In 2009 the Hallmark Channel launched "Countdown to Christmas," which included four original movies made on a modest budget that follow a predictable formula. It was an immediate ratings hit, catapulting Hallmark to the top of the cable charts. Competitors start to take notice, most notably Lifetime, which caters to the same demographic. Three years later, L ... Show More
Dec 2021
Christmas Movie Wars | Once Upon A Christmas Ratings Hit | 2
In 1951, the founder of Hallmark Cards, the successful greeting card company, decides to get into television by sponsoring a live opera airing on Christmas Eve. It’s a success, and Hallmark becomes a regular sponsor of television programming for decades. But when they launch thei ... Show More
22m 34s
Dec 2021
Christmas Movie Wars | The Scandal Express | 4
Hallmark faces a year of scandals. First, one of their marquee stars gets charged with committing fraud to get her daughters admitted to an elite college. Then, in the midst of their Countdown to Christmas programming, the channel’s decision to pull an ad featuring two brides gen ... Show More
22m 57s
Dec 2021
The Holiday Special: Endless Christmas Movies and Celeb-Branded Products to Gift to Anyone but Us
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, which means Mariah Carey has a new holiday special, Kelly Clarkson has a new festive album, and there are approximately 200 new movies set at the North Pole to watch. It's impossible to sift through it all, but on this week's episode, ... Show More
39m 18s
Dec 2020
Home Alone (1990) and Get Santa (2014)
In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, the festive favourite realised on a slim budget, and a British Christmas film that had to battle to get to the screen.
It's well known that Warner Bros passed on 1990's Home Alone, but even when Fox picked the project up, the b ... Show More
57m 5s
Dec 2024
How a Skeptical Critic Came to Love Bad Christmas Movies
<p>Hallmark Christmas movies are corny, predictable and just what our critic needed to embrace the holiday spirit.</p><p>The story of how a big-city culture critic, Amanda Hess, found love where she least expected it — in the monotony of Hallmark’s Christmas movies.</p><p>Guest: ... Show More
28m 16s