Why Candace Cameron Bure Left Hallmark for Great American Media

Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock

Candace Cameron Bure’s Quotes About Leaving Hallmark for Great American Media: I Want to ‘Tell Stories That Have More Meaning’

Still the Christmas season guru? Candace Cameron Bure shocked fans in April 2022 when she announced that she was leaving Hallmark Media for Great American Media.

The Full House alum starred in 10 holiday films for Hallmark Channel during her 13 years with the network, earning her the title of “Queen of Christmas” from viewers and critics alike.

“I make them because I love them. And I know that the viewers that watch them really love them, and they mean something to them,” Cameron Bure exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2021 ahead of The Christmas Contest’s release. “I always try to make it the best that I can, but I let the pressure [of being the Christmas queen] go last year.”

She also helmed Hallmark’s Movies & Mysteries’ Aurora Teagarden Mysteries franchise, appearing as librarian-turned-amateur-sleuth, Aurora Teagarden, in 18 films before her 2022 departure.

“Candace is adored by generations of fans as one of family entertainment’s most cherished and relatable stars,” President and CEO of Great American Media, Bill Abbott, said in an April 2022 statement. “She has helped build this genre into the mainstream success it is today, and I look forward to working together at GAC Media as we further establish our brands as leaders in quality family programming. I am truly honored that she has chosen to be a part of and help curate her special brand of family entertainment here at Great American Channels.”

The Some Kind of Wonderful actress confirmed that her partnership with the new network — which launched in 2021 after Abbott left Hallmark Media following a 2020 controversy over the handling of a same-sex commercial — would be full of “great, quality entertainment with a positive message.”

[jwplayer 1go0sc1q-zhNYySv2]

Cameron Bure’s deal with the network includes a “prominent executive role at the company to oversee and curate programming for the networks as a whole,” according to a press release.

The Make It or Break It alum’s production company, Candy Rock Entertainment, will also produce “original content for GAC’s channels” and “create year-round seasonal celebration content for the networks and play a key role in the company’s annual Great American Christmas franchise.”

Ahead of the release of her first holiday film for Great American Family, titled A Christmas … Present, Cameron Bure sounded off on why the change of network is more suitable to her personal belief system.

“My heart wants to tell stories that have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them,” the Switched for Christmas star told WSJ. Magazine in November 2022. “I knew that the people behind Great American Family were Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment.”

Scroll down to see everything that Cameron Bure has said about her transition to Great American Media — and why Hallmark was no longer a good fit — below:

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock

Making the Move

“I’m very excited to develop heartwarming family and faith-filled programming and make the kind of stories my family and I love to watch,” the Kind is the New Classy author said in an April 2022 statement. “I am constantly looking for ways that I can inspire people to live life with purpose. GAC fits my brand perfectly; we share a vision of creating compelling wholesome content for an audience who wants to watch programming for and with the whole family.”

Credit: Great American Media

Her Production Company’s ‘Mission’

“Candy Rock Entertainment’s mission is to bring to life compelling stories that the entire family can enjoy while feeling a sense of togetherness and connection. I’m so proud of the first of these projects because they are exactly that,” the California native said in a September 2022 press release when announcing her first holiday film for Great American Family. “A Christmas … Present is about slowing down enough to recognize what’s right in front of our eyes. The hustle and bustle of the Christmas season will arrive before we know it but it’s through the quiet moments that we hear God speak to us, directing our path to what’s most important.”

Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock

The Contracts Didn’t Line Up

“The truth is I’ve been under contract with Hallmark for a very, very long time. And those have been absolutely wonderful,” the A Shoe Addict’s Christmas star told Variety in September 2022. “It just so happened that my contract was expiring when Great American Family started up. So we did not start having those discussions until we were well into negotiations with Hallmark Channel for renewing. And as every business person knows, you’ve got to do what’s right for contracts. It didn’t work out with Hallmark and so we started talking to Bill.”

Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock

How Bill Abbott Played a Part in Her Move

“I’m that person that just sits and watches and observes from the sidelines. Bill has just always been a champion. He’s been a champion for others through his whole career and that’s what has made him an incredible president and CEO of a company — because he knows he’s not doing it himself,” Cameron Bure told the outlet in September 2022 of the former Hallmark Channel CEO. “It takes a team and it takes loyalty and it takes people doing their best. And he acknowledges that always, which makes him a great leader. … It’s been an almost 15-year relationship.”

She added: “I trust what Bill has done over the years and that really means a lot to me. That’s also why a move to Great American Family was a good move for me because of the long standing relationship with Bill.”

Credit: David Dolsen/Crown Media

Family-First Themes

“It absolutely is representing family. It’s representing faith, which is a really big component. They are going to move much more forward in the faith content, and having both — still having lots of movies, rom-coms and Christmas movies that don’t involve faith, but also ones that really do,” the Fuller House alum said in September 2022 of Great American Media’s focus. “I think that that’s going to be a big difference in Great American Family channel, as well as patriotic content. I love hearing stories about our veterans, about our servicemen and women, those reunions when they come home. We want to showcase all of that — all of the good that’s going on and we want to tug on those heartstrings.”

Credit: David Astorga/Crown Media

Putting Christianity Back in Christmas Movies

“It basically is a completely different network than when I started because of the change of leadership,” Cameron Bure told WSJ. Magazine in November 2022, when asked about her departure from Hallmark Media.

When it comes to the stories being featured on Great American Media’s channels, she confessed, “I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core.”

The comment came after Abbott’s 2020 exit from Hallmark Media following his choice to cut a same-sex commercial from the network. Hallmark has since begun to feature more diverse couplings and lead characters — but Great American Media has hinted that won’t be its focus moving forward.

“I want to be able to tell that story in a beautiful way, but also that is not off-putting to the unbeliever or someone who shares a different faith,” the former child star added.

Credit: Ricardo Hubbs/Crown Media

Switching It Up

Cameron Bure told the magazine in November 2022 that she was ready to make movies that didn’t include the stereotypical rom-com tropes such as cocoa dates and snowball fights that lead to forever love.

“My own kids have said, ‘Mom, are you leaving the big city and going to the farm, meeting the love of your life?’” she quipped, noting that she will still make rom-coms for Great American Media in the future. “Those are all fun things that we love, but we see over and over and over.”

Credit: Rachpoot/MEGA TheMegaAgency.com

Controversial Stance

Cameron Bure responded in November 2022 to claims that she’s a “bigot” after she told WSJ. Magazine that Great American Media would focus on “traditional marriage” story lines.

“It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think I intentionally would want to offend and hurt anyone,” she wrote in a lengthy social media statement. “It saddens me that the media is often seeking to divide us, even around a subject as comforting and merry as Christmas movies. But, given the toxic climate in our culture right now, I shouldn’t be surprised. We need Christmas more than ever.”

The former View cohost also clarified why she chose to move to Great American Media, implying that her original interview comments were taken out of context.

“I have long wanted to find a home for more faith-based programming. I am grateful to be an integral part of a young and growing network. I had also expressed in my interview, which was not included, that people of all ethnicities and identities have and will continue to contribute to the network in great ways both in front of and behind the camera, which I encourage and fully support,” she claimed. “I’ve never been interested in proselytizing through my storytelling, but in celebrating God’s greatness in our lives through the stories I tell.”