More often than not, the plots are a variation of "woman in the big city gives up her job, leaves her (admittedly bougie and shitty) boyfriend, and moves back to the small town she grew up in where she hooks up with her old boyfriend who, in spite of his working class salt-of-the-earth appearance, has money."
I’m no Hallmark apologist, but there is actually a lot to be said for the common theme of “downshifting” by leaving an unbalanced career to a more sustainable, less materialistic life.
That's called chilling the fuck out while being rich enough to afford it.
It’s palingenetic wish fulfillment, or in other words, fascist porn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palingenesis#Politics_and_history
I don't think fascists have the monopoly on enjoying the concept of rebirth, in fairness.
I don't think that's less materialistic. If "downshifting" works out, it's because they went from doing something idealistic -- what they think they ought to be doing -- to a lifestyle that actually meets their material needs, healthy relationships, belonging to something worthwhile, minimizing stress. Capitalist ideology encourages us to be hyperindividualist strivers and then people get burnt out from stress and the ultimate emptiness and alienation of it.