Recently, I came across a post in one of the many lesbian Facebook groups I’m part of. Someone was excitedly sharing that they had just watched Christmas at the Ranch on Netflix, a lesbian Christmas movie. I love this film, especially since my friend was involved in making it! Inspired, I decided to put together a streaming list of holiday films just in time for the winter solstice. After all, what’s more lesbian than to celebrate the longest night of the year with lesbian holiday movies? And I’ve got 10 films for you to enjoy!
First, a quick note: Christmas at the Ranch is not on Netflix, but don’t worry—it’s available on 11 other streaming platforms! The fact that there are so many places to find lesbian holiday content warms my heart. I remember when the only “lesbian content” you could find was a late-night women-in-prison movie on Skinemax. So, to see such a variety of films now is truly a step forward.
I asked two incredible filmmakers, Christin Baker, CEO of Tello Films, and B. Danielle Watkins of B.OK Productions, about the rise of lesbian holiday films and how much easier it is now to find them on mainstream TV. While both of them are thrilled that these films are reaching broader audiences, they also shared the challenges of getting their films seen. Watkins notes that her films, like Mixed Christmas and Coming Home for Christmas, are successful because, “We have been blessed to partner with a distribution company that believes in us enough to push the envelope and land us on platforms like Peacock.”
Baker, meanwhile, continues to focus on primarily her own platform, Tello Films. “Honestly I’m still working on the balance between exclusivity and going to other platforms.” Tello has seven lesbian/queer holiday rom-coms streaming, including Season of Love, their most popular—currently exclusive to Tello.com.
I also recently discovered a holiday gem purely by accident. I was settling in to help my parents wrap Christmas presents, and I put the Hallmark Channel on as kind of background noise. A film I had not seen before began called Friends & Family Christmas. Little did I know that this was a play on words.
The story overview: a photographer and an attorney get set up by their parents who used to be college roommates. Each parent is worried that their child is hiding from trying to get back into dating after being hurt. Their children agree to meet to appease their parents. The children decide to “fake date” to get their parents off of their backs and get through the holidays. Then they, naturally, realize that they actually like one another, cue all of the things. Pretty standard Hallmark Christmas rom/com framework.
Here’s the plot twist: the fathers are fixing up their daughters, Daniella and Amelia. It’s about families and family! Haha! Here’s the kicker, it was released in 2023! Where was I when this happened? I’ve seen their first gay male lead Christmas films with Jonathan Bennett, Christmas on Cherry Lane, and The Holiday Sitter; I never knew there were lesbians with a Hallmark film too!
It’s happening y’all!
So, grab your snacks, get comfy, and support lesbian/queer filmmakers by watching these films wherever you can. Enjoy and happy Solstice streaming!
Holiday Streaming List
Tello Films (Available as a bundle for $12.99 on Tellofilms.com):
- Season of Love
- I Hate New Year’s
- Christmas at the Ranch
- Merry & Gay
- City of Trees
- Looking for Her
- A Holiday I Do
BOK Productions:
- Coming Home for Christmas (Peacock, Tubi, Prime Video, Vudu, Fandango, Hoopla, Google Play Movies)
- Mixed Christmas (Peacock, Tubi, Prime Video, Vudu, Fandango, Hoopla, Google Play Movies)
- We Need A Little Christmas (YouTube)
Story by Robin Vie-Carpenter
This post was originally published on here
