Great American Family Christmas Movies 2022

The Great American Family Christmas Movies 2022 schedule includes 18 original movies filled with fan favorite cast members. Many of these stars made the jump from the Hallmark Channel and are now part of the Great American network. So can these stars and these movies help the network compete against the Hallmark Channel and Lifetime as the premiere place to watch Christmas movies?

Great American Family's History

The Great American Family (GAF) has gone through a lot of changes over the last year. The channel used to be Great American Country, but when it was acquired by Bill Abbott (former Hallmark executive) in June 2021 it was renamed GAC Family. In September 2021 GAC became Great American Family.

GAC Christmas Movies 2021

Although GAC had a lineup of Christmas movies in 2021, I look at 2022 as their first real holiday season. The problem with 2021 was that the 12 Christmas movies they showed were terrible. Although some of the movies included popular actors like Jen Lilley and Jennie Garth, the quality of the movies just wasn't where it needed to be.

I think that there were a number of reasons for the shortcomings in the 2021 holiday season, but the biggest issue was budget. By the time GAC Family was formed in September 2021, it was already too late to make an impact on the 2022 Christmas season. Sure the network was able to string together 12 original movies, but they didn't have the budget to produce quality movies. At least that's my speculation for why the movies were so cheap looking.

The problem comes down to advertising revenue. By the time September 2021 rolled around, companies had already committed their advertising budgets to other programming. So GAC Family put out a holiday schedule of movies so that they'd have something. But, they didn't put the effort into creating good scripts, appropriate budgets, and well rounded casting.

Can Great American Family Christmas Movies 2022 Compete

So now we come to 2022 and there are 18 original movies scheduled for GAF. But the big question is, can the Great American Family Christmas Movies 2022 compete with the Hallmark Channel, Lifetime, and streaming services who all offer tons of good Christmas programming.

Since the network had a full year to get the holiday season lined-up, I am confident that this year's movies will be so much better than 2021. Of course that's not saying much, so the big question is will they be better than other channels?

Popular Actors Move from Hallmark to Great American

One way that GAF plans on being competitive in the Christmas movie market is by including actors popular with Hallmark viewers. There is a lengthy list of actors and actresses who made the move from the Hallmark Channel to the Great American Family. Some of the more noticeable names include Danica McKellar, Candace Cameron Bure, Jill Wagnor, Jessica Lowndes, and Cameron Mathison. These are all stars who were staples of the Hallmark Channel for over a decade.

Why the mass exodus of actors leaving Hallmark? I'm sure that money had a lot to do with it, but more importantly I think that these actors were given additional responsibilities. Many of them have contracts not just to star in a certain number of movies, but to also write, and executive produce. This gives these stars creative opportunities that they did not have at Hallmark.

The Best GAF Christmas Movies 2022

With 18 movies in the Great American Family Christmas Movies 2022 schedule, there are a lot more opportunities for the network to tell a variety of stories. Here are a few of the movies that look the most promising.

• Christmas at the Drive-In on November 25th. This move stars Danica McKellar so that makes it a must watch for me. Although she had some movies at Hallmark that were just OK, her performance is always top-notch. And that alone makes every movie she is in worth watching.
• A Merry Christmas Wish on November 12th. This Christmas movie stars Jill Wagner and Cameron Mathison, two of my all-time favorites from the Hallmark Channel. They both have such an easy presence on camera and I can't wait to see how they work together. I think it will be like watching a couple of old friends.
• A Christmas…Present on November 27th starring Candace Cameron Bure. Faith will be at the forefront with this Christmas movie. The movie brings together faith and family, two of the cornerstones of the GAF network so I think this will be popular with viewers.
• Catering Christmas on October 29th. Merritt Patterson and Daniel Lissing come together in this story about a caterer and photographer working together on an annual Christmas gala.

Great American Family Christmas Movies 2022 Checklist

Here's a full list of the movies this holiday season. Print it off and use it as a checklist to keep track of all the Great American Family Christmas Movies 2022. How many will you watch?

Recap of Great American Family Christmas Movies 2022

It's clear that GAF has gone after popular and successful Hallmark actors and actresses. Many of them were part of the annual Christmas lineup for years. Hopefully the transition to GAF gives them new opportunities to spread their wings and try something new. Whether the Great American Family Christmas Movies 2022 is as successful as Hallmark and Lifetime still remains to be seen. Stay tuned as I share reviews for all of the Great American Christmas movies I watch this season.

Great American Family

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