Canada is where Hallmark goes for wholesome look
TV channel has seen growth in Trump era
The Hallmark Channel must be the whitest television network on the planet.
And in an age where legacy broadcasters are under siege and face declining viewership, it is also one of the most successful. Ratings continue to impress with a 10 per cent jump in 2017 thanks to an unrelenting barrage of feel good series and holiday-themed movies.
The channel — derided by critics for formulaic, low-budget fare with dialogue inspired by Hallmark cards — is carving out a space in this divisive, Trumpian age. The worse things get in the real world the more people run to safe spaces. Hallmark, along with sister channel Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, has been a key beneficiary.
But there is that diversity thing. If you were to watch the network, you would be forgiven for thinking that it is firmly middle America, a kind of homogenous, white-picket-fenced suburban experience that existed in the 1950s but is not the reality in a globalized world.
It also has a major Canadian ingredient that is key to the success of the network: many of its series including “Good Witch;” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered;” “When Calls the Heart;” “Chesapeake Shores” and “Cedar Cove” are filmed in Canada with Canadian stars and talent.
“I think Hallmark came to Canada and said, ‘Oh my goodness, these are the loveliest people ever’ and decided to stay,” laughs Crystal Lowe, one of the stars of Vancouver-shot “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” about postal detectives who track customers lost mail.
The half-Chinese and Scottish Lowe just happens to be one of the few stars of colour on the channel.
“I think it’s an issue everywhere,” says Lowe in an interview.
“It needs to be addressed not just at Hallmark but on every channel, and not just with ethnicity, but with female leads and directors.”
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered” is the creation of someone uniquely suited to carry the Hallmark brand: Martha Williamson, the executive producer of “Touched By An Angel,” which showed that positive, religious programming could work on network TV.
If mainstream television is to survive the internet onslaught, it has to know its customer. And Williamson is testimony to that.
“I think what Hallmark has to offer is a bridge. There are folks who voted for Trump and those who didn’t. But they are all interested in finding hope,” she says in an interview.
“As much as it is cool and hip to explore the edgy and the dark and some of those shows out there are terrifically well made, we approach this with the understanding that light is what has the most value. It’s that recognition that you have to find the best in yourself and others. It sounds corny because it is corny. But it’s something we always go back to.”
Toronto actress Kristin Booth, another star of “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” says she is a huge fan of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” “But there is only so much you can handle seeing eyeballs gouged out. I think people are longing for heart and humour and love in the Trump universe.”
Booth recently filed a lawsuit against Albert Schultz and Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company over alleged sexual harassment. And she says the need for uplifting drama in the #metoo era is even more vital.
“I don’t think it’s an accident that people want to come to a place where they can see strong values and morals, and share entertainment with their whole family,” she says.
Bill Abbott, president and CEO of Crown Media Family Networks, the parent of Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, is seeing his stock rise with the bump in ratings. He is taking no prisoners with a family values onslaught of more than 30 holiday and Christmas-themed shows last year alone — many, if not most of them, are filmed in Canada.
But Abbott acknowledged in an interview that more needs to be done about bringing diverse voices to the channel.
“It’s an industry-wide problem. We recognize that we have a long way to go and we are hard at work on it. We have made some steps and we expect to make more moving forward,” he says.
Abbott is careful not to say that the rise in Hallmark ratings has come because of the U.S. president, at the expense of alienating viewers who may also be supporters.
“I think we were just able to fill a void and make people feel better about their day-to-day lives,” he says. “I don’t think there’s any real limit on people wanting to feel good. There are plenty of places to find darkness but few places to find positivity.”
Although there is much Canadian talent on the channel, the outlet is not available north of the border. But many Hallmark-produced originals such as “Chesapeake Shores” or Brooke Shields’ “Flower Shop Mystery” are available through Canadian cable outlets such as the W Network.
The rise of the Hallmark Channel is a lesson in the execution of branding. Its success has also attracted stars such as Andie MacDowell, Shirley MacLaine and Mariah Carey to partner in their own series and specials.
It also makes me think it was a missed opportunity for another romance juggernaut, the once Canadian-owned Harlequin. Torstar, the owner of this paper, sold the romance book publisher for $455 million in 2014 to Harper Collins Publishers, a division of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
The Canadian company could have carved out a lucrative space with intellectual property it already owned in its massive library of titles. And as Hallmark revealed, by taking its production to Canada, the synergy was already here with our copious film and TV talent.
It’s a moot point, but who knows? With a Canadian Harlequin channel, maybe the stars would have looked even more like the folks you see on the streets of Canada.