Hallmark Fans Are Furious Over The Alleged Use Of AI In New Christmas Movie

Between the bright, festive sets and cheesy, heartwarming plots, Hallmark does Christmas better than most other networks, which is why its movies are the perfect bridge into the holiday season. The best part is that fans don't even have to wait until December to see the network's holiday offerings, as Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas kicked off on October 16, 2026. Unfortunately, one of the network's new Christmas movies, "Adopting St. Nick," has left fans feeling less than jolly — and it's all because of purported AI usage.

First, though, the plot. "Adopting St. Nick" tells the story of Maren (Amy Groening), a single mother raising Leah (Taylor Blake), her adopted daughter, while running her late father's hardware store. When Christmas rolls around, Leah signs up to be a Christmas Companion at a retirement community, and she ends up paired with a man named Kris (Randy Apostle), who looks like (and could be) Santa Claus. There's also a romantic thread between Maren and Reid (Michael Rady), the community center's Director of Community Launch and Operations. He travels a lot for work, which complicates things until a timely dose of Christmas magic helps to settle matters for the starry-eyed mains.

On the surface, "Adopting St. Nick" is standard Christmas fare for Hallmark, but some fans haven't been able to buy into the magic because of supposed AI usage.

Hallmark fans are a passionate bunch, and they're just as vocal about the things they dislike as they are about those they like. In the HallmarkMovies subreddit, one user posted a thread titled "AI in Adopting St. Nick." In the description, they wrote: "The movie literally just started and all I could see was AI slop on the props. Is that really what it's come to, Hallmark? It was so distracting that I ended up turning off the movie. Did anyone else notice this?"

The post was full of comments from other users who agreed that the Christmas movie — particularly various graphics — looked like it was heavily aided by artificial intelligence. One user commented, "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 haha." Another wrote, "Yes!! It was so distracting that I had to stop watching. I was really looking forward to this one. So disappointing!" Another user commented: "I literally ran here to say the exact same thing!!! It was so unnecessary and distracting ! Every single poster and note."

Apparently, "Adopting St. Nick" isn't the first Hallmark movie to draw this kind of response from the channel's impassioned viewers, as several other users complained about noticing AI in other projects. But whether or not Hallmark actually used AI during the production, it's clear that even the possibility of AI usage is a topic that will continue to ruffle feathers for some time.

TVLine has reached out to Hallmark for comment.