Hulu Is Bringing Us A Queer Christmas Movie Starring Kristen Stewart
“Make the yuletide gay” -Hulu, probably
Halloween may still be almost two weeks away, but as far as we’re concerned, that just makes this pre-pre-Christmas season. Preparations are well underway, and that includes crafting our holiday viewing schedules with the greatest that Hallmark and ABC Family have to offer. But this year, there’s a new player in the game, and she’s coming in hot: next month, Hulu will debut a queer Christmas movie starring Kristen Stewart, Aubrey Plaza, and Dan Levy. My dreams. They’re all coming true.
The movie is called Happiest Season. It was set for a theatrical release, but, you know, the pandemic. So Hulu snapped that baby up and now we can all watch the gayest Christmas movie of our lifetime from the comfort of our own homes. You love to see it.
Here’s what we know so far. Happiest Season is a romantic comedy (obvi) that stars Stewart as Abby, who travels to her girlfriend Harper’s (Mackenzie Davis) family’s home with plans to propose for the holiday. Only when she gets there, she realizes that Harper isn’t actually out to her family yet. Aubrey Plaza and Alison Brie are also in it, and Levy plays Abby’s friend, which is perfect because the Schitt’s Creek withdrawal is really starting to set in right now.
“I am beyond grateful to Hulu for providing an incredible home for Happiest Season, and I’ll forever cherish my journey with Sony Pictures, who felt just as strongly as I did about the value of bringing the first major LGBTQ+ holiday rom-com to audiences,” writer and director Clea DuVall said in a press release. “I’m hopeful that this universal story, told through a unique lens, will join the long list of holiday classics that continue to bring all of us so much joy and happiness.”
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Stewart said, “I grew up watching and loving conventional movies like this. Seeing [marginalized] people loving each other in the middle of something that’s so standardized was really exhilarating and freeing. There’s a lack of confusion and generalization Clea brings [as a queer woman]. I want people to see that two girls in love is just so fun.”
And that’s really what’s so exciting about this movie (and other diverse Christmas movies that are coming this season). Holiday rom-coms are such a joyful guilty pleasure, but for too long, they’ve been about straight, cisgender, usually white couples. That’s not what the world looks like, and having Christmas movies that reflect the real diversity of our lives will only be a good thing.
Happiest Season will make its Hulu debut the day before Thanksgiving. Until then…
