Hallmark might be giving its leading ladies the bum’s rush, but its competitor is now letting them touch some onscreen! No, I’m not talking about the Great American Family network, silly. Can you imagine? I’m referring to its tacky cousin Lifetime, of course. That’s right, the channel has decided to feature sex scenes in its Christmas programming. How’s that for naughty and nice?
This week, Sarah Drew, a Lifetime writer and producer told Variety that they’ll be a touch more spice in the eggnog this year thanks to a film entitled: A Carpenter Christmas Romance, starring Sasha Pieterse (Pretty Little Liars’ Ali) and Mitchell Slaggert. You’re already sliding off your sleigh, right?
“There’s more steam this year than last year, so get ready,” Drew told the publication. “Mitchell Slaggert, he’s shirtless. He’s also just absolutely perfect in this role…He has so much heart and so much charisma on screen. And Sasha Pieterse is amazing.”
Pieterse, as one familiar with the network’s repertoire of Christmas movies can predict, portrays a novelist who’s returned to her family’s farmhouse. Slaggert, on the other hand, is an artisanal woodworker (lol) who whittled away at her heart years prior.
“This one has a sort of spicy [element],” Drew explained. “They used to have a thing, but he hurt her in the past and now they’re coming back together again. It’s them dealing with various different insecurities that they have that feel more adult. Look, I love hot cocoa, I love gingerbread, I love all the cozy feelings, but I want something to sink my teeth into also.” Someone put that on a t-shirt for Target, STAT.
Pieterse, too, told Variety that the film will feature a lot more than just a makeup scene by the fire followed by a quick cut to morning.
“It’s really spicy. I was shocked,” she said. “It’s one of the reasons I took it. I was like, this is different, this is fun. This is something that I think a lot of people will enjoy, and it might surprise them a little bit. Christmas movies are so comforting and so fun, and I think we all watch them for a reason. But when there’s something different in there, it’s always exciting. We bring the spice, that’s for sure.”
This isn’t the first Christmas film that’s brought “the spice” to the network. Last year, A Cowboy Christmas Romance saw its leads getting carnal in the kitchen. I don’t know about you, but it’s sending me that Hallmark couldn’t be more sexless and its number one competitor is out here making soap stars and C-list musicians fuck. I have to hand it to them. That’s just shrewd business.
To Variety, Drew admitted as much, asserting that she knows the network’s audience is keen for more than chaste kisses. “I am that audience,” she said. “It’s been so exciting to see Lifetime really support a little new genre for the Christmas season.”
Are those chestnuts burning? Or is it just you?
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Still here. Still without airbrushing. Still with teeth.
L/A
