Exclusive Interview

Kicking Off ‘Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story’: On Set With Holland Roden & Matthew Daddario

It is late May, weeks before the Buffalo Bills start summer training, but the tunnel under Highmark Stadium is packed with people and cameras. The Hallmark movie Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story is in its second day of production and filming at the historic stadium with the full cast, including stars Holland Roden and Matthew Daddario. The day is made extra special by the appearance of Bills Hall of Fame former quarterback Jim Kelly, who is here filming his cameo appearance in the holiday film. There’s no actual football being played on the field, but the air is electric with the excitement around the project.

“I feel like I’m in a cinematic parade,” Roden confesses to Swooon, who was on set for the early days of film. A Bills Love Story is the second film in the Holiday Touchdown series, following Hallmark’s historic collaboration with the NFL in 2024, Holiday: Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. The partnership and reception of the film went so well that it was a natural move to head to the northeast to make a Christmas movie about the Chiefs’ AFC rivals.

“I thought it was genius when Hallmark and the Chiefs collaborated last year. I’m truly honored to be part of the Buffalo Bills and Hallmark crossover,” Roden continues. “No one is more devoted than the Bills fanbase. The fact that I even get to be a small part of that is really unique. I’ll probably never have this happen again in my career.”

This new movie centers on Roden’s character, Morgan Quinn, who moves back to her hometown of Buffalo to be a pediatrician after finishing medical school. Being home means reuniting with her family and her childhood best friend, Gabe DeLuca (Daddario), and of course, rooting for the Bills on game days.

“Their parents still live next door to each other,” the actress says of Morgan and Gabe. “They do joint Christmas decorations every year. Joanne and Kathy are the moms. We start off as family friends. He’s now building the new stadium. I’ve just graduated from medical school, and I’m a pediatrician at the children’s hospital. We have a little mission that we want to accomplish during Christmas for my uncle.”

Brian Roedel / Hallmark Media

“They’ve been best friends their whole life,” adds Daddario during his break from filming. He teased a slow burn between Morgan and Gabe as they get to know each other again after Morgan’s return to the city. “It’s difficult sometimes to realize the love you might have for somebody if you’ve always thought about them one way. You don’t realize how perfect that person is for you. You don’t take action on it. You start to obsess over how you don’t want to upset her…It’s all about him trying to get over that and make that move, do that thing.”

This marks Daddario’s first Hallmark film, and he is visibly excited to be a part of the project. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect, really. I can tell you that this is an incredibly professional crew and an incredibly skilled group of people,” Daddario praises. “They know what they’re doing. The timing of everything is fantastic. It’s a well-oiled machine. There’s a lot of creative activity going on, and everyone’s nice. This is a very pleasant experience. I recommend everyone do a Hallmark movie. It’s incredible.”

Daddario has the benefit of at least being from the same state as the team. He grew up in New York City, supporting the New York Giants. So channeling a Bills fan isn’t much of a stretch. Roden is coming to the movie after growing up as a Cowboys fan in Texas, but she is embracing the Bills culture with ease.

“I knew the Buffalo Bills had gone to the Super Bowl several times, but I wasn’t personally familiar with the brand. Now I feel like I’m part of the brand,” she explains. “[The team] is the heart of a relatively small city, with such a big, loud, national fan base represented in the NFL. They’re one of the warmest and rowdiest football fanbases out there.”

David Scott Holloway / Hallmark

Daddario agrees that Bills Mafia had given him and the rest of the film crew a warm welcome, which is something he channeled into playing Gabe. “I feel like sometimes maybe that I might come off as having a little bit of a hard edge sometimes,” he admits. “Gabe is the sweetest, sweetest dude of all time. He’s just a really nice guy from Buffalo. Buffalo people are all nice in the right places. They’re hard in the right places. It’s not like where I grew up, where it’s hard all the time. In Buffalo, it’s much sweeter.”

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Of course, Daddario is also excited to share scenes with Bills players. Along with Kelly, current Bills players Dawson Knox, Dion Dawkins, Damar Hamlin, DeWayne Carter, and Ray Davis, and head coach Sean McDermott also make appearances in the movie. The actor is seizing the opportunity to be around people who will help him improve his skills on the field. Or maybe he has a thing or two to teach them?

“I’m just really happy to have some people who are my football level, you know? It’s really nice to have people who are as talented as I am on the field,” he says in jest. “It feels really great to finally be amongst my own people, and not dwarfed by my talent and enormous size. This is really thrilling for me.”

It’s early in filming, but Daddario already knows that this movie is going to be a special treat for football and Hallmark fans alike. “When Hallmark comes and offers you a chance to do something with the NFL and the Buffalo Bills, and you’ve got a good script, great actors involved, this was not a hard decision,” he tells Swooon. “With the Bills and Hallmark, you always have a happy ending.”

But will Morgan and Gabe get theirs? You can find out by tuning in to Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story. 

Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story, Movie Premiere, November 20, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel