Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story premieres Saturday, October 17, at 8 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel during the opening weekend of Countdown to Christmas, and it streams the next day on Hallmark+. Lyndsy Fonseca and Robert Buckley lead this love letter to football, family, and Chicago, but four-time Academy Award nominee Marsha Mason is the heart of the movie as Buckley’s grandmother.
This is the third Holiday Touchdown movie from Hallmark Channel, following A Chiefs Love Story in 2024 and A Bills Love Story in 2025. The series keeps bringing Hallmark fans and NFL fans to the same couch, and A Bears Love Story is no exception. It is the second premiere on Hallmark’s 34-movie Countdown to Christmas schedule, airing the night after ‘Tis the Season for Setups opens the season on Friday.
Marsha Mason Is the Heart of This Movie
Fonseca and Buckley have easy chemistry. As a fan, I think it would be hard for anyone not to want to be around either one of them. They always play down-to-earth, fun-loving characters, and this was no different. As wonderful as they are, Marsha Mason is the shining star of this movie.
As Darlene, Mason will bring tears to your eyes with her humor and with her heart. She has a twinkle in her eye every time she tries to set up her grandson with Avery. Then you see Darlene with her friends and neighbors, and she is selfless and caring. Woven between the caring and the scheming is her love story with her husband and her Bears.
A few lines got to me. “Life is precious. You gotta fill it with as much joy as you can.” “Life rarely goes the way we plan, but it can’t stop you from living.” “The impossible can seem within reach when we have someone in our corner.” And a simple one that stayed with me: “One day at a time.” This is one Hallmark movie that will make you cry. I needed the tissues.
Bears Cameos and Familiar Faces
As in the earlier Holiday Touchdown movies, Santa is back, played by Abraham Benrubi. Barbara Alyn Woods plays Avery’s mom, Jody, and Khary Payton also stars. One Tree Hill fans will recognize both Woods and Buckley from that show. Tamera Mowry-Housley and Marilu Henner make cameo appearances, along with Chicago-area actors Dyon “Mojo” Brooks and Jake Connelly.
Bears fans get plenty to cheer for too. Head coach Ben Johnson, quarterback Caleb Williams and tight ends Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet all appear, along with Bears legends Mike Singletary, Charles “Peanut” Tillman and Dan Hampton. Connie Payton, wife of the late Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, has a cameo, and so does the team’s mascot, Staley Da Bear. The movie was filmed around Chicago this summer, including at Soldier Field and Halas Hall, so Chicagoans will spot plenty of familiar places.
The Team Behind the Movie
Dustin Rikert directed A Bears Love Story. He also directed Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story and was a producer on Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story, and he understands the assignment of telling a love story for the fans. The producing team is top-notch. Andrew Gernhard and Molly M. Mayeux are back as producers after both worked on A Bills Love Story. Jessica Matthews of Skydance Sports and David O’Donnell are executive producers. Hallmark fans are never upset to see David O’Donnell’s name on a project, and this is the first of three Countdown to Christmas movies he is producing this year. The other two are A Grand Biltmore Christmas and Christmas Delivered.
How to Watch Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story
Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story premieres Saturday, October 17, at 8 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. CT on Hallmark Channel. If you miss it, Hallmark Channel airs an encore Sunday, October 18, at 6 p.m. ET, and the movie streams on Hallmark+ starting Sunday.
We will be reviewing every Countdown to Christmas movie this season, all the way to Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True on November 28. Follow along on our Hallmark Channel hub and stay tuned to Fantasy Land News.
