Longtime Hallmark Channel star Jonathan Bennett woke up on January 7, 2026, to the news that his recent movie and series received two of Hallmark’s three GLAAD Awards nominations, which honor “exemplary achievements for fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of the LGBTQ community.”
Calling the news “amazing and humbling,” Bennett told EntertainmentNow that the nominations show the power and impact of Hallmark’s bold decision to start producing family-friendly rom-coms and series that reflect “love is for everybody,” he said — even as some have criticized the network for doing so.
Hallmark Channel Began Featuring LGBTQ Couples in 2020 After Big Controversy
HallmarkHallmark received three nominations for the 37th annual GLAAD Awards, which will be held in Los Angeles on March 6. Season two of “Finding Mr. Christmas,” the reality competition co-created and hosted by Bennett, was nominated in the Outstanding Reality Program category. His movie “A Keller Christmas Vacation” and “The Christmas Baby,” starring Ali Liebert and Katherine Barrell, were both nominated for Outstanding Film — Streaming or TV.
Bennett has received a total of nine GLAAD nominations for Hallmark projects over the last five years, and won the Outstanding Film — Streaming or TV award in 2025 for “The Groomsmen: Second Chances,” co-starring fellow Hallmark stars Tyler Hynes, B.J. Britt, Heather Hemmens, and Bennett’s onscreen love interest, Alex Lincoln.
Those five years have been significant in Hallmark’s evolution. The network began its shift toward more inclusive programming after making headlines in late 2019 when the cable channel’s then-CEO, Bill Abbott, pulled ads featuring a lesbian couple kissing after getting married. The move was in response to complaints from conservative advocacy group One Million Moms, per ABC News, and resulted in backlash from politicians, celebrities, and LGBTQ advocates.
The ads were reinstated, with Hallmark execs vowing to “look for ways to be more inclusive and celebrate our differences,” and weeks later, Abbott left the network in January 2020.
Later that year, Hallmark premiered “The Christmas House,” its first holiday rom-com to prominently feature a gay couple (played by Bennett and Brad Harder). Abbott, meanwhile, co-founded Great American Media in 2021, convincing several longtime Hallmark stars to jump ship and exclusively appear in movies on his new cable channel, Great American Family (GAF).
Jonathan Bennett Says Hallmark’s Continued Commitment to Diversity Despite Former CEO’s Pushback is a ‘Beautiful Thing’
GettyHallmark has stayed true to its promise — increasing the visibility of diverse talent and stories with each year, and Abbott has become increasingly vocal in his promises not to follow suit at GAF. In a mass email to viewers on December 18, Abbott asserted that “the quality of our Christmas content is better than any other platform over the past five years in the entertainment landscape,” noting that “this weekend also draws a clear contrast.”
Abbott wrote, “If you want to understand our confidence in making these assertions, I encourage you to simply look at your choices in the channel guide on Sunday night at 8PM ET,” which was the date and time Hallmark’s “The Christmas Baby” premiered, featuring a lesbian couple’s unexpected journey to parenthood.
Noting that while his network was “presenting a whimsical, family-driven Christmas story rooted in warmth, heart, and tradition” at that time, Abbott wrote that “others in the Christmas space choose a very different direction with a clear agenda to change the way you think.” He went on to say that GAF “will never surrender to the woke culture.”
Bennett, who has been married to singer-songwriter Jaymes Vaughan for nearly four years, told EntertainmentNow that kind of rhetoric is part of what makes his Hallmark projects “mean so much.”
“To get to tell queer stories to a broad audience comes with a high level of responsibility that I don’t take lightly,” he said. “Love is for everybody. To get to tell love stories that look like mine on a network that is based in love stories is a beautiful thing.”
I have not nor will not watch GAF ever because of their bias and hate of same sex couples, mixed race, etc. This is the real world today, not a fantasy land of only one religion, male-female marriages, etc. Hallmark films are real life, non-violent enjoyment, not bigoted and hateful like GAF makes it out to be. Candace Bure lost me with her religious rhetoric and no kissing if not married garbage. She did it when she was with and paid by Hallmark, then suddenly became fanatical and left to GAF. I say goodbye, farewell to her and those others who jumped ship. You are not missed. I will remain a devoted Hallmark viewer.
Everytime I have tried watching his new channel i don’t get far into it. Lousy scripts, bad stiff acting & this even from former Hallmark actors. Can’t get into the stories with such childish dialog. Plus I don’t like their un-Christian attitudes. Hallmark still rules.