Hallmark Channel is leaning on its Kansas City roots — and the world-famous romance between music star Taylor Swift and football player Travis Kelce — to score points during its lucrative Christmas TV movie season.
For more than a decade, viewers have embraced the cable channel's “Countdown to Christmas”-themed programming: dozens of low-cost movies that begin premiering in mid-October and play virtually 24 hours a day. On Saturday, Hallmark ramps up its programming with “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story,” one of two cable TV movies debuting this season that were inspired by Swift and Kelce’s relationship.
In the Hallmark Channel movie, Hunter King plays a young woman trying to help her family win the Kansas City Chiefs “Fan of the Year” contest. He meets a team official, played by Tyler Hynes, who is responsible for evaluating the contestants. Following Hallmark's script, the two soon experience warm and fuzzy feelings.
“Holiday Touchdown” is a partnership between Hallmark and the Kansas City Chiefs, so the film also explores the real-life phenomenon of multigenerational relationships united by a shared love of the Chiefs.
The film was filmed last summer in the Kansas City area, including Arrowhead Stadium's GEHA Field.
Hallmark, the card company, has long called Kansas City home.
“We are extremely grateful for the entire Hallmark team and the unique partnership that has been created around our two brands and this film,” Mark Donovan, president of the Kansas City Chiefs, said in a September statement announcing the association.
Hallmark Media, which operates its television portfolio, is headquartered in Studio City.
The film is dressed in red and gold and includes cameos from Chiefs players and head coach Andy Reid. There is also a small role for Donna Kelce, the footballer's mother, who has also become a celebrity. On Friday, she was photographed alongside Swift as the pair headed to Arrowhead Stadium to watch the dominant NFL team beat the Las Vegas Raiders.
The film also stars Jenna Bush Hager, Diedrich Bader, Megyn Price, Richard Riehle, Christine Ebersole and Richard Christy.
Made-for-TV Christmas movies have become one of the industry's most reliable and profitable commodities.
Several networks, including Hallmark and Lifetime, produce dozens of Christmas-themed movies each year to join such beloved films as “National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation,” “Home Alone” and “A Christmas Story” that play in syndication.
Other Christmas-themed Hallmark movies include “A '90s Christmas,” “Sugarplummed,” “Following Yonder Star” and “Happy Howlidays.”
Last week, competitor Lifetime debuted its holiday offering loosely based on the Swift-Kelce romance. “Christmas in the Spotlight” stars Jessica Lord as a pop star who falls in love with a football player played by Laith Wallschleger after they meet backstage at one of his concerts.
