Hallmark’s The Holiday Sitter is a milestone release for the channel, featuring the first gay lead in one of the network’s Christmas movies. In a preview released on YouTube, we see the chemistry between work-obsessed uncle Sam (Jonathan Bennett) and his sister’s neighbour Jason (George Krissa).
The film opens with Sam, disconnected from his family, preparing to go to Hawaii for the holidays. That is until his sister rings to ask him to mind his niece and nephew. Overwhelmed and wildly unprepared, Sam ropes in his sister’s neighbour Jason to give him a helping hand.
Viewers can expect a budding holiday romance between Sam and Jason, with some scenes inspired by Jonathan Bennett’s own experiences. The executive producer told USA Today about why the movie is so special to him, saying that “The Holiday Sitter is the first time we’ll see two men meet cute and fall in love at Christmas.
“We tell a story that’s really important, so people feel seen when they watch it. Christmas is for everybody, The Holiday Sitter is for everybody… It just happens to have two men as the lead.”
After the film’s release on December 11, fans took to social media to express their excitement and love for Hallmark’s new Christmas flick. Rotten Tomato’s movie critic Rachel Reviews tweeted her love for the movie saying: “I legit loved this. Jonathan was so funny and they had great chemistry. It’s well-written and heartfelt. The scene where he talked about ‘my internal voice is still catching up’ made me tear up. They not only made their first gay movie but they nailed it.”
Fans exploded in the comments of a photo posted to Twitter featuring the The Holiday Sitter co-stars. Some are eagerly awaiting confirmation for a sequel, with one user writing “So bright, they definitely deserve a sequel. Will they marry? Will Sam ever be ok with having kids? There could be a whole series for them. Heck, maybe even a tv show!”
Another Twitter thanked Bennett for extending the representation of LGBTQ+ people saying “I loved your movie so much. Thank you for making something so special for the community.”
© 2022 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
Support GCN
GCN has been a vital, free-of-charge information service for Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community since 1988.
During this global COVID pandemic, we like many other organisations have been impacted greatly in the way we can do business and produce. This means a temporary pause to our print publication and live events and so now more than ever we need your help to continue providing this community resource digitally.
GCN is a registered charity with a not-for-profit business model and we need your support. If you value having an independent LGBTQ+ media in Ireland, you can help from as little as €1.99 per month. Support Ireland’s free, independent LGBTQ+ media.
comments. Please sign in to comment.