Hallmark Christmas Movies, Holiday Touchdown and the Power of Positivity
Chances are, even if you won’t admit it, you’ve seen a Hallmark Christmas movie.
Now celebrating the 15th year of “Countdown to Christmas!,” a period of programming that begins in October and runs all the way to the end of the year, Hallmark movies have permeated our pop-culture. Perhaps no greater example of this occurred this past January when the Kanas City Chiefs released “Falling for Football,” a commercial that set a Hallmark-like romance (starring Tyler Hynes and Janel Parrish) against the backdrop of NFL playoff season instead of the Christmas season.
“Our playoffs campaign was basically celebrating that, for Chiefs’ fans, playoffs are the best holiday of the year,” Lara Krug, VP and Chief Marketing Officer, Kansas City Chiefs told TV critics over the summer. “We wanted to give a nod to this being like kids waking up on Christmas morning for the playoff season.”
That homage led to Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story, the crown jewel among the 40 new films Hallmark is debuting this season. Premiering the weekend following Thanksgiving on Hallmark (and also streaming on the brand new Hallmark+), the movie follows Alana (Hunter King), who comes from a long line of devoted and a little bit superstitious Kansas City Chief fans. She meets Derrick (Tyler Hynes), the Chiefs new Director of Fan Engagement, who is charged with awarding this year’s Fan of the Year Award. Sparks fly between the two, to the delight of Alana’s parents and grandparents. But along the way Alana loses her grandfather’s (Ed Begley Jr.) cherished Chiefs winter hat, which the entire family believes brings the team good luck, and begins to doubt her relationship with Derrick. There’s a predictable comfort to the Hallmark movie formula and it’s not a spoiler to tell you it all works out in the end and Alana and Derrick fall in love.
“Everyone knows how it’s going to end. My job is to make sure it’s done in a way that you haven’t seen yet,” says Julie Sherman Wolfe, the writer of Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. “I always wanted to do something about the way football fans are superstitious and have a lot of faith in their team and their fellow fans. All that stuff really blends really well with Christmas.”
And of course, there’s room for plenty of cross-promotion. Holiday Touchdown features cameos from Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid, players Trey Smith, Mecole Hardman Jr., Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and George Karlaftis as well as Travis and Jason’s mom Donna Kelce. The movie even got to film scenes at Arrowhead Stadium. “Getting to actually be on the field and force Tyler to throw a football with me, I was living out my quarterback dreams. It was a pinch me moment for sure,” says King, who grew up a Peyton Manning fan.
The movie is, obviously, capitalizing on the headlining romance between music icon Taylor Swift and Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce, and King, who attended the Eras tour at Arrowhead Stadium, does at times bear a resemblance to the global superstar. But it’s also about capitalizing on two big franchises and that center circle of the Venn diagram that embraces both NFL and Hallmark holiday fluff. Fans received a Hallmark Channel themed Chiefs pennant when they attended the Nov. 29 game against the Las Vegas Raiders. There’s also merchandising tie-in, including your opportunity to buy the hat that plays a central role in the film. “The Kansas City Chiefs partnership feels super fresh and of the moment,” says Lisa Hamilton Daly, Executive Vice President, Programming, Hallmark Media. “They’re sort of in the zeitgeist and we have moved sort of into the zeitgeist too.”
Everyone involved also seems genuinely happy to be a part of the greater Hallmark Christmas universe. “I think we are in pursuit of what we preach, which is an authenticity and a sincerity,” said Hynes, who has starred in more than 15 Hallmark movies. “Things aren’t easy. It’s hard to make movies. It’s hard to run a company. But we are trying to do something pure and have engagement with the people who watch them. The biggest reason I make these movies and continue to make them is because of the reaction of the people who are watching them.”
For Daly, it’s about living the value of the Hallmark brand in real life. “It’s creating working environments that are positive, that are non discriminatory and with people who are polite and respectful of each other,” she says. “That’s not always what happens in the entertainment business. We are really rigorous about maintaining that brand value across every part of our company, including the working environment.”
There’s an earnestness to these movies that encourages viewers to leave their sarcasm and bitterness behind. “It’s unapologetically joyful and I think that’s the key. There’s really no cynicism,” Wolfe says. “Especially during COVID, I was very proud that it was a bright spot for people.”
King says part of the magic for viewers is knowing what you are going to get from watching a Hallmark movie. “They created this beautiful template,” she says. “They know what the audience wants and they stick to it. But then they still do unique and different things with each of their movies. You’re never going to get the exact same thing twice. So although you know what you are getting, it’s never boring. There’s a beautiful, happy ending and a very sweet journey along the way.”
The movies also come at a time when the world is getting increasingly uncertain. “We are in a bit of a dark time in the world so I think positivity, love, joy, all of the kind of grand values [Hallmark] espouses are something people want right now,” Daly says. “The world that was kind of created by The Sopranos and HBO starting in the 2000s is a little bit over culturally I feel like.”
Amy Amatangelo, the TV Gal®, is a Boston-based freelance writer and a member of the Television Critics Association. She wasn’t allowed to watch much TV as a child and now her parents have to live with this as her career. You can follow her on Twitter (@AmyTVGal).