Off Shore Muse

HOLIDAY TOUCHDOWN: A BILLS LOVE STORY

The Hallmark movie set in Buffalo is "Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story" which will premiere on the Hallmark Channel on Saturday November 22, 2025. It was filmed in several Western New York locations including Highmark Stadium, Main Street in the village of East Aurora with locations at Vidler's 5 & 10 , Elm Street Bakery and Bar Bill Tavern. The movie will also recreate an East Aurora holiday tradition: the Carolcade.

The movie features Buffalo Bills players Damar Hamlin, Dion Dawkins, Dawson Knox, Hall of Famer Quarterback Jim Kelly and Head Coach Sean McDermott in cameo roles. The film also features other notable Bills figures Steve Tasker and Thurman Thomas.

Holland Roden and Matthew Daddario star as the leads.

The Plot

The movie follows two lifelong friends who are passionate about the Buffalo Bills and their traditions about the team. It includes a "spirited hunt for a myterious Secret Santa" and highlights Western New York pride. The Quinns and DeLucas have lived next door to each other for decades in the shadow of Highmark Stadium, the home of their beloved Buffalo Bills. With their longtime friendship rooted in being proud members of Bills Mafia, the two clans have enjoyed cherished traditions that revolve around cheering for their favorite team especially during the holidays when they celebrate the last home game before Christmas. Pediatric doctor Morgan Quinn (Roden) and the Bills' VP of Stadium Development Gabe DeLuca (Daddario) have always been close friends, but Gabe has always held a torch for her, a fact obvious to their familes and everyone else who crosses their path. When Morgan learns from her Uncle Tommy that someone anonymously helped her family get by after he was drafted more than 60 years ago and that he continues to receive a Christmas gift each year to this day she decides to find his benefactor and give her Uncle Tommy a Christmas he'll always remember. Aided by Bills Mafia friends of theirs, Morgan and Gabe work together to unwrap the gifter's identity. Along the way, Gabe's love for Morgan deepens and in turn, she begins to see him in a new light though neither are daring enough to admit their feelings. Meanwhile, Morgan's hopes of pulling off her surprise for Uncle Tommy get sacked. That is, until Gabe takes matters into his own hands and uses his connections with the Bills to pull off the surprise of a lifetime for Morgan and both families that will make this a Christmas they'll never forget.

An interesting sidenote from Don Vidler, co-owner of Vidler's 5 & 10 is that in the movie they are calling the town .. East Aurora, they are calling Vidler's by its real name, the same with Elm Street Bakery and with the Bar Bill Tavern so the town won't be a fictional town standing in for a village in Vermont. Vidler thinks East Aurora will get a lot of exposure.

Though holiday movies have been filmed in East Aurora in previous years, this movie is the first Hallmark movie to premiere at the Aurora Theatre (invitation only) in East Aurora. Congratulations to the village and all who live there!

Its huge for East Aurora,, but it's also big for Western New York. The Buffalo Bills are such a part of this community and Hallmark is becoming such a big part of this community that it's a match made in heaven. It will garner lots and lots of worldwide attention not just national, but around the globe.

Tim Clark, Buffalo Niagara Film Commissioner