A few years ago, using AI to help you write an essay could get you kicked out of college. But now, the use of artificial intelligence is everywhere. You can’t go online without getting blasted in the face with AI content, especially from restaurants promoting their food. The technology is slowly becoming acceptable in movies. The View host Sunny Hostin sold her likeness to an AI company in her quest to get her books turned into movies. The Hallmark Channel is under fire from viewers for allegedly using AI in their beloved Countdown To Christmas movies. Keep reading for all the details.
Over 30 New Countdown To Christmas Movies For 2026 Season
Who doesn’t love curling up under a blanket and watching a movie once the weather turns cold? The Hallmark Channel made Christmas movies an annual tradition in 2009 with the premiere of its Countdown To Christmas event.
The network aired four original movies during the first year. The event keeps growing. The 2026 schedule includes 34 original Christmas movies. Countdown To Christmas kicked off on October 16 and wraps up on December 20. New movies premiere every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. How do they produce so many movies in such a short amount of time?
Angry fans are convinced that the Hallmark Channel relied on AI for at least one of this year’s holiday movies.
Hallmark Blasted For Alleged AI Use
Forget Halloween. Adopting St. Nick premiered on Hallmark on October 31, 2026. The movie stars Amy Groening as a single mother taking over her late father’s hardware store. Michael Rady plays her love interest, Reid. The movie follows the traditional Hallmark Christmas movie outline. A girl, a boy, and a small town.
However, viewers immediately noticed something odd in the background scenes. They accused Hallmark of using AI for the props, including store signs. AI has become an increasingly common tool for filmmakers. Oscar-winning actor Ben Affleck recently admitted to using AI for “lots of things” in Animals, the movie he co-wrote, directed and starred in for Netflix.
He didn’t face nearly as much backlash as Gal Gadot did for starring in the upcoming Bitcoin movie, which uses AI for design, sets, and lights. Hallmark fans took to Reddit to blast the network for allegedly using AI in Adopting St. Nick.
- “Slop is slop, AI or other. And yeah it’s bad in Adopting St. Nick.”
- “I enjoyed the story, but the amount of AI slop was disturbing.”
- “Yes, we noticed it too and found it off-putting.”
- “I’d rather have fewer quality movies than the multiple crap movies you’re putting out.”
- “I notice many of the store signs are made by AI when they are walking around gallivanting instead of finishing that big project so she can get the marketing VP job”
- “Not the first time Hallmark has used AI for decoration, unfortunately. Makes me not want to watch their channel.”
Hallmark has yet to address claims that it uses AI in its movies. However, viewers have made similar allegations in the past. Tell us your thoughts about AI in movies.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger