Over the past 20 years, the Hallmark Channel has made more than 150 Christmas movies. And just like those adult-contemporary, easy-listening radio stations that flip over to an “All Christmas” format earlier and earlier each year, the Hallmark Channel now begins its “Countdown to Christmas” before Halloween.
While the characters and settings of these films vary, the basic underlying premise and dramatic engine are always the same: the Christmas spirit solves everything, and can overcome any problem, be it familial, financial, or romantic. And whether the MacGuffin is a failing marriage, a dying business, a supernatural element, or the “city girl comes home to the country” trope, the network has clearly found a receptive audience here, as Hallmark has been the No. 1–rated entertainment cable channel among women during the Christmas season for the past seven years.
