The Great American Family Network has become a serious rival to the Hallmark Channel. The reason the new programming giant has been able to swoop up several Hallmark actors and create similar-feeling movies may surprise you. The company was purchased by Hallmark's former CEO, Bill Abbott, who stepped down from the gig after a bit of a controversy.
After Hallmark aired a commercial that showed two women kissing, conservative groups were in an uproar. Abbott decided to pull the commercial but faced even more backlash for featuring mostly white, straight characters in the network's films. Eventually, Hallmark reinstated the commercial, but the CEO began firing back about the lack of diversity in their movies, arguing that the channel did, indeed, feature characters of different races and backgrounds.
He bid the network farewell in early 2020 and acquired the company he has since rebranded as the Great American Family Network. In the process, he was able to sway a few of Hallmark's leading stars to join him on the new platform.
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