Why Trumpy Cable Network The GAC Family Is Hunting All Of Hallmark’s Biggest Stars

Inot a sentence that would have made thought in the ’90s: Happy home Candace star Cameron Bure is now caught up in the quest to build the television empire former President Donald Trump once dreamed of.

Since her ABC sitcom days, the first DJ Tanner has been an “it” girl on the Hallmark Channel; Since 2008, she’s starred in dozens of movies for drivers. However, on Tuesday, she announced her imminent move to GAC Family — a Hallmark competitor funded by a group of investors with ties to the former president. Among the group’s previously reported pursuits? Assemble a far-right opponent of Fox News.

“I am excited to develop family programming that is warm and full of faith and turns the stories my family and I love to watch,” Bure said in a statement provided to TV Line. “We share a vision of creating engaging healthy content for audiences who want to watch shows for and for the whole family.”

Those of us who don’t spend December mulling over TV romances about the women in the infinity scarf and the burly men who help save their failing candy cane company. may not even know what a GAC ​​is, but the fledgling network has caused quite a stir.

Last summer, Thomas Hicks and his private equity firm, Hicks Equity Partners, led a group of investors to buy the Great American Country cable network and Ride TV. Formerly GAC Family; the second network, once a 24-hour ride-hailing network, is now GAC Living.

In 2020, however, Hicks Equity is said to have been eyeing a different corner of the media landscape. The group first attempted to acquire the Trump-friendly One-American News Network (OANN), and later that year they set their sights on Newsmax TV.

Rumors that Donald Trump wants a huge entertainment fortune of his own to compete with rivals Rupert Murdoch and Fox have been circulating since at least the moment he took office. In November 2020, a few days after the presidential election, The Wall Street Journal report that Sources say Hicks Equity has begun exploring “putting together a streaming service that could challenge Fox from the right”—a quest the article describes as “foresight” based on viewership. network.

(The Trump campaign declined to comment on WSJ reported, and the White House did not respond.)

Matthew Ashton / AMA / Getty

Hicks’ eldest son, Thomas “Tommy” Hicks Jr., is the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, longtime Trump family friend and Donald Trump Jr.’s hunting bud. In addition to his personal relationship with the Trump family, Hicks Jr is also the co-chair of national finance for the Trump campaign and chairs the pro-Trump groups America First Policy and Action First. U.S. BuzzFeed reports that he raised $75 million in just his first two years.

A person close to the Hicks family told Journal that Hicks Jr. will not be able to enter into any deals while holding the RNC position.

The newsgroup that the Hicks team is trying to build, Journal reported at the time, was part of a larger vision. An offering to investors reportedly described as “a network of channels aimed at conservatives” will also include channels focused on “family-friendly entertainment.”

That’s where GAC Family comes in.

Saying that the brochures for the GAC Family are full of conservative dog whistles would be like saying that Santa Claus is delicious. For example, the words “traditional values” and “American culture, way of life, and heritage” are huge. GAC Media CEO Bill Abbott stepped down as head of Hallmark owner Crown Media in early 2020, after the channel was hit by controversy for ripping an ad featuring a gay couple being hacked. broadcasting.

However, GAC Media has encountered many difficulties in recruiting Hallmark talents. Besides Candace Cameron Bure and her ex Fuller House co-star Lori Loughlin, who spent time in jail after being arrested trying to pay for her daughter’s college admission, some credible faces have appeared including Wonder Years actresses Danica McKellar, Chad Michael Murray and famous Hallmark actor, Trevor Donovan.

Cameron Bure’s involvement will go a little deeper than her peers. In addition to developing and starring in new productions for GAC Family and GAC Living, the actress will also oversee programming for both networks in an executive role. It looks like Cameron Bure has officially decided to follow in his brother Kirk Cameron’s footsteps and focus this phase of his career on mission-friendly programming.

As her statement says: “A great, quality entertainment program with a positive message is my goal with GAC!”

But when the GAC promises “safe” Christmas content, those of us who don’t fit into that equation know what they mean. Streamer movies only happen to white people in most of the lead roles — and in contrast to the networks that have (belatedly) tried to include in their holiday content, there isn’t a same-sex couple. or non-Catholics found in the GAC’s slate.

When asked why GAC’s holiday services are focused only on Christmas, Abbott told Journal that the company “just wanted to stick with our knitting business” and operate at “more conventional fare” in its first year.

Meanwhile, Ron DeSantis and conservatives who supported Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill continued their battle to consider any discussion of weirdness with young children “grooming”. While GAC sees itself as a “safe” alternative to one of TV’s most robust G-rated networks, DeSantis has branded enemies like Disney—Disney! —Wake up repeatedly. (Yes, the company gave us the term “single gay moment” and its refusal to let Oscar Isaac and John Boyega kiss is entirely in the pocket of gay people; we love it when episodes the large group gave us nothing).

Like Journal Labeling Hicks’ dream of a Fox News rival as a pipe dream, it seems the GAC — which I simply can’t stop pronouncing “gack” — is going to be the real challenger to Hallmark. in the near future. But that doesn’t make its existence or the philosophy behind it any less troubling.

At least two Hallmark stars have made it clear that unless the GAC demonstrates its commitment to the inclusion program, they will not be interested in collaborating.

Paul Campbell, one of the channel’s most beloved stars in recent years, tweeted that he would be monitoring the company’s output for meaningful inclusion and that he “wouldn’t either.” shut up about it”. Chesapeake Shores and frequent Hallmark holiday movie star Emilie Ullerup supported Campbell. One has to wonder, however, how much of a difference put on screen will actually be made when the money comes from such a swampy well.