fbpx

Could GAC Media Lead This Year’s Family-Friendly Christmas Content After Talent Leaves Hallmark?

Photo from GACtv Instagram

Could GAC Media Lead This Year’s Family-Friendly Christmas Content After Talent Leaves Hallmark?

By Movieguide® Staff

As the Christmas season approaches, Hallmark is no longer alone in the space for family-friendly holiday movies.

Now, actors and actresses previously known for appearing in Hallmark Christmas movies have moved to GAC Media, created by former Hallmark CEO Bill Abbott.

One such actress is Candace Cameron Bure, known as Hallmark’s “Queen of Christmas.”

Movieguide® previously reported:

Candace Cameron Bure became the latest Hallmark star to sign on with GAC Media. The company just announced that Bure signed a deal to develop, produce, and star in new movies for the family-friendly network.

“Candace is adored by generations of fans as one of family entertainment’s most cherished and relatable stars,” President & CEO of GAC Media Bill Abbott said in a press release about the deal. “She has helped build this genre into the mainstream success it is today, and I look forward to working together at GAC Media as we further establish our brands as leaders in quality family programming. I am truly honored that she has chosen to be a part of and help curate her special brand of family entertainment here at Great American Channels.”

Bure added: “I’m very excited to develop heartwarming family and faith-filled programming and make the kind of stories my family and I love to watch,” Bure said. “I am constantly looking for ways that I can inspire people to live life with purpose. GAC fits my brand perfectly; we share a vision of creating compelling wholesome content for an audience who wants to watch programming for and with the whole family. Great, quality entertainment with a positive message is what my partnership with GAC is all about!”

Other famous Hallmark actresses to sign contracts with GAC include Danica McKellar, Jen Lilley, Trevor Donovan and Jessica Lowndes.

However, Hallmark’s executive vice president of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly said Hallmark is not worried.

“We’ve kept a lot of our talent under options, save for Christmas movies,” she said at the Television Critics Association press conference on August 10. “We’re looking for new talent all the time. I think there’s a lot of talent out there that we’ve worked with in the past that GAC is now working with, but I think that we also are constantly trying to evolve the talent pool that we’re working with. We have, I think, retained almost everybody that we’re really excited to have. So that’s where we are.”

Abbott’s exit from Hallmark came after the channel introduced its first LGBTQ+ characters in its Christmas movies.

Movieguide® previously reported:

GAC Family CEO and founder Bill Abbott recently shared his motivation to create the family-friendly channel in a competitive landscape of streaming content.

After 20 years with Crown Media, Abbott left the Hallmark empire and created GAC Family. Abbott discussed the new streaming network on the latest episode of “Up Next with John Contratti.”

“There’s so much need for family content in the market and in this space,” Abbott told Contratti. “It’s pretty scary, quite frankly, the amount of content that’s out there, the vast majority of it is salacious and is not appropriate for any member of the family, really. From my point of view, it’s pretty easy, open space, and something I really am passionate about.”

Abbott noted that GAC Family’s library includes a lot of classic sitcoms like FULL HOUSE due to its family-friendly content.

“If you look at the last 20 years, it would be really hard to find a show that you can watch in its entirety with your family, and not have some point that would make you uncomfortable,” he explained. “As we looked and curated the list, you really have to go back far in time to find things that are feel good, positive and 24/7, family-friendly.”

“We want to be the leader and family television,” he continued. “We think that we’ve assembled a terrific team, not only at our networks, but also on the talent side; people who are well known to the audience and the audience loves.”

“We want to be relentlessly family-friendly, we want to be consistent, and we want to be high quality,” he added. “If we do those three things, I think that we’ll deliver on the promise and will be the leader in the space.”

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.