Hallmark Channel included a kiss between two women in the final episode of the series Good Witch, which aired July 25.
In the episode, titled The Wedding, the characters Joy (played by Kat Barrell) and Zoey (played Kyana Teresa) shared a kiss after dancing together at a wedding.
Actress Kyana Teresa posted on Twitter with the message, “If you’re not making history, you’re not doing it right.”
The finale wrapped up several storylines for the show. The Merriwick women were able to make an amulet to protect themselves from the red-haloed moon and keep their powers.
Cassie and Sam, who had been fighting for most of the season, reconciled. Sam said he wanted to take a year off from his job so he and Cassie could travel the world. They left George and Joy in charge of Grey House.
After deciding to elope, Abigail and Donovan planned a trip to Tuscany. But they decided that they weren’t dedicated enough to make a marriage work, and instead ended their engagement. Abigail headed off to Tuscany alone.
Adam and Stephanie decided last minute to get married. Adam also said he planned on taking six months off so he could travel with Stephanie to Paris, where she will take a course at a famous cooking school.
Joy and Zoey had their relationship tested when Joy’s ex-girlfriend Charlotte came to town. Over coffee, Charlotte said she wanted Joy back. But Joy made it clear that she wanted to be with Zoey, and the two kissed when Zoey showed Joy that she had learned to salsa dance because she knew how much Joy liked to dance.
Live Tweets during The Good Witch finale
Throughout the episode, the show’s stars Tweeted and interacted with fans, many of whom were devastated that the show was ending. One fan shared the following post to Twitter:
“My queer daughter came in just as this kiss happened.
Daughter: Aw … so glad to see that!
Me: Hallmark canceled the show.
Daughter: Of course they did.”
Hallmark Channel shared a post with a still shot of the kiss, along with the caption, “Joy and Zoey have found their happily ever after! Goodies, how overjoyed are you to see them happy?”
Though it wasn’t the first time a same-sex kiss was shown on the network, it was the first same-sex kiss shared by two characters on one of its programs.
In 2019, the network received complaints after airing an ad for the wedding registry site Zola that showed two women kissing. The network pulled the ad, only to face criticism from LGBTQ advocates, including Ellen DeGeneres.
Crown Media put the ad back on the air and released a statement, “The Crown Media team has been agonizing over this decision as we’ve seen the hurt it has unintentionally caused. Said simply, they believe this was the wrong decision. We are truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused.”
Goodies say good-bye
Many fans on social media expressed disappointment that the show was ending.
“We really need this show to continue,” one fan wrote on Twitter. “It makes you forget what’s happening outside your door.”
