The star of 'The Holiday Sitter,' Hallmark's first LGBTQ+-led Christmas movie, on the reason why he included a 'Mean Girls' nod.
Jonathan Bennett leads The Holiday Sitter, Hallmark Channel's first Christmas romantic comedy that focuses on a queer love story. The actor previously co-starred in two Christmas House movies in 2020 and 2021 for the network, where he played one-half of a gay couple in love who were seeking to adopt a baby. But The Holiday Sitter, which Bennett executive produces, puts him firmly in the spotlight.
"It means so many things, not just to me but to so many people to be in The Holiday Sitter, which is the first LGBTQ+-led rom-com for Hallmark Channel at Christmas," Bennett told ET's Kevin Frazier during Tuesday's exclusive sit-down interview. "Representation matters and I know so many people are going to see this and feel so included at the holiday table this year. So it just feels great."
The Holiday Sitter follows Bennett's Sam, a workaholic bachelor who babysits his niece and nephew before the holidays when his sister and her husband have to go out of town. Completely out of his element, he recruits help from their handsome neighbor, Jason (George Krissa), and finds himself in an unexpected romance.
Bennett made it clear that "he didn't set out to tell a queer love story or an LGBTQ+ Christmas movie," but that he was motivated to "make a Christmas movie for everyone, just like Hallmark Channel is for everybody and Christmas is for everybody." The 41-year-old actor emphasized that the film, which premieres Sunday as part of Hallmark Channel's "Countdown to Christmas" lineup, "is for everyone. It just happens to have two men as the leading [characters]."
But not every network is seemingly adopting that approach in being open to stories about all walks of life. Candace Cameron Bure made headlines when she said in a recent interview that Great American Family, the network she left Hallmark for, focuses on stories about "traditional marriage." Her comments sparked backlash, prompting her to later defend her controversial remarks. (On Monday, GAF actor Neal Bledsoe cut ties with the network amid the controversy.)
"I don't know what other networks are doing on their networks," Bennett said, skirting the question about Bure and GAF but redirecting it to Hallmark's current path, "but what I'm doing on Hallmark Channel and what I'm so proud to be a part of Hallmark for is the fact that we're putting movies like The Holiday Sitter at the forefront that are inclusive stories and we're doing inclusive storytelling."
"That's really important for me because as a queer filmmaker, Hallmark Channel has created a safe place for queer artists to tell their stories and as an artist I don't think there is any better gift you can get than a safe place to do your art," he credited. "And so Hallmark Channel has created that. I'm so proud to be part of a network that does that."
The Mean Girls alum acknowledged that "traditional marriage" comments and remarks like it only fuel his hunger to put more movies like The Holiday Sitter out there into the world.
"I tell you what, it makes me want to continue to tell amazing stories for everyone that are inclusive because Christmas, it really is for everyone. Hallmark Channel's for everyone. It lights a fire under you that makes you want to go out and tell really good stories," he said. "And tell them better and better each time and make sure they're funnier and make sure they have more heart and make sure the audiences really respond to them. Because at the end of the day, what matters is that the audience watching these movies feels like they're seen in the stories."
"I think Hallmark Channel did such a great job of that because this year, the holiday table is bigger and better than ever and there's a seat for everyone at the Hallmark holiday table," Bennett affirmed.
On a lighter note, there's a shout-out to Mean Girls in The Holiday Sitter that Bennett was excited to include for a deeper reason than one might expect.
"One, just because it's fun and a lot of fans will love it. But two, when I shot Mean Girls, I was a different person," Bennett shared. "I was in the closet, I wasn't out publicly, I was living a different life. And to be able to be out and proud, married to my husband [Jaymes Vaughan], changing Hallmark Channel one movie at a time. We're putting out these movies with LGTBQ+ storylines that are doing so much good. To be in this movie and playing this character, I wanted to have a little closure with my past and what my life used to be."
"I wanted to throw this nod to the fans as a 'Thank you for getting me here and supporting me the entire way,'" he continued. "The Mean Girls fans have been so supportive my entire career and they've really supported me to get to this place and I wanted to give a little nod to them as a thank you."
Bennett praised his Mean Girls co-star, Lindsay Lohan, for her holiday film, Netflix's Falling for Christmas, opening the door to a potential reunion in the future and saying her movie "gave [him] so many good feels."
"Lindsay doing comedy is what Lindsay does best. Romantic comedies are where she shines. And to see her in a romantic comedy being the star that Lindsay is, it was such a great film," he said. "I've told everyone this. There is not a day that I would not want to be in a movie with Lindsay Lohan, especially a Christmas movie. It'd be fun for the two of us to do a movie together. People have seen us fall in love, so what do we do that isn't us falling in love? Are we best friends? Are we brother and sister? What could we do that's different on-camera that people would really enjoy? I think there's a Christmas movie in our future someday."
As for what Bennett hopes The Holiday Sitter will do for viewers when they tune in this weekend, it's to offer a bit of hope.
"It feels so good to know that The Holiday Sitter is a movie that people are going to be able to watch," he said. "And the younger versions of Jonathan and George, the younger versions of us, are sitting at home watching this movie with their families. And this holiday season, when they see that they might feel a little less scared and have a little bit more hope this Christmas, that they see a love that looks like theirs in a Christmas movie... And a Christmas movie that's based in love and family."
The Holiday Sitter premieres Sunday, Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel.
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