Women Producers And Showrunners Shaping Holiday TV Specials in 2025

When it comes to the holiday season, the culture has become centered around traditions such as decorating Christmas trees, creating “Vlogmas” content filled with Christmas fun, and gathering with family to watch holiday movies and specials.

And while all of that is fun, we don’t think about the people who are shaping those stories behind the scenes; especially women. Women, whether they’re showrunners, producers, or writers, are creating a new narrative around what holiday programming looks like for the year 2025. And that new narrative is pushing past nostalgia into holiday specials that intentionally feel more inclusive, purposeful, and reflective.

Best known for her iconic role as Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Melissa Joan Hart has graced our screens with her on-camera roles. However she’s held a producer’s hat after founding Hartbreak Films with her mother, Paula Hart in 1993. They realized that there wasn’t “any real programming that the whole family could watch”, and together they have produced many films and television shows.

Melissa has become a known female force in holiday programming as she’s been producing and directing holiday films the past 10 years. Her latest holiday film “A Merry Little Ex-Mas” is available on Netflix, and stars veteran actress Alicia Silverstone. 

Melissa understands the comfort viewers expect from a holiday movie, but she doesn’t treat nostalgia as the centerpiece for audiences’ entertainment. Instead her approach is to display comfort and warmth, and her films usually are about a woman navigating through real points in her life whether it’s personal or professional during the holiday time. This creative choice allows for one to watch something that honors the holiday tradition but introduces storylines that are more relevant to audiences now.

Melissa shared in a CNN interview that “more [women] need to think of [this] as a career.” Most people are wanting opportunities that cast themselves in the limelight, like an actress or singer. But Hartbreak Films advocates for women to be a part of the creative process in a “big boy culture.” Melissa’s creative space introduces more female writers, producers, department heads, and more with her holiday productions, showing how holiday programming can be familiar yet progressive.

Patricia Cuffie-Jones has quietly become one of the most important voices in Black holiday storytelling. Patrica’s work as a producer and director spans over 20 years. After many “no’s” from Hollywood, she created her own production company for her holiday films. She’s produced more than ten films that stretch across platforms such as BET+, Netflix, and Tubi. Her latest, 2025 holiday film, Christmas by Design is more of her consistency to show how holiday movies can reflect culturally specific traditions while still appealing to a wide audience.

Patricia’s holiday films usually have a wide array of newcomer and veteran actresses such as Jasmine Guy, Romeo Miller, China Anne-McClain, and more. Her films are rooted in navigating family dynamics that leaves audiences to reflect on legacy, while still showcasing humor and love that many Black families can resonate with in their own relationships around the holiday time. Patricia’s approach through the tone, the casting, and narratives are crafted in a holiday genre that reflects in a genuine way how different families celebrate during the holiday times.

Producer Melissa Kurtz has been in Hollywood for years and is known for being behind the scenes of family-friendly films such as Space Jam and Stuart Little. But she’s redefined what holiday programming looks like through animation, with the latest Christmas short film, “Prep and Landing: The Snowball Protocol” available on ABC, Freeform, Disney Channel and Disney+. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas and Frosty the Snowman are the most common animated holiday short films thought about, and those films came out in the 1960s. Animation has been around for a while, but Melissa is using animation to represent the heart of holiday storytelling while keeping it fresh. It’s something that’s built from scratch and expressed through color and movement, and to have characters, storylines, and cultural moments produced through the lens of a woman is powerful for the future of holiday programming.