Actress Candace Cameron Bure recently admitted that her reason for leaving Hallmark in favor of GAF was to helm together more wholesome programs. The actress started with Hallmark in 2008 and is mainly known for her roles in holiday titles.
Despite her popularity on the network, Bure announced her move to Bill Abbott’s Great American Family in April. Abbott was the previous CEO of Crown Media, Hallmark’s parent company. He previously retired in 2020 following a same-sex advertisement issue involving Hallmark.
According to the 46-year-old, her contract with Hallmark ended around the same time Abbott launched Great American Family, allowing her to move. Burr’s decision to move to GAF is reportedly in order to make more family-friendly content for viewers.
Read on to learn more.
Candace Cameron Bure Left Hallmark
In an interview with Variety, Bure shed light on her new network Great American Family and revealed she joined the network to make “family-friendly” as well as wholesome programs for viewers. The tv-personality was previously a prominent face on Hallmark and was known as the “Queen of Christmas” due to the vast amount of holiday films she had participated in.
Bure’s fame in the company was especially prominent during Abbott’s 11 years as the CEO of the corporation’s parent company, Crown Media. The former CEO left Hallmark in 2020 and started up his own network, Great American Family.
According to the actress, her contract with Hallmark expired around the same time Abbott launched GAF. “It just so happened that my contract was expiring when Great American Family started up,” she said. The actress also revealed that despite taking an extended break from work for family-related issues, Abbott still gave her a shot.
She Trusts Bill Abbott
Bure started her acting career in Hallmark in 2008 with “Moonlight & Mistletoe.” The movie was the first of her 30 films with the network, and the actress ended her run in November last year with “The Christmas Contest.” The 46-year-old officially announced her move to GAC in April this year.
While talking to Variety, Bure revealed that in addition to acting in films, she would also have an executive role in the Great American Family. She also spoke about her absolute trust for Abbott and his work over the years. Bure said, “I trust what Bill has done over the years, and that really means a lot to me.”
The actress continued, “This is going to be content that is trusted, that’s wholesome, that’s family-friendly. It’s really going to push on all of the holiday seasons as well as rom-com.”
Hallmark Struggled With Diversity And LGBTQ Representation
In 2020, Variety revealed that Abbott stepped down from his CEO position due to a controversy that occurred during that period. The issue started with an LGBTQ Zola commercial which saw two women from the network trying to plan out their wedding.
The same-sex ad drew in some backlash in the form of the One Million Moms, who had begun a petition to make the network pull down the ad. Hallmark responded by removing the advertisement; however, they backtracked and apologized. They initially stated their desire to avoid controversy; however, according to Deadline, they reinstated the ad.
The president and CEO of Hallmark Cards, Inc., Mike Perry, said at the time, “Across our brand, we will continue to look for ways to be more inclusive and celebrate our differences.”
Candace Cameron Bure Said She Was Happy About Hallmark Becoming Inclusive
During an Insider interview in 2021, Bure talked about Hallmark’s moves toward producing more inclusive content and revealed that she was “happy to see” the network do so. The network was previously criticized for not having enough diversity in its films regarding race, religion, and sexual orientation.
The 46-year-old said, “It’s very important to me in all the casting that we do for the films, and it’s important to represent all people and all of their journeys and their family dynamics.”
On the topic of diversity, Bure told Variety that her new organization has not specifically discussed it. “Well, we haven’t specifically had those discussions. That isn’t completely up to me, because there is a board that are [sic] behind all of those decisions, but of course, it will be talked about,” the “Fuller House” actress said.
Bure’s first film with the network, “A Christmas…Present,” will be on theme with her previous work and hit the screens in November. Christmas content will reportedly be GAF’s main content for now, and as it expands, the network will include other holidays. GAF will also have content that is “much more forward in the faith,” as well as more patriotic programs and other networks.
