Hallmark Channel Finally Aired a History-Making Same-Sex Kiss

It looks like the Hallmark Channel is finally making strides to become more LGBTQ-inclusive!

This past Sunday, the infamously conservative, family-centric cable network's original series Good Witch aired its series finale, and with it, a kiss between characters Joy (played by bisexual Wynonna Earp star Kat Barrell) and Zoey (Kyana Teresa)!

The Joy-Zoey kissed made history as the Hallmark Channel's first same-sex kiss in their original series lineup and is the only the second same-sex kiss in the network's nearly 20-year history. The first same-sex Hallmark kiss ever was featured in the 2020 holiday movie The Christmas House, which starred Mean Girlsalum Jonathan Bennett and co-star Brad Harder as a gay couple.

For those unfamiliar, Good Witch is one of Hallmark's most popular franchises and was originally launched in 2008 as a movie, The Good Witch. The film spawned several sequels and was so well-received that it was made into an episodic series in 2015 that ran for seven whole seasons before concluding this past weekend.

Up until this point, the Hallmark Channel has had an...interesting relationship with the queer community. As our sister site The Advocate points out, the network actually came under fire recently for pulling a Zola Wedding ad that featured a kiss between brides. Under pressure from anti-LGBTQ groups, including the notorious One Million Moms, Hallmark pulled four ads from Zola that featured lesbian weddings but kept two Zola ads that don't include same-sex wedding narratives. Zola ended up canceling the entire campaign and severing ties with the network, and #BoycottHallmarkChannel was trending on social media before Hallmark issued a formal apology.

While it sucks that fans won't be able to see more Joy-Zoey locking lips and being in love, this is definitely a step in the right direction! And hopefully, this is just the beginning when it comes to actual, meaningful LGBTQ+ representation in feel-good Hallmark shows and films!

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