Have you been excited for Hallmark’s upcoming movies slate? Would it make you more excited if I told you 2026’s Christmas movies are about to come down the pipeline? OK, what if I told you Hallmark is kicking off with a big bang this year? Behold: The NFL movie I personally have always dreamt about.
We Have One Week Of Fall/Halloween Movies Left
I love fall. I’m a millennial, so I’m not going to sit here and hate on Starbucks promoting pumpkin spice lattes, sitting outside watching leaves fall, and all the plaid tops I can possibly get my hands on. I’m also not going to hate on fall Hallmark movies, and the network does have one more of these coming down the pipeline on October 10. It’s called The Spirit of Halloween, and it’s got Meghan Ory and When Calls The Heart’s Kevin McGarry getting up to spooky season romantic hijinks.
I know Halloween isn't for a few weeks after that, but Hallmark is ready and rearing to get its most popular season off the ground, and starting the weekend of October 16-18th the network will do just that.
Which brings me to Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story with regulars Lyndsey Fonseca and Robert Buckley starring. Both are actually from California, not the midwest, but I won’t hold it against them. (That much.)
Da Bears Are Getting Their Own Hallmark Movie
Listen, I know some of ya’ll want those Halloween romances to roll all the way until October 31st, and I don’t necessarily disagree. But I do like the idea of seeing the NFL holiday movie be the one to really kick off the Christmas season with that prime slot on Saturday, October 17th. We've known for a while The Bears would be getting their own movie (as fans were all making the same joke), and to see it be in Hallmark's starting lineup makes me very happy.
Interest in football is at an all-time high right now, and the subject is a great bridge between fall and Christmas as the sport has ties to both Thanksgiving and the holiday season. The Bears have also been playing relatively well, and are 3-1 at the time of this writing despite quarterback Caleb Williams being out. It’s a feat, and it’s nice to see The Bears being highlighted in a time when the team is really starting to figure things out.
Even if you don’t care a lick about football, I would argue the NFL collaborations on Hallmark have been awesome. I don’t care about The Bills outside of Josh Allen’s sweet romance with Hailee Steinfeld, and I still thought Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story was one of last year’s best. Plus, I live in St. Louis, so I would have been biased to like the Chiefs movie anyway, but tying Hallmark favorite Tyler Hynes and Hunter King together was truly delightful. The Bears flick will doubtless be bringing the same vibes.
Anyway, I love spooky season, but this all is basically just a PSA to remind you Hallmark starts the holidays in October and will roll all the way up to December 20th when Save the Date for Christmas with Jonathan Bennett and Italia Ricci airs. Technically week 1 will also feature Friday's Amanda Schull-led Tis the Season for Setups and Sunday's Mr and Mrs. Christmas with Brendan Penny and Pascale Hutton, as well. So I encourage you to make a plan to stay home with some hot chocolate, as it should be one for the books.
