Debapriya Bhattacharya
Directed by Dustin Rikert, ‘Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story’ is set within the community around Highmark Stadium, the home ground of the NFL Buffalo Bills. Neighbors Morgan Quinn, a pediatrician, and Gabe DeLuca, the Vice President of Stadium Development for the Bills, have been lifelong friends. While they harbor feelings for each other, neither has gathered up the courage to confess. Ahead of Christmas, Morgan learns from her Uncle Tommy that their family has an unknown benefactor, who anonymously supported them after he was drafted six decades ago. She decides to find out the identity of the person with the help of Gabe, and the mission helps bring them closer together. The Hallmark holiday romance brings love and festive cheer to the close-knit community of suburban New York.
Where Was Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story Filmed?
‘Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story’ was lensed in various locations across Erie County in the state of New York, particularly in the city of Buffalo, and the nearby towns of Orchard Park and East Aurora. Principal photography took place in the summer of 2025, beginning on May 19, and likely wrapping up by mid-June. While the winter ambience was artificially created in collaboration with the locals, the production grounded the project with real settings. Some sequences were also lensed within the studio setup to best utilize resources.
In an interview with Niagara Frontier Publications, Buffalo Niagara Film Office Film Commissioner Tim Clark commented on the “big production boom” in Western New York, insisting that the state’s Film Tax Credit program played a major role. He noted that the infrastructure and the diverse, scenic landscape are other major draws, and that the locals were excited to be part of the filming experience, or even witness filming taking place at their doorstep.
Buffalo, New York
The majority of the scenes in ‘Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story’ were lensed in the city of Buffalo. Tim Clark also said, “We really have architecture from almost every period in American history in our communities here. And when I say Buffalo, I mean Niagara Falls; I mean Lockport; I mean Chautauqua County. It’s really all of Western New York. It’s touched all of it, really.” Unlike Los Angeles, Tim claimed that the locals were not fatigued with seeing stars and film production taking place, and actually enjoyed the experience. Thus, they are also likely to be more accommodating to the requirements of filming.
In an interview with WKWB, actor Holland Roden stated, “Buffalo is a big small town city. The kindness is really unique…It feels like there’s an election going on for the Buffalo Bills with how many yard signs and murals around the city.” Her co-star Matthew Daddario noted that the cast and crew were welcomed with open arms by the locals, adding, “We’ve been really thrilled with how enthusiastic and positive everyone has been.”
Apart from real locations across the city, production also took place at Buffalo FilmWorks, located at 370 Babcock Street. Claiming to be the largest major motion picture film studio in upstate New York, Buffalo FilmWorks has four sound stages with more than 120,000 square feet of stage space, alongside 60,000 square feet of flex space for production support. Buffalo has served as the filming location of choice for movies such as ‘Christmas of Giving,’ ‘House Sitter,’ ‘O’Dessa,’ ‘Christmas on Every Page,’ ‘Best Friends,’ and ‘Bad Cupid,’ and television shows like ‘The Bachelorette.’
Orchard Park, New York
Located roughly 15 miles southeast of Buffalo, the suburban town of Orchard Park is known for being home to the Buffalo Bills. As such, it became one of the prominently featured real locations in ‘Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story.’ The Highmark Stadium, the home ground of the Bills, situated at 1 Bills Drive, became a landmark backdrop, with NFL players both old and new, such as Jim Kelly, Dion Dawkins, Reid Ferguson, and Joshua Palmer dropping in for cameos. To capture the authentic mood at the stadium, roughly 2,700 extras were utilized in the project.
Producer Andrew Gernhard told WKBW that he had spent months in the region ahead of filming, and had lensed a Bills game in the previous season to accurately gauge the Bills Mafia and the culture. Apart from ‘Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story,’ Orchard Park has hosted the production of films like ‘The Best Man Holiday,’ ‘Breathe,’ ‘Let Them Have Their Way,’ and ‘Henry’s Future,’ as well as for television shows such as ‘Built for Buffalo,’ ‘Naked City,’ ‘The NFL on CBS,’ ‘Weekend Recharge,’ ‘Symone,’ and many more.
East Aurora, New York
The village of East Aurora, located about 25 miles southeast of downtown Buffalo, was another shooting destination for ‘Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story.’ The production team took over Main Street, the bustling hub that is lined with shops, restaurants, churches, municipal buildings, and well-preserved homes. The road was reportedly filled with hundreds of extras to recreate the Carolcade tradition of the village, and local businesses such as Fowler’s Chocolates and Vidler’s participated in the process.
East Aurora formed the backdrop of many movies, such as ‘A Christmas Princess,’ ‘A Christmas in Vermont,’ ‘A Prince for Christmas,’ ‘A Royal Christmas on Ice,’ ‘A Royal Christmas Engagement,’ ‘Cold Brook,’ and ‘Let Them Have Their Way.’ It has also been the filming destination for shows like ‘Why I Murdered My Roommate,’ and ‘Why I Murdered My Roommate Remix – On The Run.’
Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story Cast Details
The cast of ‘Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story’ is led by Holland Roden and Matthew Daddario. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Holland was drawn to acting at a very young age while also being academically inclined. She balances her professional and academic life with her enthusiasm for music. On the other hand, Matthew was born and raised in New York City by lawyer parents, and graduated in business before shifting his focus to acting as a career.
Holland Roden as Morgan Quinn
Holland Roden stars in ‘Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story’ as pediatric doctor Morgan Quinn. A well-recognized face on primetime television, Holland is known for playing Lydia Martin in ‘Teen Wolf,’ Emily in ‘Lost,’ Zoe Woods in ‘Channel Zero,’ and Erin Thomas in ‘Mayans M.C.’ In addition, she also stars in movies like ‘Follow Me,’ playing Erin, ‘Escape Room: Tournament of Champions,’ playing Rachel Ellis, ‘Mother, May I?,’ playing Anya, and many more.
Matthew Daddario as Gabe DeLuca
Matthew Daddario essays the role of Gabe DeLuca, the Vice President of Stadium Development for the Buffalo Bills, in ‘Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story.’ Matthew is known for starring in films like ‘Cabin Fever’ as Jeff, ‘Delivery Man’ as Channing, ‘The Italians’ as Nico, ‘Party People’ as Marty, and ‘Into the Deep’ as Ben. He also stars as Scooter Polarsky in ‘Why Women Kill,’ Alec Lightwood in ‘Shadowhunters,’ and in many other television shows.
The talented ensemble supporting Holland and Matthew in the movie includes Joe Pantoliano as Uncle Tommy Rossi, Bills Coach Sean McDermott as himself, Luciana VanDette as Ava, Nell Bichler as Young Morgan, Joey Palestina as Vinny, Bob Bozek as Post Office Worker, Maria Braun as Susan, Meghann Garmany as Angela Kaminski, Joe Sciammarella as Pediatric Nurse, and Joshua Cole and Joseph Damiano as Bills fans. Other actors making an appearance include Steve Schirripa, Caroline Aaron, Tracy Pollan, Patti Murin, Luke Russert, Ashley Szczerbacki, Jim Kelly, Damar Hamlin, and many more.
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