Jonathan Bennett and George Krissa. Image Source: Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Jonathan Bennett makes history.
Actor Jonathan Bennett, who is most popularly known for his role in Mean Girls, is all set to make history by producing and starring in the new Hallmark movie, which is going to be the network’s first LGBTQ-led holiday movie titled "The Holiday Sitter."
Jonathan Bennett recently spoke to Hollywood Life at That’s4Entertainment’s Christmas Con 2022 and spoke about the monumental moment for him, the network, and the queer community. What a Christmas to be alive, he said, adding that he is thrilled to be directing the Hallmark Channel's first LGBTQ+-led romantic comedy film.
The actor continued that what he finds more exciting is the fact that the movie is not just for the queer audience but for everyone, just as Christmas is for everyone and the Hallmark Channel is for everyone. Jonathan added that he is sure that a lot of people are going to watch the movie because it will make them feel seen and make them feel like they are at a Hallmark holiday table.
As mentioned, the actor is also serving as the executive producer for the movie. He stated that he got a chance to help and create the movie’s plot from the ground up, and that is why he loves creating the character of Sam, the one he is playing because he took some inspiration from his personal life and mentioned that anytime one takes a personal story or truth to put on screen, people would surely find so much heart in it and so much humor for people to relate.
The film The Holiday Sitter stars Jonathan Bennett as Sam, a workaholic bachelor who is babysitting his niece and nephew during the holidays even though he had plans to fly to Hawaii. He winds up recruiting some help from his handsome neighbor Jason, played by actor George Krissa, and sparks begin to fly between them. Jonathan added during the conversation that he would love to continue the story of Sam and Jason because he is very sure that the fans are going to love what they see on screen. The actor further adds that he thinks it’s the first time the audience is going to see a cute meet-cute on the network and that it is important to follow the story and keep it going so that people can see how a relationship evolves.
Talking about Lindsay Lohan, with whom he starred in Mean Girls, Jonathan Bennett said that they have talked about working together on a holiday movie since Lindsay Lohan recently starred in the Netflix movie Falling for Christmas. He adds that they want to do something together, but if they end up doing a holiday movie, they are not likely to play lovers since the audience has seen them play lovers before, so they would have to come up with something fresh like siblings or best friends. Jonathan asserted that he would do a movie with the actress any day.
Jonathan Bennett also recently opened up about making The Holiday Sitter and what it meant to him. He wrote that it takes a queer village to make such a beautiful movie adding that the faces in the pictures are the reason why this movie is his favorite movie he has ever done in his career. The actor continued that a full queer creative team and ally's on set created the most beautiful world he has ever been a part of and there is no way to describe how special the movie is to him. In another post the actor stated that their hope for this movie is that everyone can find something to identify with and feel good about in this story, no matter who they are adding their goal in making the movie wasn’t to make an LGBTQ rom-com but a comedy for EVERYONE. Jonathan said that he won’t be able to thank everyone enough for the tremendous support and outpouring of love for this film. The people who made this movie possible will never be able to tell them how much this means to him.
During the conversation, he was asked if he was down for a cameo in the upcoming Mean Girls musical movie, to which he said he would because he owes his entire life to Tina Fey and Lorne Michaels and anytime they call him, he will answer. The Holiday Sitter is out on December 11 at 8 p.m. on the Hallmark Channel.
