Jonathan Bennett and George Krissa Make History with "The Holiday Sitter," Hallmark Channel's First LGBTQ+ Rom-Com

"They jumped at the chance," Bennett continued. "Fully supporting it from day one with nothing but enthusiasm and rigor because it was just such a fun idea. What sparked it was while I was shooting another Hallmark movie a few years ago, I was on set with four kids that lived in the location house. They'd come to set every day and I would turn into a birthday party clown, trying to make them laugh with jokes and balloons. Their mom looked at me, and said, 'You need to write a movie where you're the uncle.' It started from that. It's something that a lot of LGBTQ+ people, and people in general, will identify with -- even straight people. A lot of us have these chosen families where we're the gunkel to our friend's kids, or our actual brothers and sister's kids. We've all made these chosen families in the big cities that LGBTQ+ people live in, and we've all been the gunkel. And hey, I always think a funny fish out of water story works."

The Holiday Sitter was directed by Ali Liebert, who is no stranger to Hallmark movies herself (and also identifies as queer). Bennett was delighted to having her on board as a member of the team providing behind-the-scenes representation. "What I loved so much about The Holiday Sitter is how Hallmark Channel took such great care in making sure we told the story correctly and authentically," he shared. "If we're telling an LGBTQ+ story, the best way to do that is [with] LGBTQ+ people leading it. They did a fantastic job [having] an entire queer creative team. Queer writers, director, producers and actors were important because they have authentic stories to pull from and it really helped shape the story that happens on screen. It made sure we were doing everything correctly and telling an authentic story of what it's like to be LGBTQ+ in 2022."

The film's story of Sam, a gay man who has never considered marriage or family (until his adventures in babysitting lead to a possible relationship with a helpful neighbor named George), sounds fun on the surface. However, the film's authenticity, and something paramount to Bennett, comes from a deeper exploration of his character. No matter how many legalities and civil rights have been granted to the LGBTQ+ community, years of being told "no" have taken a toll on many.

"My whole life I grew up being told 'no' … marriage wasn't an option and kids weren't an option," he recalled. "Then through a lot of hard work by the LGBTQ+ community we get equality. Things started changing and now we're told, 'yes.' We have possibilities. But just because we have possibilities, it doesn't mean our internal switch is automatically switched to 'yes.' That switch has been switched down to 'no' so many times it's hard to flip it.

"I really wanted to make sure that was in the story because it's something that LGBTQ+ plus people face in 2022," Bennett added. "What's great is maybe there are people [who] aren't clear and [will] watch this movie who've never thought about that."

Bennett is aware that some people are not ready for a gay-led Hallmark movie. He's aware of the backlash, but he's not letting it bother him. "I've seen some of the negative stuff," he revealed. "What I'm proud of is for every single negative Nancy, there are thousands more Hallmark Channel fans that want this movie and are excited. I got emotional reading some of the comments with my husband and started crying. I wasn't crying about the negative, but about how much support the Hallmark fans are giving us and how much they're stepping out in droves to say, 'We can't wait to watch this,' That's beautiful.

"That speaks to what our goal was with this movie," he added. "We didn't set out to make a gay holiday movie. It's a romcom that takes place at Christmas filled with heart, family and a ton of humor. It just happens to have two men as the leads and because of that, there's going to be amazing representation. People are going to see themselves on screen, falling in love for the first time in a Hallmark movie. We didn't make it for a specific audience; it's for everybody because Hallmark Channel is for everybody, The Holiday Sitter is for everybody, and Christmas is for everybody."

Bennett is grateful to both Hallmark and his co-star George Krissa (pictured at top and above, left, with Bennett), of whom he admits he made a huge ask. "I said, 'I need you to be No. 2 on the call sheet and carry this movie for 15 days with me. Not only for you and me, but for an entire community of LGBTQ+ people.' He stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park. We have some of the best chemistry I've seen on Hallmark. Every day while filming it was the first queer-meet-cute, the first queer falling in love scene, the first queer big kiss. What we were about to do was never lost on us, [nor] that so many people were going to see it and feel seen."

With so many memorable films to his credit, The Holiday Sitter rates as the one Bennett is most proud of. "I've done this a very long time," he explained. "After 20 years in the entertainment business, this is my favorite project. [The film] does give a nod to Mean Girls, which was important for me. When I shot Mean Girls, I was a different man. I wasn't out publicly and was living in fear of being gay. I was so nervous that by coming out the Mean Girls fans were going to hate me. Being rejected by them terrified me, but I couldn't live like that anymore.

"The complete opposite happened," he added in closing. "I was embraced, loved and celebrated by every Mean Girls fan out there. I wouldn't be who I am today without the love and support of the Mean Girls fans, and I wouldn't be out and thriving. Now, as a gay man, playing a gay character, falling in love with a man … Having a little closure on that time in my life and giving that nod to the fans was a thank you for [their] support. I hope people find the easter egg and enjoy it."

The Holiday Sitter will be telecast Sunday, December 11 at 8 p.m. on Hallmark Channel as part of its Countdown to Christmas programming event.

Click the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleagues.

The opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author and/or subject(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet, Inc. management or associated writers.