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The Hallmark Channel’s holiday film season officially began Monday with An Unexpected Christmas. The movie follows Jamie and Emily (played by Tyler Hines and Bethany Joy Lenz), a newly split couple, as they pretend to be together for Jamie’s family.
Of course, during the whole movie, there are shenanigans, love is found, and familial ties are reinforced. Jackie Joyner Kersee, a three-time Olympic gold medallist, even makes her feature picture debut. Furthermore, there is undoubtedly more queer to the film than first meets the eye, even though the main characters are a straight couple.
To begin with, the film’s development began in the Abbey, a well-known gay club in Los Angeles. It was there that gay executive producer of An Unexpected Christmas Matthew Brady first met story writer Greg McGoon. Paul Campbell, a Hallmark star, was brought in to pen the script.
Brady stated to The Advocate, “Hallmark has really been embracing diversity in the last couple of years.” Campbell and Brady worked with Hallmark Channel producer Ayse Francis to create an out lesbian character for the movie named Becca, who is portrayed by Alison Wandzura.
Brady stated, “[Becca] ended up being a lot of our favorite character in the movie.” She lives with her parents and is a single mom who self-adopted a child. Brady calls Becca “shrewd” and “sly.”
