How TV holiday rom-coms got so successful (Encore)
The Indicator from Planet Money
NPR
4.7 • 9.5K Ratings
🗓️ 24 December 2024
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This piece originally aired October 21, 2024.
Related episodes:
Love Week series page
TV holiday rom coms and the alpaca bubble that burst (PM+ only)
Special thanks to Grant-Lee Phillips for our Love Week theme song and Kaitlin Brito for episode artwork.
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Happy holidays from The Indicator. |
| 0:02.4 | For the next week, we are running some of our favorite shows from this year. |
| 0:06.2 | Today's episode is about how the heartwarming holiday rom-com became a staple of TV and streaming platforms. |
| 0:13.5 | NPR. |
| 0:27.5 | Music Ah, do you feel that, Adrian? |
| 0:30.9 | That nip in the air, the crispness of the fall leaves? |
| 0:34.0 | I can smell the pumpkin spice. |
| 0:37.7 | For me, fall is the most romantic season. |
| 0:38.5 | That's right. |
| 0:41.1 | This is the indicator from Planet Money. |
| 0:42.3 | I'm Adrienne Ma. |
| 0:43.4 | And I'm Waylon Wong. |
| 0:48.1 | Today on Love Week, we're unwrapping the Made for TV holiday rom-com and how television executives figured out how to mass-produce seasonal romance. |
| 0:53.0 | That's after our theme song. |
| 0:55.2 | We have a theme song? |
| 0:56.5 | Yes, it's by Grant Lee Phillips, who was the town busker on Gilmore Girls, the TV show. |
| 1:03.2 | How about a little romance? |
| 1:07.0 | Watch a rum come holding hands. |
| 1:10.4 | A provocative plot |
| 1:13.4 | Open the window because the market's hard |
| 1:17.6 | It's steamy in this place |
| 1:20.9 | I might have to change to something comfortable |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

