Candace Cameron Bure recently told Variety that she left Hallmark to join the new network Great American Family in order to create "wholesome" and "family-friendly" content.
As reported by Variety, Bill Abbott, the former CEO of Hallmark's parent company, Crown Media, departed in 2020 after controversy erupted over Hallmark choosing to remove a Zola commercial featuring two women getting married from the network. They cited a desire to avoid controversy at the time but eventually reinstated the commercial, as reported by Deadline.
"Across our brand, we will continue to look for ways to be more inclusive and celebrate our differences," said Mike Perry, president and CEO of Hallmark Cards, Inc., at the time.
In June 2021, Deadline reported that GAC Media, a new media company formed by Abbott and others after his departure from Crown Media, had acquired the Great American Country network. Abbott currently serves as the president and CEO of GAC Media and announced the rebranding of GAC to Great American Family in July 2022.
During Abbott's 11-year tenure at Hallmark, Bure had become the face of the network, even earning the title "Queen of Christmas."
"It just so happened that my contract was expiring when Great American Family started up," Bure told Variety of her decision to depart Hallmark not long after Abbott's departure. She added that Abbott had given her a "shot after taking a very long hiatus from work" to raise her kids Natasha (born in 1998), Lev (born in 2000), and Maksim (born in 2002).
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Bure's first of 30 movies with Hallmark, "Moonlight & Mistletoe," aired in 2008. Her final holiday film with Hallmark, "The Christmas Contest," aired in November 2021. Bure confirmed she was leaving Hallmark and had taken a new deal with GAC in April 2022.
"I trust what Bill has done over the years and that really means a lot to me," Bure told Variety.
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Along with starring in movies on Great American Family, Bure said she'll take on an "executive" role at the network.
"This is going to be content that is trusted, that's wholesome, that's family-friendly," Bure said. "It's really going to push on all of the holiday seasons as well as rom-coms."
Bure told Insider in 2021 that she was "happy to see" Hallmark making "changes" to become more inclusive of minority communities.
Asked by Variety if Great American Family would create content that was inclusive of diverse families, she said, "Well, we haven't specifically had those discussions. That isn't completely up to me, because there is a board that are behind all of those decisions, but of course it will be talked about."
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The "Full House" star said that the network would focus on Christmas content this year for its "core audience" and potentially include other holidays as it grows.
Bure said that Great American Family content would be "much more forward in the faith" and also include a lot of "patriotic content" than its competitors.
Bure's first movie on the network, "A Christmas...Present" will premiere in November.
