In the past few years, TV holiday movies have had a grip on American viewing habits the second the calendar switches from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1. Hallmark Channel and Lifetime have long reigned supreme, offering up delightfully low-budget seasonal fare featuring former TV stars taking part in seasoned rom-com tropes (he owns a Christmas tree farm; she’s a big-city businesswoman! Will they connect?). It’s become a subgenre so defined there’s even a book about it, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas Movies,” the perfect gift for the holiday movie-obsessed person in your life.
They’re such a lucrative business even in the offseason that now every streamer is getting in on the cheer. Many of the new options are a mix of predictable favorites, fresh new takes, and some that are more naughty than nice.
Netflix has long been in the holiday movie biz: It’s already on its third “Princess Switch” movie, starring Vanessa Hudgens. This year, it has unveiled the gay holiday movie “Single All the Way,” starring Michael Urie opposite the iconic Jennifer Coolidge and Kathy Najimy. It also has the more traditional new Christmas movie “A Castle for Christmas,” starring Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes, which is along the lines of Nancy Meyers’ classic Christmas movie “The Holiday” (on Netflix and Hulu if you need a rewatch).
VH1 has also gotten into the holiday action, with material that’s a bit naughtier. On Dec. 2, it unveiled the “dragnificient” “The B— Who Stole Christmas,” starring RuPaul and other stars of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Debuting this week on VH1 is “Let’s Get Merried,” about a bachelorette party at a Christmas theme park village. Produced by Eva Longoria and directed by Veronica Rodriguez, the film is inspired by a real-life bachelorette party attended by screenwriter Sasha Perl-Raver. “Let’s Get Merried” and “The B— Who Stole Christmas” are available on the VH1 app and will soon be available on Amazon and iTunes.
