Get your head in the game because Hallmark Channel has finally released the first look at Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story — and yes, there’s a Taylor Swift nod.
“For the first time ever, Hallmark and the Kansas City Chiefs leave it all on the field,” the network teased in the first trailer, which dropped on Thursday, September 5, previewing the upcoming “Countdown to Christmas” movie.
In the trailer, Tyler Hynes and Hunter King, who play Derrick and Alana, respectively, take in the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium without any fans in sight. The empty venue leaves Alana speechless.
Hunter King and Tyler Hynes Hallmark Media
Elsewhere in the clip, the characters are back at the NFL stadium but this time they are surrounded by thousands of football fans. The pair are fully decked out in Chiefs gear, beanies, lanyards and letterman jackets.
Hallmark Media kicked off 2024 with four fresh Hallmark Channel features — and there’s plenty more where that came from. January’s lineup began with Love on the Right Course, starring Ashley Newbrough. “Learned how to say, ‘cheers’ in Hungarian but definitely didn’t learn how to spell it 🇭🇺❣️,” Newbrough captioned a series of Instagram snaps […]
They adorably take two candy canes with their hands and make a heart. The gesture is reminiscent of Swift, 34, who famously makes hand hearts during every one of her concerts. (Many fans feel that Swift’s love story with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is part of the inspiration for Hallmark to team up with the NFL team on this project.)
Hunter King and Tyler Hynes ; inset: Taylor Swift Phillip Faraone/Getty Images ; Inset: Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images
While Swift doesn’t appear in the trailer — nor is she part of the movie in any way — her boyfriend’s mom, Donna Kelce, makes a cameo. Fans get the first look at Donna’s part in the teaser when she briefly pops up on screen.
Donna is wearing her son Travis’ jersey in the scene and a nameplate that reads, “Donna. Manager,” hinting that she runs one of the Chiefs restaurants in the stadium.
In the final seconds of the trailer, Megyn Price, who plays one of Alana’s relatives, holds up a camera to capture Alana and Derrick in a VIP box. “How ‘bout those …” she says before the couple responds, “Chiefs!” and smile for the camera.
Richard Riehle, Christine Ebersole and Donna Kelce Hallmark Media
Hallmark previously announced that the football-meets-Christmas movie will follow Kansas City Chiefs superfan Alana (King) on her quest to win the team’s “Fan of the Year” contest. Derrick (Hynes) is the director of fan engagement for the team and is tasked with seeing how Alana and her family “stack up against the two other finalists.”
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Hallmark Media Hallmark Channel has been rolling out its 2024 “Countdown to Christmas” lineup since April — and they’re not done yet. Lacey Chabert and Kristoffer Polaha’s The Christmas Quest was announced in April. That same month, Chabert teased that she had “such a wonderful team” on the set. “Thank you […]
“As the pair spends time together, it’s clear there’s a spark between them,” the synopsis reads. “But when her grandfather’s (Ed Begley Jr.) vintage Chiefs, good luck winter hat goes missing, Alana begins to doubt everything she believed about fate, destiny and even questions her future with Derrick — unless, that is, a little Christmas magic can throw a Hail Mary.”
Hynes and King reunited in Kansas City on Thursday to announce their film will premiere on Hallmark Channel Saturday, November 30. The twosome hosted “The World’s Largest Tailgate: Tailgate Games” prior to the Chiefs’ first game of the 2024 season that evening.
The celebration included Hallmark’s “Star Cam,” which is a twist on the “Kiss Cam,” and matches fans in the crowd to their own Hallmark holiday superlatives. For those coming to the Chiefs’ Friday, November 29, home game they can get a Chiefs x Hallmark Channel themed pennant to mark the movie’s premiere that weekend.
Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story premieres on Hallmark Channel Saturday, November 30, at 8 p.m. ET.