On Monday, Lifetime announced two new holiday films for its “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” lineup, including its first LGBTQ themed movie, The Christmas Setup.
According to A+E Networks, the film will feature real life gay married couple Ben Lewis and Blake Lee as the main characters.
A Lifetime press release describes The Christmas Set Up as “a feel-good LGBTQ holiday romance.”
“The Christmas Setup follows the story of New York lawyer Hugo (Lewis) who heads to Milwaukee with his best friend Madelyn (Ellen Wong) to spend the holidays with his mom Kate (Fran Drescher), who is also in charge of the local Christmas celebrations. Ever the matchmaker, Kate arranges for Hugo to run into Patrick (Lee), Hugo’s high school friend and secret crush, who has recently returned after a successful stint in Silicon Valley,” the announcement stated.
“As they enjoy the local holiday festivities together, Hugo and Patrick’s attraction to each other is undeniable and it looks as though Kate’s Santa-style matchmaking is a success. But as Hugo receives word of a big promotion requiring a move to London, he must decide what is most important to him.”
The holiday-themed film will be written and directed by people from the LGBTQ community.
Additionally, Lifetime will be collaborating with GLAAD, an LGBTQ media monitoring organization, “to ensure the movie represents the LGBTQ community sensitively and accurately.”
In the same press release, Lifetime announced its first Asian American family film that will feature an Asian director, writer, casting director and cast.
Amy Winter, EVP and Head of Programming, Lifetime and LMN, noted the importance of both movies as it “should reflect the world we live in.”
“The world we create on camera should reflect the world we live in. The Christmas Setup and A Sugar & Spice Holiday are important additions to the ‘It’s a Wonderful Lifetime’ slate because they continue our effort to tell the stories of the diverse communities represented by our viewers,” Winter said.
“Our hope with these inclusive films and others is that people will see themselves while enjoying universally relatable holiday romances.”
Photo courtesy: Pixabay
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.
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