The Christmas Setup, Lifetime’s first holiday film with lead LGBTQ+ characters, is making its way from filming in the streets of Ottawa to the screen in time for Christmas.
Although a Canadian release date has not yet been confirmed, it is set to premiere in the U.S. on Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. on Lifetime cable network.
The story follows New York lawyer, Hugo (Ben Lewis), who upon returning home to Milwaukee for the holidays, is set up with his high school friend and crush, Patrick (Blake Lee), by his mother. As the two grow closer, Hugo grapples with a new opportunity to work in London, U.K., which tests the fate of their relationship.
According to Lifetime, the film will be featured alongside 30 other new movies in the network’s 2020 holiday programming known as “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime.” In efforts to promote diversity, the network has compiled a movie roster that aims to represent a variety of experiences.
“Our hope with these inclusive films and others is that people will see themselves while enjoying universally relatable holiday romances,” Amy Winter, head of programming at Lifetime said in a press release.
Representation also extends beyond the screen, as the movie is written and directed by members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Pat Mills directed the film. He is an LGBTQ+ filmmaker originally from Ottawa. He began his career as a child actor on the Canadian sketch comedy series, “You Can’t Do That on Television.” He has directed films including Guidance and Don’t Talk to Irene.
Filmed on location in Canada’s capital region, The Christmas Setup transforms Almonte, Carleton Place, Arnprior and Smith Falls into Milwaukee. The Glebe neighbourhood’s flagship Mrs. Tiggy Winkles toy store is even reimagined as a Brooklyn coffee shop.
“It was great for me because I’m so familiar with Ottawa, so while we were scouting locations, I knew exactly what we were going to be looking at,” Mills said.
For Mills, his connection to the script as a member of the LGBTQ+ community was a factor in taking on the project as a director. Michael J. Murray, the film’s writer, is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Lifetime partnered with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), an NGO aimed at promoting LGBTQ+ narratives in cinema, on the film to ensure accurate portrayal of the characters.
Mills said the dedication to behind the scenes representation was necessary for authenticity.
“The only way you can do that is to have queer people behind the scenes,” he added. “It’s just going to have layers of artifice if people can’t connect to it.”
Working with lead actors Lewis and Lee, who are married in real life, is another way the film achieved authenticity. Rather than having to manufacture chemistry, Mills said, it was actually a question of “reverse engineering” their relationship to create a budding romance.
“I think that [portraying] more people in the pop culture industry who have had different lived experiences is incredibly important because … we need to be able to [recognize] our own stories,” she said.
Bausch examines the intersections of gender, race, pop culture, sex and class. She still cautions against the belief that one storyteller can represent everyone’s unique experience. She said she hopes other networks will continue conversations about the ways that they are achieving representation in their content after the example of Lifetime.
With the chaos that 2020 has presented so far, Mills hopes The Christmas Setup will be fitting for the holiday season.
“I think when December rolls around everyone’s going to need something comforting,” he said. “I think that we’re going to be craving something feel-good and unapologetically queer.”
Featured image provided by Albert Camicioli/Lifetime
