 by planning 55 days of holiday films, mostly licensed holiday fare. Fast forward to 2022, and the company has upped the programming to 600 hours of holiday films, including 17 original films.
Broadcast channels CBS and NBC have gotten in on the trend. Meanwhile, PBS has begun to air more Christmas episodes of its programs. This includes the British drama Call the Midwife, which airs an annual post-season Christmas episode.
All of this is in addition to the streaming services Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and Apple, which just released a splashy Will Ferrell-led holiday film to its service. Not to mention lesser prominent streaming services such as conservative streamers Great American PureFlix and Fox Nation, the streaming service from the Fox News cable and broadcast network. Or niche Black streamers such as AllBlk. Even Coca-Cola, yes, Coca-Cola, is making Christmas movies.
4. Hallmark, the one that started it all
The company started as a greeting card in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1910.
Christmas movies have existed since the late 1890s. These films have primarily been seen as positive, often echoing societal values, virtue signaling, nostalgia, escapism, and an idealized version of Americana. There will be holiday films now and in the future as generations come to them for many reasons. But one company, Hallmark, has been shaping ideas on the holidays for over a century.
4b. Hallmark is the holiday company
Hallmark has defined and then redefined the holiday season in the US from its inception. From greeting cards to television programs, then a 24-hour cable network, and now, a streaming television service. The company has uniquely presented a clear brand based on feel-good, nostalgia-centered content.
4c. Hallmark and Disney are hyper-aware, curated cousins
Like the Walt Disney Company, which also began its television programming in the 1950s, Hallmark sought a broad base of non-offensive, ‘family-friendly’ programming. Leading to trying its hands at a variety of television programs.
4d. Hallmark started as high-brow television in the 1950s.
Hallmark has been in the television business since the 1950s. In 1951, Hallmark teamed with national television station NBC for the first-ever live opera broadcast for a national TV performance. That holiday performance was a hit, leading to repeat viewings for decades until 1978.
In the process, Hallmark developed a slew of additional holiday programming while expanding into television programming, creating the Hallmark Television Playhouse, which was later renamed The Hallmark Hall of Fame. Hallmark produced over 200 specials throughout its run, garnering Emmys (81), Peabody, Christopher, and Golden Globe Awards.
4e. The Hallmark television network
Hallmark's foray into cable television began in the 1990s through corporate mergers and acquisitions in the early 1990s, notably merging two separate American Christian television stations, Vision Interfaith Satellite Network and the American Christian Television System.
The two networks merged into one in 1993 under the Faith and Values Channel before Liberty Media acquired a 49% stake in the company in 1995, which then rebranded again as the Odyssey Network. The company again saw a large minority stake acquired by both Hallmark and the Jim Henson Company.
4f. The Hallmark Channel arrives.
The Henson Company sought to build out a cable network with its library of shows such as Fraggle Rock and the many Muppet films and television projects created over the years. This merged the decades of Henson and Hallmark content with many of the already-produced Christian children’s films and family-oriented programming on the network.
In 2000, the company again entered a new corporate restructuring as Crown Media Holdings, with the Hallmark Channel officially starting in 2001. By the end of 2001, the Jim Henson Company would be exited from the company via a third-party purchase, including the Muppets being sold to Disney.
From 2001-2010, the company entered a series of selloffs, acquisitions, licensing deals, cable carriage disputes, and various attempts at finding third-party content companies to build out a newer, broader network. In the process, Hallmark, now a majority owner of the Hallmark Channel, would lead to the company venturing into original films.
During its 2000s search for stability, Hallmark entered a multi-million dollar licensing deal with Warner. Bros for 35 films that would air on the network. This common industry move helped build a broader audience for the channel, who would watch more mainstream films now playing its post-tier window.
4g. The Hallmark holiday movie series
Hallmark, 20 years later, is known for its deluge of holiday films, but the company was already into production on its first slate of holiday films in 2002. In the fall of the same year, the company released four films throughout the holiday season starring notable, but not at their peak, film and television stars. Now, the strategy is a building block of today's industry.
The stars on that initial 2002 run included Bridget Fonda, Linda Hamilton, Lauren Holly, and Judd Nelson. The combination of a former star + a simple premise film + lack of ‘politics’ or violence made the series an immediate success for the company. Between 2002 and 2008, the company produced more and more holiday films alongside a series of non-holiday-centered films throughout the year. This provided the base for viewers who would define the channel for the next decade.
Hallmark as the home of holiday movies
In 2002, the company produced only 9 films, including 4-holiday films. By 2010, the official start of the company’s familiar release model, the company released 28 original films, including 11 brand-new holiday films.
In addition, the company also began a direct-to-consumer separate television channel, the Hallmark Movie Channel (HMC), and a DVD business for fans who wanted to own the films. HMC has become a standalone streaming service and on-demand library for cable subscribers. HMC has also moved into licensed content across other streamers, including a specialty deal with NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service.
Countdown to Christmas
Countdown to Christmas, Hallmark's annual season of Christmas and holiday-themed films began officially in 2010. The company’s first official film was 2006’s The Christmas Card (yep, you’re processing that correctly). The film is a vaguely patriotic military movie steeping in the post-9/11 era of films, generating a record-breaking 5 million viewers in its first run.
5. The longtail of the Hallmark holiday movie season
During November and December, Hallmark routinely ranks as the top network for women 18-49 and 25-54. This is partly due to the channel’s focus on its made-for-tv movies strategy.
Despite the overall changes in the marketplace, Hallmark’s continued success has been leveraged to launch new shows and newer films while retaining its audience. For a television network like Hallmark, the holiday season is too lucrative to let go as estimates have it poised as one-third of all company ad revenue, hovering around $350 million a year. Hallmark released 40 holiday-themed movies in 2020 and 2021, upping the total to 43 for this season.
Hallmark is the Marvel of television, a never-ending supplier of audience-specific genre films. But unlike Marvel, the Hallmark films, with few exceptions, are rarely tied into a larger universe, given sequels or spinoffs. This model has been too good to pass up for networks and now streamers, lending to many copycats.
Hallmark, whose primary audience is adult women, is now being realized as the industry standard for genre-specific branding and content creation. Many companies see the holiday season and their ability to stand out as one of the keys to the future of media.
6. Lifetime and the arrival of women’s TV.
Before the arrival of Lifetime in 1984, cable networks that explicitly focused on women didn’t exist. Lifetime itself didn’t even focus exclusively on women until 1994. As a result, for the first decade, the channel struggled with its identity amongst viewers. The network comprised broadcast reruns, second-rate talk shows, large blocks of medical advertisements, and a lack of original programming, leading to low viewership and rounds of potential cancellation.
Lifetime pivots to made-for-tv movies
In 1990, Lifetime began a pivot into made-for-television movies and owned and operated talk shows. The company started to see more success, leading to the formation of the Lifetime Movie Network in 1998—the same year its first true rival and first true women-centered network, Oxygen, was founded.
With its support from America’s #1 talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, Oxygen would launch two years later on February 1st, 2000. But 1998 also saw the arrival of another female-centered program, this time from HBO in its adaptation of Candace Bushnell’s book Sex and the City.
7. Women’s TV starts to get crowded.
Sex and the City featured edgy, raunchy storylines, with two leads from previous successes, Sarah Jessica Parker of the teen show Square Pegs and Kim Cattrall, from young adult-skewing films such as Mannequin and Porkys. Sex and the City’s immediate success led to a repositioning of edgier M-rated women-led content in the market.
As a result, two different strands of women’s programming emerged: escapist television and aspirational television. Or sometimes both, see the Bravo network and The Real Housewives Franchise.
Escapist programming throughout the 2000s and 2010s would rely more on shock, niche, and tawdry—meanwhile, aspirational programming features idealized versions of life, women-centered fantasy, and feel-good moments.
Unscripted programming, the current catch-all term for reality television, dating shows, talk shows, fashion, home improvement, medical shows, and documentaries, takes up much of the content produced. At the same time, scripted content moves further into sex, racier language, violence, and more realistic storylines. Places that neither Hallmark nor Lifetime can compete.
Hallmark and Lifetime pivot as well
That decade-ish headstart for Hallmark and nearly two-decade start for Lifetime proved to be the vital first and second-mover advantages they still use in today’s marketplace. This allows both companies to develop into brands that stand out in the edgier television marketplace.
This results in networks like Lifetime and Hallmark choosing safe, escapist TV movies of soft romance and happy endings and other networks choosing the opposite, albeit in their own way. Both networks offer softer, less problematic content compared to their peers.
Lifetime
Meanwhile, Lifetime tip-toes into some PG/PG-13 aspects of documentaries, such as scripted and unscripted true crime and medical shows. While its foray into dating shows, such as Married at First Sight, still is rather tame and promotes traditional heterosexual couples seeking to get married.
Despite its success for Lifetime, the show has inspired a new challenger in producing similar content but on a much larger scale: Netflix. At the same time, other cable channels use the same strategies and methods directly from the Lifetime playbook.
Hallmark
Hallmark moves into G-rated westerns, fantasy, and soap operas. When Calls the Heart and When Hope Calls are two of the network’s biggest shows. A western soap opera focusing on the interwoven relationships of women in rural families. The show taps into fans of westerns and melodrama.
Hallmark’s programs feature no sex, almost no romantic touching, nearly no violence, or explicit language. This leads to Hallmark having a more squeaky-clean and family-friendly reputation. Despite this reputation, a company has been making even more of a foray into Hallmark’s territory, enter Great American Family, the ‘anti-woke’ Hallmark.
Tomorrow, Part Two: The ‘anti-woke’ holiday movies, nimbyism, the blueprint, and the future of holiday films.
It’s also my favorite time of the year for an annual film debate—Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Bruce Willis says no, but many others say yes…what do you think?
-Happy Holidays, KJW