Hallmark has long dominated the cheesy Christmas movie niche, producing dozens upon dozens of pleasant — if often forgettable — made-for-TV romances every year. But that oversaturation is starting to dilute their appeal, especially considering they’re no longer the only game in town. Streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu have been building their own romance movie catalogs to compete — and they’ve been branching out with more inclusivity, something Hallmark historically hasn’t done such a great job with. But it does seem like the notoriously conservative network is taking cues from its competitors, particularly when it comes to creating “extended universes” of intertwined Hallmark romance movies. The Hallmark Cinematic Universe, if you will, has a reputation for repeatedly casting from the same pool of actors, which certainly can help viewers feel more connected to the network. But as that pool becomes more diverse and those actors start showing up as the same characters in multiple films, there’s something even more appealing about it —because it’s not just about seeing people who look like you, but communities that look like yours. That’s something the romance novel world perfected long ago.
If you’re hooked on Bridgerton, you already have a sense of what an extended cinematic universe looks like. Each season of the show — which was adapted from Julia Quinn’s bestselling book series — will center a different sibling’s love story, while still keeping other characters in the mix. Romance authors often write such series that, rather than following one primary story over several books, focus on a different couple each book — while everyone remains connected. In this way, the sister of the first book’s protagonist might be the heroine in the second book, and the third book might pair up the first protagonist’s grumpy co-worker with the second protagonist’s quirky cousin, and so on. While this is common among romance novels — authors like Talia Hibbert, Jasmine Guillory, and more, have written series using a similar formula — it can also be found outside of the genre. Take the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Iron Man’s last solo movie was in 2013, but the character continued to appear in Marvel movies for seven more years.
