Great American Family has its finger on the pulse of what fans are looking for this holiday season, and that’s an adaptation of a great American literary classic. According to Variety, the family-focused network will adapt its own version of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. 2024 is the fourth year that Great American Family serves up a Christmas-specific line-up. The channel will release 16 different films this season, starting October 16. Among some of the titles include Candace Cameron Bure’s A Christmas Less Traveled, A Cinderella Christmas Ball starring Danica McKellar, and the aforementioned Little Women adaptation. For anyone wondering how the book slates into this release of films, Great American Media president Bill Abbott explained the importance of the season to the network, saying:
“Christmas is a time to reflect on what matters most. As a brand, Great American differentiates its Christmas offering by remembering the nostalgia of the Christmas classics and why we love them. The timelessness of stories that affirm our faith, the love and joy of being present with family and all those we love, and the hope that the season transcends us all into our best selves. These values are the heart of Great American Christmas, Christmas as its meant to be.”
Little Women isn’t solely a holiday film, but its themes of family and some Christmas scenes make it ripe for the festive season.
‘Little Women’ Is Christmas-Coded
Little Women is a Christmas movie in the same way that Harry Potter is. Christmas trimmings may be sparse, but these films are about family and friendship on a granular level. Alcott’s book follows the four March sisters of varying ages who must contend with growing up in one of the bloodiest eras in American history. Because their father is fighting in the Civil War, they are raised almost exclusively by their mother, Marmee, and realize that they have to grow up quickly. Life, love, and grief are all central to the story, which has been adapted many times in the past.
The first version came in the form of the 1933 film, but later iterations are perhaps the most remembered. In 1994, Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, and Kirsten Dunst took on roles in the Little Women film, which is incidentally getting a new 4K release close to the holidays in 2024. The most recent version was Greta Gerwig’s 2019 film, starring Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh as Jo and Amy, respectively. The stacked cast supported the main concern of the film, which was accepting each sister as a distinct person and loving them despite — and sometimes because of — their faults. Great American Media will follow up on this trend in what has been dubbed “A Little Women’s Christmas.”
This feature will be a modern retelling of the original story and certainly feature the titular holiday. Fans can catch this adaptation on November 23, 8 PM EST on the Great American Family Channel.
via Collider