Forget big blockbusters and new TV shows with major talent attached, Netflix is proving that its biggest success lies in the ‘cozy drama’TV space. Virgin River has just become the streamer’s longest-running original series after its surprise early season 8 renewal, with My Life With the Walter Boys, Ransom Canyon and Sweet Magnolias not following too far behind. On top of this, their back catalog is growing in the genre too, with Netflix picking up titles including Heartland, Sullivan’s Crossing and Chesapeake Shores.
However, Netflix arguably has some stiff genre competition on their hands in the form of rival streamer Hallmark+. Launched in September 2024 after multiple variations of video on demand formats, the platform hosts an enormous library of Hallmark movies from years past, alongside weekly releases coinciding with regular broadcasts on The Hallmark Channel. We’re also starting to see Hallmark+ exclusive content, with TV shows The Way Home and The Chicken Sisters both experimenting with this rollout.
If you’re someone who can’t get enough of romance dramas, which is the streaming service that’s most worth investing in? I’m not sure if Hallmark+ is being taken seriously enough as a mainstream contender, so I put the question to Netflix star and Hallmark executive producer JoAnna Garcia Swisher, with surprising results.
Hallmark+ ‘moves mountains’ to make its fans happy, but can we say the same for Netflix?
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“Obviously, I live on Netflix,” Swisher starts. “I am a Netflix girlie, but I’m also a Hallmark girlie. I’m a fan of both and the fan base is so supportive of everything that Hallmark does. I think, speaks for itself, to be able to partner with a company that holds their entire goal and mission is to create movies and moments for the fans who are so loyal and love what they do.
“But it was actually really incredible to navigate the [Providence Falls] development process and really keep the Hallmark audience and their fans as the greatest priority – to honor them and to make something for them,” she continued. “But then also the way that Hallmark supported me and my desire to do something that looked and felt different, stepped outside the box a little. Tell stories that maybe aren’t always seen. They weren’t reluctant at all, they were actually very excited.
“We did a lot to make sure that it felt special, and I think that we created something that I’m very, very proud of. I hope Hallmark fans love it, but I don’t know. Listen, I’m sure all the streamers are competing with each other, but how do you compete with Hallmark? They’re the OGs of the genre.”
Frankly, I think Swisher is absolutely right. Where Netflix is trying to branch out and satiate the tastes of a wider range of subscribers (even within the romance genre), Hallmark has their audience base nailed on. Even if their content isn’t for everyone, they’re able to use a tried and tested blueprint while still keeping the stories themselves feeling fresh, and that’s clearly resulted in the streaming service growing in the process. We’re never going to see Hallmark hosting third party content, but it really doesn’t need to. If Netflix can learn to love its genre-based subscribers as much as Hallmark does, rather than just pushing Virgin River through because it’s cheap to make and breaking viewership records, maybe we’ll see a shift in the landscape once again.
Is Hallmark going to be added to the list of best streaming services of all time? I think we’re still a way off of the masses (including the industry itself) taking it seriously. But as Swisher agrees, you can’t be the original masters of the craft.
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