After making the yuletide gay, Hallmark is bringing tidings of comfort and joy to reality TV

More than 24 years after “Survivor” revolutionized unscripted competition television; some 22 years after “The Bachelor” handed out its first rose; and many, many moons after TLC traded informational programming for “90-Day Fiancé,” Hallmark Media is entering the reality TV Hunger Games. Do not be surprised, then, if you suddenly start hearing your co-workers gush about their new “guilty” pleasure “Finding Mr. Christmas.” The show follows 10 promising contenders as they live together and compete for the designation of the next “Hallmark Hunk.” Said winner will play the lead an upcoming holiday movie to premiere during Hallmark channel’s Countdown to Christmas. It's hosted by “Cake Wars” emcee Jonathan Bennett, who starred in 2022’s “The Holiday Sitter,” Hallmark’s first movie featuring two men in its main romance. On Thursday Hallmark Media’s current executive vice president of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly told reporters that the younger and “slightly more diverse” streaming audience informed their plans for their upcoming Hallmark+ content. A braver and more broadly appealing concept is offered in “Small Town Setup,” which takes a central Hallmark plot trope and makes it real: parents get to play matchmaker for their adult kids who have, yes, moved away to the “big city.” Oh, but it's get better/worse, because mom and dad also gather their neighbors and ask them to help find a match for their "city single" children, to quote the press release, "in the hopes that they will fall in love, move back home and live happily ever after."