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Politico
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Politico
The New Faith-Based Hollywood
BUFFALO, New York — In the middle of April, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Mario Lopez of Saved By the Bell fame is shivering outside on set, periodically bundled in a down jacket. Crew members and Los Angeles-based actors mill about in winter gear. Behind them sit a close-to-frozen pond, barren trees and a row of identical light blue homes. Lopez is the star of A Christmas Spark, an upcoming film about a middle-aged lawyer who returns home around the holidays to become a firefighter — and, spoiler alert, finds love along the way. It sounds, looks and feels just like a Hallmark movie. But peek behind the cameras, and A Christmas Spark is part of a new media boom, funded largely by conservative donors, that's reshaping entertainment in the Trump era. It's produced by Great American Media, a company focused on family friendly, faith-based content and led by Bill Abbott, the former CEO of the parent company of the Hallmark Channel who left amid a nasty political split during Donald Trump's first administration. Despite the stars and the sets, we're far from a major studio production. And for GAM, that's on purpose. Most Hollywood studios and streaming services are dealing with turbulent financial waters and concerns about looming tariffs. But in an era in which Americans are interested in living their politics in the companies they support and the media they consume, outfits like Great American Media — which consists of a streaming service, multiple cable networks and produces much of its own content — are growing. GAM is part of an expanding network of faith-based production companies and streaming services that are finding success in an increasingly polarized country. They're both slowly building dedicated audiences and have cashed in with big hits, like the Angel Studios movie Sound of Freedom, which made $250 million on a less than $15-million budget. These companies insist they aren't partisan, seeking only to create a brand associated with family and amorphous American values that parents can feel comfortable watching at home. But GAM and like-minded companies are able to succeed where secular alternatives struggle by using a sense of conservative aggrievement with Hollywood to their benefit. Bad review in a mainstream publication? It's the liberal media, even more reason to support their offerings. Themes like same-sex marriage or pre-marital sex offend you? Try faith-based media. For decades, many of the same concepts could be applied to Hallmark or Lifetime films. While not overtly political, they espoused generally culturally conservative values and a moral tradition that appealed to conservative viewers, with an emphasis on small-town living and heterosexual love stories. But as Hallmark has begun making some content about gay couples and hasn't committed to promoting unambiguously religious themes, a swath of its fans have gone looking for something else that more directly conforms with their politics and their values. That's where many of them find GAM and a growing slate of faith-based or avowedly conservative production companies. Longtime president of the Federalist Society Leonard Leo, for example, helped to bankroll Wonder Project, the Texas-based studio that produced House of David, the wildly popular retelling of the biblical shepherd's story that found a home on Amazon's Prime Video. Leo received a $1.6-billion gift that he's using with the express purpose of making culture more conservative. 'You're only going to accomplish so much in shifting American cultural and social life through politics and public policy if you're not dealing with the cultural institutions that are at the choke point of American opinion, American sentiment, American thinking,' Leo tells POLITICO Magazine. 'So entertainment, of course, is a really important part of trying to rebalance the culture.' GAM leaders don't state their ambitions as quite as directly political. But they also believe there's money and cultural influence in serving people who are tired of what they're getting from Hollywood. 'We're focused on meeting the needs of an unmet audience,' Abbott wrote in an email to POLITICO Magazine. 'Our viewers are multigenerational and value content that reflects faith, family, and country.' Abbott, a spry, 63-year-old Long Islander by birth, has been working in family entertainment since 1988. He worked at big networks like CBS and Fox before he joined the Crown Media Family Networks in 2000 and was named CEO of Crown Media — the parent company that operates Hallmark programming — in 2009. He oversaw the launch of the Hallmark Movie Channel, got Hallmark into the scripted series game, and presided over decades of sustained success for the brand. Everything looked rosy before a tumultuous breakup during President Donald Trump's first term spurred by a White House Christmas event, an ad for a wedding registry website and a public outcry. 'In 2017, you could see the change in the chairman and the management at the parent company and the family to become much more woke,' Abbott said in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference, when asked why he left Hallmark. 'And DEI driven, very DEI driven. They were in DEI before it was cool to be in DEI.' According to Abbott, in 2017 the Trump White House chose Hallmark to host a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. After the network hosted the show, he says he was told by his bosses at the Hallmark Channel's parent company, that 'you're either for humanity or you're against it,' chastising him for agreeing to host the event. Hallmark did not respond to requests for comment. Then, in 2020, Abbott departed the company after a December 2019 ad for wedding website that depicted a same-sex couple exchanging vows and kissing. After the conservative group One Million Moms objected to the ad, Abbott and his team pulled the ad from its programming — a move that prompted swift backlash. #BoycottHallmark trended on X, then Twitter, and public figures including Ellen DeGeneres called out Abbott directly. The company ultimately reversed course and reinstated the ad, and Abbott stepped down a little over a month after the fallout and the intense backlash to pulling the ad inside and outside the company. 'We made a decision to not take one commercial and that blew up everything on the planet,' Abbott said in April on the podcast of Moms for America, an organization that recently presented Trump with the 'Man of the Century' award at a gala held at Mar-a-Lago. He noted Hallmark was careful about the ads they took in general, not running ads for political campaigns, alcohol or drugs or feminine hygiene products. In his email, Abbott wrote, 'I am very proud of what we built at Hallmark, but their priority became creating content to align with political and social counterculture rather than staying focused on celebrating tradition and delivering what viewers wanted. My goal has always been to serve the audience with uplifting entertainment that creates trust.' So Abbott pivoted into the world of faith-based media. As Abbott tells it, actor Jon Voight — now Trump's Special Ambassador to Hollywood, who starred in the Hallmark film J.L. Family Ranch in 2016 — introduced Abbott to Tom Hicks, a Texas-based private equity investor who runs Hicks Equity Partners. In 2020, Hicks Equity Partners looked to raise $200 million for conservative alternatives to Fox News and explored buying Newsmax, as they sought to put their political imprimatur on American media. (Hicks' son, Thomas Hicks Jr., is a former co-chair of the Republican National Committee and a national finance co-chair for Trump's 2016 campaign.) The Newsmax acquisition never came to fruition, but Hicks Equity Partners helped Abbott get Great American Media off the ground, aiding in his acquisition of the cable network Great American Country in 2021 from Discovery which was subsequently rebranded to Great American Family. Their original programming airs on both linear cable and streaming. According to Great American Media, Hicks Equity Partners has been joined in their initial investment by several other sources, including Deason Capital (a Dallas-based family office run by conservative activist and donor Doug Deason) and Sony. Hicks Equity Partners did not respond to a request for comment. 'Right now, we're going through a period where religious conservatives are increasingly assertive and very energetic in funding and expanding their own cultural space,' said Anne Nelson, author of Shadow Network: Media, Money and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right. While it rejects an explicitly political label, Great American Media receives much of its funding from sources that also fund politically conservative organizations and candidates. They and other similar production companies believe they can power their growth through servicing a large swath of viewers who sound a lot like how Republican candidates describe their voters. 'We have people in our culture who very much want all aspects of their life to be consistent with family-centered values,' Leo says. 'When they're in the marketplace, or when they're in the political world, or when they're simply doing what people do in life to engage in leisure and entertainment, they look for that kind of family-values centered thinking and approach to life.' In the world of faith-based television and movie content, business is booming. Sound of Freedom, a 2023 thriller distributed by the faith-based network Angel Studios about child trafficking that critics called a vehicle for promoting conspiracy theories, minted over $184 million in North America. That made it one of the most successful independent movies ever. His Only Son, another 2023 Angel Studios film, made over $13 million on a $250,000 budget. The Chosen, an ongoing television series about Jesus by filmmaker Dallas Jenkins, claims to have crowdfunded almost $100 million and reached a quarter of a billion people via streaming. Crowdfunding is a popular tool for faith-based production companies that use their audience's enthusiasm — often around a particular political point — to raise cash. Since 2022, The Daily Wire, a conservative media company co-founded by commentator Ben Shapiro, has also produced multiple successful television shows and films and has become a big player in this space. House of David was a huge crossover hit for Wonder Studios, and a starting point for Leo's mission to get more traditional studios and streaming platforms to promote these types of stories. 'I don't see this as being in competition with big Hollywood. I see this as being an opportunity for big Hollywood to make targeted investments that make them money at a time when it's hard to make money in producing movies,' says Leo. Great American Family, meanwhile, grew its viewership by 20 percent between the fourth quarters of 2023 and 2024, making it one of the few networks achieving that sort of rapid growth, according to internal documents from GAM shared with POLITICO Magazine and Nielsen ratings. (Others include conservative media networks Fox News and Newsmax.) Over the same timespan, Hallmark's audience shrunk by 9 percent and Lifetime's by 13 percent, according to Nielsen ratings. Hallmark and Lifetime still maintain larger audiences in total than Great American Family, though. On the business side, many faith-based production companies follow a similar proposition to a channel like Hallmark: build out a slate of movies and TV shows that follow a tried and true formula of simple love stories and moral lessons. 'The reason the model works is because you keep budgets down. These are not genre films. These are not films that require an awful lot in terms of location. Often they're reusing actors,' says Adam Nayman, a Toronto-based film critic and professor at the University of Toronto. 'You kind of build up your own star system where these people are not stars, but they become recognizable to your audience.' GAM's streaming service is currently advertising 'Summer Romcoms' like Sweet Maple Romance, 'Military Heroes' like Peace River: God, Country & The Cowboy Way, and 'Stories of Faith' like Disciples in the Moonlight. The company also launched a specific childrens' hub on their streaming service this week. They are trying to build a catalog of films that fit together in one neat, Christian package. 'Sometimes you'll say, 'I love that show, but I don't know where it is — is this on Max? Is this on Netflix?'' said Kristen Roberts, Great American Media's chief revenue officer and executive vice president of programming, in a recent interview at GAM's New York offices. 'We want to be the complete opposite of that. We want people to say, 'I watch Pure Flix, I watch Great American Family,'' referencing two arms of GAM. The goal, she said, is for viewers to say, ''I watch that service' more than 'I watch that particular show.'' Faith-based networks also have the benefit of being able to position themselves in direct opposition with what they argue is a liberal agenda in Hollywood. The community of faith-based filmmakers can set themselves up as the antidote to cultural products that they see as inappropriate for children and adults alike. 'When you look at White Lotus and you look at situations where they're creating storylines that have incest in them and they're being applauded by the entertainment community, that's an intentional way of taking aberrant behavior and trying to normalize it,' Abbott said on the Moms for America podcast. 'We see it all the time in entertainment — every day. You can turn on almost any movie, any network, go to any movie, and I know it's a very intentional strategy.' The success of faith-based media companies is in large part a reaction to the kind of frustrations that Abbott elucidates. The industry is buoyed by the very thing that it rails against — and it's the response that drives some of the success. 'They've really not ever tried to pretend that they're for everyone,' says Nayman. 'Instead, they say, 'isn't this what you've been missing.' And if you're the one getting that message, and you're the one being reached by that advertisement, then your grievance is being stoked, even if it's underneath the guise of a warm hug.' 'You're assuming that people are fed up with anything that resembles something mainstream or something secular,' Nayman adds. 'And I think they really, really take advantage of a polarized moment.' There's tension between faith-based content and the rest of the media landscape. The faith-based films and television shows — when they're reviewed at all — are regularly panned by critics. Sound of Freedom, the film from this universe that was recently reviewed by the most mainstream critics, has a Metacritic score of 36 out of 100. 'It's bizarre, unsettling and yet — in the filmmaking equivalent of turning wine to water — bracingly dull to boot,' read a review in The Telegraph. 'The quality is a really big issue,' Leo acknowledges. He argues conservatives need to invest in incubating talent that can make family-values movies and shows that are more slick, better produced and appeal to a wider audience. The art in this space often has no real aspirations towards acclaim as it's connoted by an Oscar or Emmy. In fact, in some ways they've created a parallel industry, with their own critics and markers of success. The Movieguide Awards, which are held every year and which largely honor films and television that Movieguide — a service that brands itself as 'movie reviews for Christians' — believes connects with their values. In 2025, winners included the movie Reagan, actor Candace Cameron Bure for A Christmas Less Traveled and Americans With No Address, a documentary about the country's homelessness crisis narrated by actor William Baldwin. Movieguide rates Hollywood films and gives them a 'family content' rating. In the company's annual 'Report to Hollywood,' they argue that films with strong Christian values perform better at the box office. Their formula relies on the often strong performance of children's films and doesn't include every mainstream hit; both Barbie and Oppenheimer had low 'family content' ratings, for example. 'We have a new generation that's having kids, and they want faith and values, their generation does not want sex and violence.' says Ted Baehr, the publisher and editor-in-chief of Movieguide. He cites this year's Academy Awards Best Picture winner Anora, about a New York sex worker, which made a little over $20 million at the domestic box office. 'In Hollywood [that] is pathetic,' he says. 'It's worthless. And all the Academy Award winners were pathetic.' (The film was generally considered an indie success; it was made on a $6 million budget.) While Hollywood has long been a bastion of liberalism, there wasn't always such a stark divide between mainstream Hollywood and religious fare. But in today's political climate, the gap is widening. According to April 2024 research from Pew, 59 percent of Protestants align with the Republican Party compared to 38 percent who align with Democrats, and among white Evangelical Protestants, 85 percent lean Republican while only 14 percent lean Democrat. Christians of all faiths are more likely to be Republicans, where Jews, Muslims and anyone unaffiliated with a particular religion are more likely to be a Democrat. The large partisan split among white Evangelical Protestants in particular has grown steadily and significantly since the start of the Reagan era. And that gap has been reflected in available entertainment options. In the Facebook group 'Great American Family (GAC) Fan Community', users post every day about how the network is one of the only ones that represents their interests, values and politics. In a recent post, a fan wrote, 'GAC SEEMS TO HAVE SOME GREAT PROGRAMMING COMING UP FOR GOOD FRIDAY INTO EASTER. THANK YOU! I SAW SOME DISTURBING STUFF ON A MOVIE WITH HALLMARK OVER THE WEEKEND. ONLY TUNED IT IN WHEN IT WAS ALMOST OVER AND IT WAS 10 MINUTES OF AGENDA!' Her post was flooded with supportive comments. 'Stopped watching Hallmark movies when they cowered to the masses allowing same sex couples. Don't miss it and LOVE Great American Family!!,' another member of the group replied. Abbott uses and cultivates that sense of cultural alienation to market his content. Along with A Christmas Spark — where after two days on set Lopez's character has moved from a big-city office setup to charming small-town USA — GAM's offerings include the upcoming Home Sweet Christmas Wedding starring Cameron Bure and a slate of released Easter-themed productions including Forty-Seven Days with Jesus. Watching GAM is not only an escape from Hollywood, but also a signifier of your own values or politics. While spending your money or time with a Great American Media product, you're voting for something. It's not about artistic innovation or form, it's about sending a message. 'I think that 'Christian' is used by the media to downplay or to stereotype,' Abbott told Moms for America. 'It's reverse racism or however you want to define it. You get stereotyped and put in this box. And that's what they want to do, they want to put faith in a box and make it go away. And we will never let that happen.' — Tessa Berenson Rogers contributed to this report.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Great American Christmas in July Returns to Great American Family on June 27, Kicking Off the Countdown to This Year's 5th Anniversary Celebration in October
GAM President Bill Abbott is excited to mark five years of Great American Christmas, promising the most festive season yet with more stars, more joy, and more holiday magic. NEW YORK, June 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Great American Media proudly announces the return of Great American Christmas in July on Great American Family, the mid-year holiday movie event, beginning June 27 (6 p.m. ET). The festive celebration serves as the perfect prelude to the countdown to the 5th Anniversary of Great American Christmas, launching in October 2025. With nearly 100 Original holiday films produced in just four years, Great American Media continues to lead with stories grounded in faith, family, and the true spirit of Christmas. Christmas as it is meant to be. The July programming event invites audiences to revisit fan-favorite films while building excitement for the landmark anniversary season ahead. "Great American Christmas in July is more than a mid-year tradition -- it is a joyful celebration of what our viewers love: stories that uplift, inspire, and bring families together," said Bill Abbott, President & CEO, Great American Media. "This year, it also marks the beginning of the countdown to something truly special – the 5th Anniversary of Great American Christmas, which returns bigger and brighter than ever this October," Abbott concluded. Great American Christmas in July is heartwarming romances, favorite holiday moments, and stories steeped in faith, family, and the true meaning of the season. Celebrate moments that matter, those that remind all to believe, to give, to love, and to celebrate together. Enjoy never-before-seen behind-the-scenes moments from fan favorites films, as well as sneak peeks from brand new Great American Christmas 2025 Original movies. Weekly marathons celebrate the best of Great American Christmas in July, including marathons audiences can look forward to. Marathon line-up includes:Saturday, June 28 – A royal Christmas affair – Kick off Great American Christmas in July with elegance, enchantment, and touches of royal romance everywhere. A day filled with tiaras, traditions, and timeless tales of love fit for a prince (or princess!). Viewers crown their favorites like Jingle Bell Princess, A Christmas Castle Proposal, A Cinderella Christmas Ball, and many more! Friday, July 4 – Holiday, honor, at home – Great American Family proudly presents a military-themed Christmas movie marathon, an inspiring lineup of Christmas films that celebrate the bravery, sacrifice, and unwavering spirit of those who serve the nation. Salute America and see these favorites, Bringing Christmas Home, My Christmas Hero, Tails of Christmas, and many more! Saturday, July 5 – A celebration of grace and joy, Great American Christmas in July honors the beloved actresses who bring heart, hope, and holiday cheer to every character: Candace Cameron Bure, Danica McKellar, Merritt Patterson, Cindy Busby, Laura Osnes, Jill Wagner, Alexa PenaVega, Courtney Lopez, Jen Lilley, Lori Loughlin, Jillian Murray, Jennie Garth, and many more. These actresses make Great American Christmas the most beloved holiday program event on television. What's more, they lead with love! Saturday, July 12 – Heart, honor, and holiday love – Great American Christmas honors the actors who bring strength, sincerity, and timeless charm to fans favorite Christmas movies: Mario Lopez, Trevor Donovan, Cameron Mathison, Casey Elliott, Paul Greene, Carlos PenaVega, Jonathan Stoddard, Daniel Lissing, Matthew Morrison, Jesse Hutch, and many more! These leading men deliver performances of love, loyalty, family, and the joy of finding the way home to Christmas! Saturday, July 19 – The ultimate Christmas Checklist, showcasing a curated collection of beloved holiday films that embody the spirit of the season! These beloved holiday originals return to small towns, cut down real Christas trees, attend Christmas services, bake the best sugar cookies, deck the halls that unite community. Viewers have their favorites, like A Vintage Christmas, A Christmas Less Traveled, Once Upon A Christmas Wish, Christmas Under the Northern Lights, A Kindhearted Christmas, A Little Women's Christmas, and many more! Saturday, July 26 – Fan-Favorite Christmas movies as chosen by Christmas movie review ranking – Viewer review rankings decide which film's make the final 24 hours of Great American Christmas in July. The films are a testament to our viewers love of celebrating heartwarming Christmas movies that celebrate love, hope, and the true meaning of Christmas. Lean back and enjoy! These curated lineups showcase the stars, stories, and moment's that have defined Great American Christmas' signature style – heartfelt, wholesome, and hopeful. For a complete list of featured films and to keep track of viewing, fans can refer to the Official Great American Family Christmas Checklist. For more information, ABOUT GREAT AMERICAN MEDIA Great American Media is home to a family-friendly portfolio of brands including Great American Family, Great American Pure Flix and Great American Faith & Living. As the flagship linear TV network, Great American Family features original Christmas movies, rom-coms and classic series that celebrate faith, family and country. Great American Pure Flix is a leading faith and family streaming service that inspires, uplifts and entertains with content that you can confidently stream with the entire family. Other platforms include, Great American Faith & Living, the unscripted companion to Great American Family that celebrates faith, family, and country every day and every season; Great American Adventures and Pure Flix TV, FAST channels (free ad-supporting streaming TV). Great American Media was established in June 2021 by Bill Abbott and a group of US-based family offices. Great American Christmas in July on Great American Family returns to air beginning Friday, June 27 (6 p.m. ET), featuring TV's brightest stars in holiday stories about faith, family, and the true meaning of Christmas. The celebration is one of the best Christmas movie program events on television. [Pictured left-right] Lori Loughlin, Candace Cameron Bure, Cameron Mathison, and Danica McKellar, all stars of multiple original Christmas movies for Great American Media. Photo: Courtesy of Great American Media 2025. MEDIA CONTACTS:Pam SlayNetwork Program Publicity & Talent RelationsC: 818.415.3784pamslay@ Debbie DavisC: 214-802-8979 (call or text)Ddavis@ Media & PR, Director of Client Servicesmedia@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Great American Media Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Malaysian Reserve
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Malaysian Reserve
Timeless Tidings of Joy, starring Candace Cameron Bure, Paul Greene, and Natasha Bure, premieres exclusively on Great American Family and Great American Pure Flix as part of 5th Anniversary of Great A
NEW YORK, April 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Great American Media announced today the premiere of its newest holiday original, Timeless Tidings of Joy, starring Candace Cameron Bure (A Christmas Less Traveled, My Christmas Hero), Paul Greene (Bringing Christmas Home), and Natasha Bure (A Christmas for the Ages). The film debuts on both Great American Family and Great American Pure Flix this holiday season and is another example of the company's focus on producing quality movies that represent a fresh alternative to many movies created for the holiday season. Timeless Tiding of Joy's emotional and heartwarming journey is reflective of Great American Christmas creating a high standard in the category with a focus on faith, family and purpose. ''Timeless Tidings of Joy' transcends time with messages of love, sacrifice, and hope that are relevant to every era,' said Bill Abbott, President & CEO, Great American Media. 'Candace Cameron Bure is a superb storyteller and star, and Timeless Tidings of Joy tells the story of how one special message can change lives – even decades later,' Abbott concluded. In Timeless Tidings of Joy, Ally (Candace Cameron Bure), inherits Timeless Tidings, a shop her grandmother, Joy (Natasha Bure), opened in the 1940s to sell her handmade letter-press tidings. The shop was a labor of love, service, and sacrifice throughout the decades for Joy. Ally always saw Joy's sacrifices for the shop as a burden on Joy's life and happiness. When Ally returns to the shop to prepare it for sale, she meets Bennett (Paul Green), an old soul, who wants to preserve her Grandma Joy's legacy. As Ally and Bennett navigate the next steps, divine intervention forces them both to take a new, or rather old look at the fate of the shop and themselves. 'In a world of technology, Timeless Tidings of Joy harkens back to a simpler time and the core values passed to us by our parents and grandparents. It reminds us that the best gifts we receive, are the ones we freely give away.' added Candace Cameron Bure, Chief Creative Officer, Great American Media. Timeless Tidings of Joy is a Syrup Studios production in association with CandyRock Entertainment. Rob Lycar Produces and Paula Elle directs an original screenplay by Masey McLain and Taylor Kalupa. Executive Producers include Candace Cameron Bure, Holly A. Hines, Eric Jarboe, Jeffery Brooks, Ford Englerth, Gerald Webb, Martin Wood, Paula Elle, and Trevor McWhinney. Supervising Producers include Michael Shepard and Jonathan Shore, with Trudi Thornwaldson and David Oland serving as Associate Producers. Photos: (Copyright Great American Media 2025 (David Astorga / Photographer) ABOUT GREAT AMERICAN MEDIAGreat American Media is home to a family-friendly portfolio of brands including Great American Family, Great American Pure Flix and Great American Faith & Living. As the flagship linear TV network, Great American Family features original Christmas movies, rom-coms and classic series that celebrate faith, family and country. Great American Pure Flix is a leading faith and family streaming service that inspires, uplifts and entertains with content that you can confidently stream with the entire family. Other platforms include, Great American Faith & Living, the unscripted companion to Great American Family that celebrates faith, family, and country every day and every season; Great American Adventures and Pure Flix TV, FAST channels (free ad-supporting streaming TV). Great American Media was established in June 2021 by Bill Abbott and a group of US-based family offices. ABOUT CANDYROCK ENTERTAINMENT:CandyRock Enterprises is a joint venture between award winning actress, producer and New York Times bestselling author Candace Cameron Bure and the full-service development and execution team behind Redrock Entertainment, Ford Englerth and Jeffery Brooks. CandyRock's Entertainment division develops, produces, and distributes television projects, lifestyle programming and feature length films with an emphasis on family-friendly content. Instagram: @ ABOUT SYRUP STUDIOS:Syrup Studios is a Canadian deficit-financing studio focused on exceptional films, series, and international co-productions for global audiences. Syrup's highly tailored approach to developing, financing, producing, and distributing content through entrepreneurial business models brings each compelling story to life. MEDIA CONTACTS:Pam SlayNetwork Program Publicity & Talent Relations818.415.3784pamslay@ Debbie DavisCrosswind Media & PRDirector of Client ServicesC: 214-802-8979ddavis@ media@
Malaysian Reserve
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Malaysian Reserve
Great American Media celebrates 5 years of Great American Christmas!
The franchise's popularity is rooted in timeless values, faith, joy, and hope. NEW YORK, April 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Great American Media announced its first original film of the 5th Anniversary of Great American Christmas 2025, A Christmas Spark, starring Mario Lopez and Ali Cobrin. Great American Media will celebrate a significant milestone in the history of the media company with the launch of the 5th anniversary of Great American Christmas, premiering on Great American Family in October and streaming on Pure Flix in early November. The annual event underscores the significant differentiation of Great American Media's Christmas's quality content offering. Great American Media's original stories inspire, uplift, and bring families together for the holidays. Through five years, while working with a beloved family of stars, Great American Media has created one of the most coveted original holiday movie libraries in entertainment. To mark the milestone, Great American Media also announced the first original holiday movie of the Christmas line-up – A Christmas Spark, starring Mario Lopez (Once Upon A Christmas Wish, 'Access Hollywood') and Ali Cobrin ('The Baxters'). 'The 5th Anniversary of Great American Christmas is a major milestone for our company and our audience,' said Bill Abbott, President & CEO of Great American Media. 'What began as an alternative new holiday tradition has become a beloved cornerstone for viewers who want uplifting stories rooted in faith and family and marks a truly special milestone.' In A Christmas Spark, Mario Lopez plays a middle-aged litigator who leaves his lucrative career to become a firefighter with other cadets half his age. 'It has been a joy to produce and star in A Christmas Spark. The movie is extra special to me because of my admiration for firefighters who worked night and day to save lives and property during the recent fires in Los Angeles. Each time I wore the firefighter uniform it was a personal tribute to the brave men and woman who worked tirelessly to save our city. Their courage, selflessness, and resilience embody true heroism, and this project is dedicated to them – true heroes,' Mario Lopez said. ABOUT GREAT AMERICAN MEDIAGreat American Media is home to a family-friendly portfolio of brands including Great American Family, Great American Pure Flix and Great American Faith & Living. As the flagship linear TV network, Great American Family features original Christmas movies, rom-coms and classic series that celebrate faith, family and country. Great American Pure Flix is a leading faith and family streaming service that inspires, uplifts and entertains with content that you can confidently stream with the entire family. Other platforms include, Great American Faith & Living, the unscripted companion to Great American Family that celebrates faith, family, and country every day and every season; Great American Adventures and Pure Flix TV, FAST channels (free ad-supporting streaming TV). Great American Media was established in June 2021 by Bill Abbott and a group of US-based family offices. MEDIA CONTACTS:Pam SlayNetwork Program Publicity & Talent Relations818.415.3784pamslay@ Debbie DavisCrosswind Media & PRDirector of Client ServicesC: 214-802-8979media@
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Great American Media celebrates 5 years of Great American Christmas!
The franchise's popularity is rooted in timeless values, faith, joy, and hope. NEW YORK, April 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Great American Media announced its first original film of the 5th Anniversary of Great American Christmas 2025, A Christmas Spark, starring Mario Lopez and Ali Cobrin. Great American Media will celebrate a significant milestone in the history of the media company with the launch of the 5th anniversary of Great American Christmas, premiering on Great American Family in October and streaming on Pure Flix in early November. The annual event underscores the significant differentiation of Great American Media's Christmas's quality content offering. Great American Media's original stories inspire, uplift, and bring families together for the holidays. Through five years, while working with a beloved family of stars, Great American Media has created one of the most coveted original holiday movie libraries in entertainment. To mark the milestone, Great American Media also announced the first original holiday movie of the Christmas line-up - A Christmas Spark, starring Mario Lopez (Once Upon A Christmas Wish, "Access Hollywood") and Ali Cobrin ("The Baxters"). "The 5th Anniversary of Great American Christmas is a major milestone for our company and our audience," said Bill Abbott, President & CEO of Great American Media. "What began as an alternative new holiday tradition has become a beloved cornerstone for viewers who want uplifting stories rooted in faith and family and marks a truly special milestone." In A Christmas Spark, Mario Lopez plays a middle-aged litigator who leaves his lucrative career to become a firefighter with other cadets half his age. "It has been a joy to produce and star in A Christmas Spark. The movie is extra special to me because of my admiration for firefighters who worked night and day to save lives and property during the recent fires in Los Angeles. Each time I wore the firefighter uniform it was a personal tribute to the brave men and woman who worked tirelessly to save our city. Their courage, selflessness, and resilience embody true heroism, and this project is dedicated to them – true heroes," Mario Lopez said. ABOUT GREAT AMERICAN MEDIAGreat American Media is home to a family-friendly portfolio of brands including Great American Family, Great American Pure Flix and Great American Faith & Living. As the flagship linear TV network, Great American Family features original Christmas movies, rom-coms and classic series that celebrate faith, family and country. Great American Pure Flix is a leading faith and family streaming service that inspires, uplifts and entertains with content that you can confidently stream with the entire family. Other platforms include, Great American Faith & Living, the unscripted companion to Great American Family that celebrates faith, family, and country every day and every season; Great American Adventures and Pure Flix TV, FAST channels (free ad-supporting streaming TV). Great American Media was established in June 2021 by Bill Abbott and a group of US-based family offices. MEDIA CONTACTS:Pam SlayNetwork Program Publicity & Talent Relations818.415.3784pamslay@ Debbie DavisCrosswind Media & PRDirector of Client ServicesC: 214-802-8979media@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Great American Family Sign in to access your portfolio
