This week both Great American Family and the Hallmark Channel have spilled some news on Christmas movies!
First, Great American Family has been giving us hints for a few days now (in their IG stories) that Mario Lopez is filming a new Christmas movie for the channel. I've been keeping my eye on this, hoping for an official announcement from the network, but we haven't received one, just yet! (the above image is from Mario Lopez's now vanished IG story)
So... here's what we know so far: Mario Lopez is filming a holiday movie titled "A Christmas Spark" from March 24 through April 11 in Buffalo, N.Y. The city has beautiful snow right now, so it's the perfect time to film a Christmas movie.
Please note: The title might be updated, particularly because it was previously used for a Lifetime movie in 2022 (starring Jane Seymour and Joe Lando). So, make sure to check back for any changes there.
Also, Mario shared a video from the set in which he said they were filming a scene at a festival. I screengrabbed the image above from the video, and I couldn't help but notice a banner in the background for the charitable Christian organization Samaritan's Purse. (The organization's president is Franklin Graham, son of Christian evangelist Billy Graham.) It's great to see that this amazing charity will be featured in the film, and I can't wait to learn more about the storyline for this Christmas movie.
Last year, Carlos and Alexa PenaVega's Christmas movie on Great American Family, Get Him Back for Christmas, promoted The Salvation Army.
And today, Buffalo Bills Football Player, Damar Hamlin, released a pre-recorded video on the TODAY show announcing that his team would be the subject of an all-new Hallmark Channel “Countdown to Christmas” movie titled "HolidayTouchdown: A Bills Love Story." The cast and plot details have yet to be released.
Last year, the Kansas City Chiefs were featured prominently in the Hallmark Channel movie "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story," starring Hunter King and Tyler Hynes. TODAY show host, Jenna Bush Hager, had a brief speaking part near the end of that film.
The Hallmark Channel posted this message today to their social media:
.@HamlinIsland from @BuffaloBills is here to give you an early Christmas present! Hallmark Media and @NFL are teaming up this year with the @BuffaloBills for an all new holiday movie #HolidayTouchdown: A Bills Love Story, part of #CountdownToChristmas 2025! π π pic.twitter.com/ZazBm4aLEK
— Hallmark Channel (@hallmarkchannel) March 27, 2025
So... there you have it! More details to come as they are released. Please know, I do try my best to hold back on sharing too much information until the networks have had a chance to release their official statements. However, if the actors/channel involved share details on social media, I do feel that that information is free to share.
Also, wanted to say a special thank you to Maria and Georgianne for both commenting/emailing to share info on Mario's movie! It's so great having such nice friends who love sharing Christmas movie news.
I hope everyone here enjoyed this Christmas movie news today. What are your thoughts on these movies? Are you happy to see another football movie for Hallmark? Are you glad to see GAF working with Mario again? Please share in comments below.