Striking a blow to schumultz-peddling rival Hallmark, Lifetime has announced the cast of its first LGBTQ-themed Christmas film The Christmas Setup. In an adorable twist, the film will cast real-life husbands Ben Lewis and Blake Lee in the leads.
The Christmas Setup will follow the usual Lifetime holiday formula, albeit with a gay twist: a successful New York lawyer returns to his native Wisconsin to spend the holidays with friends. There, his meddlesome matchmaking mom decides to set her oh-so-single son up with his secret high school crush, who has since also come out of the closet. Hijinks and romance ensue, as the two find love over the holiday season.
Related: Lifetime is about to make Christmas super gay. We’re here for it.
Fans will recognize Lewis from his role as William Clayton on Arrow, while a keen eye will recognize Lee from the TV series Fam and Parks & Recreation. Veteran comedienne Fran Drescher will play the role of the matchmaker mom, while actress Ellen Wong will play the best friend role.
The announcement comes at a pivotal moment for Lifetime. Like it’s chief rival network Hallmark, the channel has built a huge following around its deluge of yearly holiday movies, which typically begin airing in November until the first week of January. Both Hallmark and Lifetime have endured recent criticism for the outrageous formula plots and a general lack of diversity in casting. That criticism runs particularly hot when it comes to queer representation: LGBTQ characters have been all but ignored in films past. Public outcry has prompted both Hallmark and Lifetime to announce that both networks would feature queer storylines, prompting a race of sorts between the two broadcasters to feature an LGBTQ-themed Christmas movie first. At the moment, it looks like Lifetime has the edge.
The Christmas Setup will air this fall during Lifetime’s holiday movie block, which kicks off October 23.
Josh447
Good for lifetime. Adorable couple. A breakout movie for lifetime should bring a brighter Christmas season this year.
linniejr
Amen Josh447. It’s about time. Maybe I’ll go back to watching lifetime.
Denny98
I for one look forward to this on Lifetime. Hopefully this will lead to more.
HankHarris
Well they check one box on the diversity checklist at least….
Harley
OMG. We are going to hear about it from One Million Moms.
Joshua333
Don’t you just love them? It’s always a treat to hear from them! I need a good laugh.
Mack
Yep the One Million Mom who when they do a petition can only get 2,000 members to sign it. LOL The whole group is such a joke.
Cam
Ok, So, Hallmark came through much better than I thought. Casting openly gay actors as leads.
I assumed they would cast a straight actor to play a barista in a stereotypical gay way. So color me surprised.
Mack
You’ve got them confused, this is Lifetime, not Hallmark. Hallmark has to get permission from the One Million Mom, all 2000 of them before they make a decision.
Cam
@Mack
You’re right! Then kudos to Lifetime and Hallmark can go f*ck itself until they come through.
Dwight
I’m sort of assuming this is all post COVID. If, so, pretty smart casting idea to go with an existing couple that they don’t have to worry about social distancing while filming scenes.
BaltoSteve
Ben Lewis did a pretty good job being cast as the adult son of Stephen Amell on Arrow. The character was gay there as well. I am not big on Holiday movies.. but I am sure the fiance will want to watch.
JessPH
I hate Christmas romantic comedies… but I have to make an exception on this one.
Saps48
What the hell is “schumultz-peddling?”
Editor, did the author mean “schmaltz-peddling?”
Invader7
LMAO @ “schmultz – peddling” . A new net abbrv …..