Hallmark Kicks Off Christmas Slate With Bears Love Story on Oct. 17

Hallmark opens its 2026 Countdown to Christmas, meaning its annual run of holiday films, with Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story on Oct. 17.

The film airs at 8/7c, meaning 8pm Eastern and 7pm Central, on Hallmark Channel. It will also stream on Hallmark+, the company's streaming service, according to Hallmark Channel.

It is the centrepiece of the opening weekend of this year's Countdown to Christmas. It is also the third Holiday Touchdown film made with the NFL and Skydance Sports, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Lyndsy Fonseca stars as Avery. Robert Buckley stars opposite her as Matt, a Chicago firefighter and the grandson of superfan Darlene Donnelly.

Darlene is played by Marsha Mason. She is heading to her 500th Bears game. That is 500 games. Barbara Alyn Woods and Khary Payton play Avery's mum and stepdad.

The production filmed in Chicago in July. That included scenes inside Halas Hall, the Bears headquarters and practice facility in suburban Lake Forest. Dustin Rikert directed the film.

One scene is a charity auction. It puts the spotlight on Bears Care, the charitable arm of the Chicago Bears.

The Bears teamed up with Hallmark to make the film, according to NFL.com. The first two films in the series were made with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills and shot in Kansas City and Buffalo.

Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story starred Tyler Hynes, Hunter King and Ed Begley Jr. It aired during Hallmark's 15th anniversary of Countdown to Christmas in 2024. The Bills film followed in 2025.

For fans, this means familiar turf. Chicago streets, team facilities and game-day rituals sit at the centre of the story, alongside a family counting down to a milestone game.