ABSTRACT
While the typical Hallmark movie features two never-married single people falling in love, a sizable number feature a single parent falling in love with an unencumbered single person. The common “widowed parent trope” allows writers to craft an inspirational romantic plot without having to deal with custodial and co-parenting issues, and it still pervades the franchise. As Hallmark refines its brand focus on inclusion and diversity, adding racial, ethnic, and sexual diversity that more appropriately reflects a pluralistic society, the network shows promising signs that it will similarly present more diverse family structures, including amicably divorced coparents as well as characters who consciously chose single parenting. The inclusion of even more plotlines with varied family structures would help to normalize this common aspect of contemporary parenting, at the same time delivering on the guaranteed happy ending that the brand promises its loyal viewers.
