Hallmark's 'Wedding Every Weekend' will feature the first same-sex wedding in the network's history

The Hallmark Channel isn’t waiting until Christmas to act on its promise to feature LGBTQ characters in its original programming. On Aug. 15, the network is premiering the new TV movie Wedding Every Weekend, starring Kimberley Sustad and Paul Campbell as Brooke and Nate: two single pals who agree to be “wedding buddies” through a matrimonial marathon of four weddings over the course of four weekends. (Fortunately, no funerals follow any of them.)

It goes without saying that attending back-to-back-to-back-to-back weddings leads the two to develop feelings other than friendship. But here’s a plot twist you wouldn’t expect: One of those unions brings together their mutual friends, Amanda (Carmel Amit) and Vicky (Makayla Moore), in wedded bliss. It’s the first same-sex marriage in Hallmark history and the network featured the momentous event in the movie’s trailer as well as on its official Facebook page.

Twitter — which had previously put Hallmark on notice for its long history of excluding LGBTQ storylines — immediately added the movie to their “must-see TV” lists.

But Hallmark has also encountered vocal opposition as it pushes forward with efforts to diversify its programming. One Million Moms, a division of the Christian-right American Family Association, renewed its efforts to organize a boycott of the network, writing on its official site: “The once conservative network has recently caved to LGBTQ pressure and has done a one-eighty from the wholesome content the channel once aired.” (Last year, One Million Moms pressured Hallmark to remove a Zola wedding commercial featuring a same-sex wedding; the network eventually apologized and returned the ad to the airwaves.)

Some protesters took their complaints to Twitter but were met with firm opposition by Hallmark, which stood by the film.

Wedding Every Weekend star Paul Campbell — who shot to fame as fan-favorite Billy Keikeya on the beloved 2004 reimagining of Battlestar Galactica — has also been a vocal defender of the movie on Twitter, often responding to conservative critics directly.

With Wedding Every Weekend leading the way, Hallmark is poised to bring something new — not something old or something borrowed — to its traditional fare. And that’s a vow they seem ready to keep.

Wedding Every Weekend airs Aug. 15 at 9 p.m. on Hallmark Channel

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