7 Diverse Holiday Movies to Watch This Festive Season
By Enrique Domingo Montrull
Image: Netflix
2020 didn’t exactly give us many enjoyable moments, but the upcoming holiday season—or, more accurately, this year’s slate of holiday movies—are a bit of a bright spot. Yes, they’re often predictable and sometimes cheesy, but a) that’s part of the charm and b) this year, they’re at least more diverse than ever before. So, if you’d like your Christmas movie viewing to be a little more inclusive, you’re in luck. Here are seven cute and seasonal movies and TV shows that feature BIPOC folks, members of the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities.
Dash & Lily
Based on the Dash & Lily's Book of Dares, a young adult series from authors Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Netflix's newest holiday rom-com series tells the story of the budding romance between two New Yorkers named Dash (Euphoria's Austin Abrams) and Lily (The Birch's Midori Frances), who communicate their innermost thoughts, hopes and feelings with each other using a red notebook.
Where to Watch: Netflix
Merry liddle christmas wedding
Follow Jacquie (Kelly Rowland) as she and Tyler (Thomas Cadrot) try to plan their perfect destination Christmas wedding. Naturally, Jacquie's plans go awry when her boisterous family intervenes in her planning and her snooty wedding planner quits in protest. While nothing goes as initially planned, Jacquie and Tyler get a Christmas wedding more memorable than they could have ever dreamed. Bonus: the Friday Picks crew got to chat with Merry Liddle Christmas Wedding director Sharon Lewis—check out the IGTV episode for behind-the-scenes anecdotes and her super smart insights about Christmas movies, diversity and what this genre gets wrong (and right!).
Where to Watch: City TV or Amazon Prime
Happiest Season
Starring Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis and Dan Levy, writer and director Clea DuVall's holiday rom-com Happiest Season is set to be one of the queerest holiday films ever created according to The Advocate. The film follows Abby (played by KStew) who plans to propose to her girlfriend Harper (Davis) while attending Harper's family holiday party, only to discover her girlfriend hasn't actually come out to her conservative parents yet...
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
The Christmas Setup
The Christmas Setup is Lifetime’s first Christmas film centered on a gay couple. It features real-life married couple Blake Lee and Ben Lewis. Hugo (Lewis) travels home to Milwaukee to spend Christmas with his best friend, Madelyn (Ellen Wong), his mother, Kate (Fran Drescher) and brother, Aiden (Chad Connell). His mother tries to play matchmaker by setting Hugo up with his old high school crush, Patrick (Lee).
Where to Watch: CTV Drama
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Decades after his trusted apprentice betrayed him, a once-joyful toymaker finds new hope when his kind and curious granddaughter comes into his life.
Where to Watch: Netflix
Operation Christmas Drop
Chasing a promotion, congressional aide Erica Miller (Kat Graham) forgoes family Christmas to travel across the Pacific at her boss’s behest. Upon landing at a beachside Air Force base, she clashes with her guide, Captain Andrew Jantz (Alexander Ludwig), who knows her assignment is finding reasons to defund the facility. The pilot’s pet project—Operation: Christmas Drop, a decades-old tradition where gifts and supplies are parachuted to residents of remote neighboring islands—has lawmakers wondering if his unit has too much spare energy. Despite their initial opposing goals, Erica softens once she experiences the customs and communal spirit of Andrew's adopted home.
Where to Watch: Netflix
Christmas Ever After
Popular romance novelist Izzi Simmons (Tony-winner Ali Stroker) spends every Christmas at her favorite snowy bed & breakfast, but this year, she’s faced with an impending deadline and a severe case of writer’s block. Luckily, inspiration strikes in the unlikely form of the B&B’s new owner Matt (Daniel di Tomasso), who bears an uncanny resemblance to the handsome hero from Izzi’s novels. As both partake in the lodge’s annual itinerary of Christmas activities, Izzi’s writer’s block is cured and the first pages of her and Matt’s own love story may just be beginning.
Where to Watch: CTV Drama