Lifetime diversifies its holiday movies, will feature LGBTQ+ couple and Asian American family

After years of outcry, Lifetime finally begins to diversify its stagnant storylines with LGBTQ+ characters and families of color, creating a more inclusive holiday season.

For years, Lifetime has been a source of holiday entertainment for families across the globe. However, as enjoyable and heart-warming as the movies may be, there’s an alarming and exhausting theme across all stories (and I’m not just talking about the farm boy falling in love with the workaholic city girl). I’m talking about the platform taking ‘White’ Christmas a little too seriously.

Happily, Lifetime just set the cast for two movies this year that will be doing things s a little different than usual and shaking up the status quo. The Christmas Setup will be the first film on this network with a lead LGBTQ+ storyline while A Sugar and Spice Holiday will follow the story of the network’s first Asian American family.

Going one step further, real-life couple Ben Lewis (Arrow, The Handmaid’s Tale) and Blake Lee (Parks and Recreation) will play the leads in The Christmas Setup, giving holiday movie lovers not only a queer story for once,  but one starring an actual queer couple.

This movie will follow the story of Hugo (Lewis), a New York lawyer, who spends Christmas in the Midwest with his mom Kate (Kate Drescher), and best friend Madelyn (Ellen Wong). Kate, playing matchmaker, helps Hugo run into his childhood crush Patrick (Lee) while he’s home. But as things start to heat up between the two, Hugo gets word that a big promotion is waiting back in New York. Because it wouldn’t be a Christmas movie without a major life decision!

A Sugar and Spice Holiday will be headlined by Jacky Lai (V-Wars) and Tony Giroux (Motherland: Fort Salem), alongside Tzi Ma (Mulan), and will tell the story of Suzie (Lai) who returns to her hometown in Maine following the loss of her baker-extraordinaire grandmother.

While she’s there, she’s guilted into entering the town Christmas baking competition – because of course she is – and teams up with old high school friend Billy (Giroux), who grew up to be sugar, spice, and everything nice.

While this is one step in the right direction for more diversity and inclusivity across all television networks, there’s a lot more to be done. (But we’re excited about these holiday treats anyway!)

These two movies will be released among 30 others that Lifetime is bringing to our screens beginning October 23, and we hope they spark conversation and initiate change for other networks producing cozy holiday content.