Move over, Christmas: It’s Hanukkah movies and shows’ time to shine
Could the Hanukkah show become the new star of the holiday season?
Of course, it may seem like a far-fetched idea to suggest. From classics like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” to new releases, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of Christmas shows that hit our screens every season. Hallmark Channel alone has dozens of Christmas movies ready for the 2023 holiday season.
But the standard of programming related to Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights that began this year on Thursday night, is also increasing. Hallmark has played a big role in the push in recent years, releasing a series of Hanukkah movies, including “Double Holiday” (2019). “Vacation Date” (2019); “Love, light, Hanukkah!” (2020); “The Eight Gifts of Hanukkah” (2021); and “Hanukkah on the Rye” (2022).
This year, Hallmark added another to the Hanukkah canon with “Round and Round.” It’s a “Groundhog Day”-style story where a woman is trapped in a time loop and relives her parents’ Hanukkah party over and over again. The film opens Sunday at 9 PM Eastern/Pacific.
Hallmark’s Hanukkah movies have garnered significant viewership ratings. According to audience rating research company Nielsen, last year’s ‘Hanukkah in the Rye’ attracted 1.6 million viewers on its first day of release. That was almost on par with the release of the new Hallmark Christmas movie ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, which drew 2 million viewers.
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We also participated in Hanukkah activities. Last year, he released “Middle Menorah,” a food-themed romantic comedy set in a Jewish bakery. (The Hanukkah menorah (or Hanukkia) is a central symbol of the holiday.)
And that’s to say nothing of the many Hanukkah programs that are becoming classics in their own right. In a recent article, the Jewish publication The Forward cited more than a dozen examples ranging from “A Rugrats Chanukah” (1996) to Hanukkah. – Theme episode of the popular sitcom ‘Friends’ (2000).
Oh, and don’t forget Adam Sandler and his many versions of “The Hanukkah Song.” Not the “program” itself, but the pop culture zeitgeist that celebrates so many Jewish stars. (“David Lee Roth lights the menorah…”).
Sandler said he wrote the song to help Jewish children not feel left out during the holiday. And indeed, there was a time a generation ago when there was little or no concept of Hanukkah entertainment beyond a few children’s songs.
“When I grew up in the 1980s, I understood that growing up Jewish in America meant being generally underrepresented in popular culture. Especially at this time of the year,” said Esther Kustanowitz, co-host of the award-winning Jewish program. A central pop culture podcast called The Bagel Report.
So what has changed? Kustanowitz points to one key factor: the overall popularity of Jewish-themed content. Rather, Hanukkah is just an extension of a trend. Consider the popularity of Jewish-themed series like Amazon AMZN.
Prime’s Emmy Award-winning “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”. Or Jewish characters or storylines in recent hit shows, from “Broad City” to “Orange Is the New Black.”
Experts say this speaks to a broader concept: America’s growing multicultural sensitivity. This is not just about Hanukkah, but also about holidays of other religions, from Ramadan (a major event in the Islamic calendar) to Diwali (a holiday observed by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists). This country.
“The idea that everyone celebrates Christmas is finally going away, and so are TV executives who believe in it,” said Eric Silver, creative director at podcast producer Multitude Productions.
We also can’t ignore how the media landscape has changed, argues Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. At a time when the world of television was dominated by the three major networks, programs that dealt with faiths and cultures outside the mainstream had little chance of establishing themselves. But with the advent of cable and streaming programming, “there’s a lot more space and a lot more tables,” he said.
Thompson makes another point. At this stage, the Christmas story and well-known fictional Christmas characters such as Santa, Rudolph and Scrooge have become so established that audiences may be looking for something new and different. That leaves more room to talk about another holiday.
Hanukkah is “absolutely unprecedented territory,” Thompson said.
