Count Andie MacDowell among those who are helping to make 2020’s yuletide gayer than ever before.
The “Four Weddings and a Funeral” star will hit the small screen next month in Paramount Network’s “Dashing in December,” a romantic comedy. Written and directed by Jake Helgren, the movie follows Wyatt (played by Peter Porte), a New York financier who heads home to spend Christmas with his mother Deb (MacDowell) on the family’s Colorado ranch.
Catch the trailer for “Dashing in December” above.
At first, Wyatt is eager to put the property and its adjoining “Winter Wonderland” attraction up for sale. Over time, he begins to question his intentions after he finds himself drawn to a handsome ranch hand, Heath (Juan Pablo Di Pace), and an unexpected romance blossoms.
“This feel good project captures the importance of inclusive storytelling, the power of love and the spirit of the holidays all rolled into one,” Meghan Hooper, executive vice president and Paramount’s head of original movies and limited series, said in press notes for the film.
Set to debut Dec. 13, “Dashing in December” is the Paramount Network’s entry into a holiday TV season that is brimming with LGBTQ-inclusive narratives ― many of them brought to life by queer actors ― for the first time ever.
Later this month, the Hallmark Channel will air “The Christmas House,” a holiday film featuring Jonathan Bennett and Brad Harder as gay dads-to-be. And in a case of art imitating life, married actors Blake Lee and Ben Lewis will star in “The Christmas Setup,” which hits Lifetime Dec. 5 and is the network’s first gay holiday offering.
Originally slated for a theatrical release, “Happiest Season” will instead premiere on Hulu next week. Directed and co-written by Clea DuVall, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis as Abby and Harper, a lesbian couple whose planned holiday engagement is thwarted after they decide to spend Christmas with Harper’s conservative family.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, DuVall summed up why seeing Hollywood making an effort to include LGBTQ characters in holiday films ― long criticized for relying on heterosexual (and overwhelmingly white) storytelling ― feels so refreshing.
“Seeing empathy and compassion modeled [on screen], I’ve been enjoying it,” she said. “We all need that kind of embrace.”