Game plan: How to watch 'Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story'
Here are the details on how to spot local sites, food, people and much more in a Hallmark movie that puts Buffalo in the spotlight.
It’s game time.
“Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story” premieres Saturday on the Hallmark Channel. The greater Buffalo region is a star with scenes shot from downtown through East Aurora and at Highmark Stadium – both of them. The question people around the country may ask is: Where do I get that giant peanut stick? (We know the answer: Paula's Donuts.)
Actor Steve Schirripa appears among thousands of local Bills fans at Highmark Stadium in a scene from "Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story."
David Scott Holloway, Hallmark Media
The story: Though the Bills' name is in the title, this is not about the team winning the big game. It's a Hallmark holiday film from start to finish in a story about family, tradition, community and romance, set against the backdrop of two families of Bills fans. Yes, there is game footage, but it’s mostly in the background on TV. There are beauty shots of the new stadium under construction. For scenes at the current stadium, about 2,500 extras were in the stands on a chilly, wet day in June that had actor Steve Schirripa praising their dedication.
“It was wonderful. It was cold and rainy even though it was June, but thousands of people still came out,” Schirripa (“The Sopranos”) said at the film's East Aurora premiere. "And they turned thousands away."
When it's on: "Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story" premieres at 8 p.m. Nov. 22 on Hallmark and repeats at 10 p.m. Nov. 23; 8 p.m. Nov. 26; 10 p.m. Nov. 29; 8 p.m. Dec. 2; 6 p.m. Dec. 6; 10 p.m. Dec. 10; 2 p.m. Dec. 20; 8 a.m. Dec. 25; and 8 p.m. Dec. 30. It can also be seen on Hallmark+.