The Chaste Sexiness and Fantasy of Hallmark Holiday Rom-Coms

Death, Sex & Money

Slate Audio

Careers, Health & Fitness, Sexuality, Relationships, Society & Culture, Business

4.6 • 7.6K Ratings

🗓️ 23 December 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When screenwriter Russell Hainline first moved to L.A., his goal was to write high-budget monster movies and thrillers. Then one day, he was prompted to write a Hallmark holiday rom-com, and something clicked. In this special holiday episode, Russell talks about his breakout Netflix hit Hot Frosty and how he found his groove writing movies for the Hallmark Channel. He also gets to the heart of why people connect to these movies and explains how he’s able to convey steamy sexual tension between chaste TV movie characters. This episode was produced by Cameron Drews. Death, Sex & Money is now produced by Slate! To support us and our colleagues, please sign up for our membership program, Slate Plus! Members get ad-free podcasts, bonus content on lots of Slate shows, and full access to all the articles on Slate.com. Sign up today at slate.com/dsmplus. Use the promo code DSM50 for half off through the end of the year! And if you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our new email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques is [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode, I hope, will feel like a big, chunky quilt that you can wrap yourself up in,
0:08.4	or maybe just pull up over your head and hide underneath. It is a celebration of that most
0:14.6	comforting of holiday season rituals crawling up on the couch and watching a Christmas movie with a pile of loved ones.
0:23.5	Today, I talk with a screenwriter who's behind some new classics from both the Hallmark
0:29.8	Channel and Netflix, including a big hit that premiered last year called Hot Frosty.
0:36.4	This is the movie where a snowman comes to life and takes the form of an actual man, a very muscular and at first very naked man.
0:46.3	Hi. Hi. Hi. It's you. Look. Look. Look what happened. What happened to me?
0:53.3	Sorry, what happened?
0:54.9	Well, I was made of snow, and now I'm made of not snow.
1:01.6	Can you believe it?
1:03.0	No, I really, uh, really can't believe that. Um, aren't you cold? You look very cold.
1:09.6	No, I'm not cold. I feel good.
1:15.1	Hot Frosty came out of the mind, a 40-year-old Russell Hain line, a screenwriter who started his
1:22.2	Hollywood career, thinking he would make big budget sci-fi or gory monster movies.
1:29.8	Cheery holiday fair was a pivot.
1:36.2	But the way he talks about these films, I think, will make you appreciate what they give us.
1:42.1	Comfort, fantasy, escape, and a reaffirmation of what's most important.
1:47.1	Speaking of a reaffirmation, after my conversation with Russell, before the end of this episode, we're going to spend some time thinking of our
1:51.7	own individual creativity and how to nurture it as we start a new year. You'll hear some of my
1:58.4	conversation with artist Sharon Mishie, who has an entertaining and
2:02.4	quite useful new audio project called 30 Days to Rediscover Your Creativity. You can hear our
2:09.8	whole conversation in the Slate Plus feed, and Slate Plus members, I want to challenge you to
	...

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