Hallmark Teams Up With Kansas City Chiefs for ‘Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story’
Christmas is officially coming early with the help of Hallmark and the Kansas City Chiefs, who have teamed up to create the ultimate football rom-com.
Hallmark announced on Tuesday, June 25, that Tyler Hynes and Hunter King will be starring in an upcoming “Countdown to Christmas” movie called Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.
In the movie, King, 30, plays Alana Higman, who is “sure that her family’s lifelong history as a Kansas City Chiefs superfans makes them a frontrunner to win the team’s ‘Fan of the Year’ contest,” according to the press release.
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Hynes, 38, plays Derrick, the director of fan engagement who is “tasked with evaluating how Alana and her family stack up against the other two finalists.” The synopsis teases, “As the pair spends time together, it’s clear there’s a spark between them, 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.”
While the movie doesn’t completely mimic Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s real-life romance — which has captivated music lovers and football fans since fall 2023 — there might be some nods to their relationship in the title and in the press release.
Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story seemingly pays homage to Swift’s hit song “Love Story,” which depicts a twist on the Romeo and Juliet romance. When Kelce, 34, won Super Bowl 2024 with the Chiefs in February, he was spotted kissing Swift, also 34, and singing along to the track at an afterparty in Las Vegas.
Hallmark’s Chief Brand Officer Darren Abbott also dropped a possible Easter egg about Kelce and Swift’s romance in his statement about the movie.
“With Hallmark and the Kansas City Chiefs both homegrown, rooted in values, tradition and community, there is a special alchemy between these two iconic organizations,” Abbott said on Tuesday.
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Devoted Swifties are familiar with her song “The Alchemy” from her latest record, The Tortured Poets Department, in which she details her spark with Kelce — and even references his football celebrations. “Shirts off, and your friends lift you up over their heads / Beer sticking to the floor / Cheers chanted, cause they said / There was no chance, trying to be / The greatest in the league / Where's the trophy? / He just comes running over to me,” Swift sings on the track.
Abbott, meanwhile, continued to gush about Hallmark’s connection with the NFL, which began ahead of the Super Bowl in January.
“By blending the warmth of Hallmark storytelling with the excitement of professional football, we are thrilled to give audiences a front-row seat to this community's spirit, rich traditions and passionate fans that define Kansas City, all wrapped up in the comforting and uplifting Hallmark way,” he concluded his statement.
Chiefs President Mark Donovan is equally as excited about the upcoming movie, sharing his own statement of support on Tuesday.
“We are honored to partner with Hallmark on a project as unique as this,” Donovan explained. “As a club, we pride ourselves on exploring new ways to grow our brand, as well as connect with new audiences. This partnership unites two passionate fanbases and gives us an opportunity to show Chiefs Kingdom’s energy and tradition on one of the most-watched channels during the holiday season.”
While this is the first NFL team to partner with Hallmark for a movie, the Chiefs previously made a teaser trailer that felt like a real rom-com.
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In January, Hynes and Janel Parrish starred in a spoof romance trailer for a fictional movie called Falling for Football. It was a marketing video that was meant to get fans following along with the postseason coverage as the Chiefs started their journey to Super Bowl LVIII.
“‘Tis the postseason, and it ain’t a holiday without a little made-for-TV movie magic,” the NFL team captioned a poster for the fake film at the time.
Thanks to the Chiefs, the NFL and Skydance Sports, Hallmark will be releasing Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story on TV later this year. Production for the project begins in July and will be shot entirely in Kansas City, Missouri, including scenes at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
The premiere date for the film, however, has yet to be announced.
