How do Lifetime and Hallmark keep Christmas movies fresh? By turning to picklers and pigskin

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Love them or hate them, Christmas movies on TV are a tradition for many during the holidays. They offer cozy comfort and joy with their heartwarming stories, beautiful snowy scenes, and perfectly decorated homes, bringing millions of viewers happiness throughout November and December.

A lot of the cozy feeling you get from network Christmas movies comes from familiar themes – like characters falling for old high school flames, or a kindly, white-bearded man who might just be Santa.

When channels like Hallmark and Lifetime begin featuring trendy activities like pickleball or even NFL players in their movies, it definitely gets people talking.

Both Lifetime’s “A Pickleball Christmas” (premiering Saturday) and Hallmark’s “Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story” (now streaming on Hallmark+) offer a unique twist on classic Christmas stories, but they still deliver the heartwarming romance and festive spirit you expect.

Cable movies can quickly jump on popular trends – like the sport of pickleball or successful teams like the Buffalo Bills – because they’re made so fast. By featuring unique interests, hobbies, and teams, these networks can attract new viewers while still offering something familiar to their existing audience.

The movie “A Pickleball Christmas” came about thanks to a pickleball club in South Pasadena. Sami Ponoroff, who develops programming for Lifetime, is a dedicated player and member of the iPickle club. She casually mentioned her idea for a Christmas movie centered around pickleball to Blake Rutledge, a professional instructor at the club. Fortunately, Rutledge also happened to be a writer and was already developing a script with a pickleball theme.

Television

Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Networks are offering a smaller lineup of just 13 holiday movies this year, focusing on stories with more grown-up themes, such as ‘A Cowboy Christmas Romance’ and ‘Ladies of the ’80s.’

After that initial connection, they quickly began working on the project. Ponoroff believes it was fate that they met through pickleball, the very sport the movie revolves around. When Ponoroff first shared the idea with Karen Glass, who later became the movie’s executive producer, Glass immediately responded with exactly what everyone was thinking: “A Christmas movie about pickleball? Absolutely!”

The movie includes references to pickleball terms and rules, but you don’t need to know the game to enjoy the story. According to Ponoroff, Rutledge successfully appealed to both dedicated pickleball players and those unfamiliar with the sport. Because he often teaches beginners, he’s good at explaining the game in a way that’s easy to understand.

The documentary “Holiday Touchdown” will likely please fans of the Buffalo Bills – known as the Bills Mafia – with its footage from Highmark Stadium and appearances by players and team personalities. However, even people who don’t support the Bills, or aren’t football fans at all, may still enjoy it.

Samantha DiPippo, a Hallmark executive, playfully suggested there’s a formula for their popular Christmas movies, though she wouldn’t share it. She explained that the core of a Hallmark movie is always a developing romance. Using the example of this year’s “Adventures in Love & Birding,” she said the story focuses on bringing the two main characters together, and that’s how their love story unfolds.

“Holiday Touchdown” is the second film resulting from Hallmark’s collaboration with the NFL. Last year’s “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” was the first, and it unexpectedly resonated with audiences, according to DiPippo, likely because of the public’s fascination with Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce. Travis Kelce’s mother, Donna, even appeared briefly in the film.

Hollywood Inc.

Hallmark is releasing a new holiday movie called ‘Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story,’ which is based on the romance between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Travis Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce, also makes a cameo appearance in the film.

Hallmark’s partnership with the NFL isn’t just about celebrity endorsements. According to DiPippo, around 75% of Hallmark’s viewers also tune in to watch NFL games.

Whether people are enthusiastically supporting their favorite sports team or enjoying a Hallmark movie, they clearly feel a strong connection to what they’re watching. We wanted to create something special that appeals to both dedicated Hallmark viewers and passionate NFL fans alike.

The filmmakers visited Buffalo early on to fully immerse themselves in the local culture of Orchard Park, Buffalo, and East Aurora, wanting to truly understand the passion of the Bills’ fans, explained DiPippo. She added that the Bills’ successful season this year was lucky timing – a bit like the magic of a Hallmark Christmas movie, bringing a film and a playoff run together.

Networks are finding success by offering fresh takes on holiday programming. This season, Hallmark’s holiday movies have already reached 24 million viewers, and last year, Lifetime attracted over 23 million, according to Nielsen data shared with The Times.

Ponoroff explained that while pickleball is rapidly gaining popularity in the U.S., their story focuses on its unique and dedicated community, which helps make the narrative feel new. Although the story will include a familiar romantic element, the setting and world are fresh, and audiences are connecting with the authentic representation of a community they’re passionate about and want to see reflected on screen.

Television

Alexandra Breckenridge stars in ‘My Secret Santa,’ the newest holiday movie now available on the streaming service. It’s just one of many new and classic films the service is offering this season.

Ponoroff believes pickleball’s popularity will continue for the foreseeable future, and Bills fans will always be dedicated. Glass added that their quick production process is a major advantage. “A Pickleball Christmas” is coming out shortly after Apple TV+ announced a pickleball comedy called “The Dink,” created by Josh Greenbaum and Ben Stiller, as part of its upcoming programming.

She explained that with a good idea, you can get a TV movie into production quickly—in about a month. It’s simpler to jump on current trends in TV movies because the whole process is much faster than with other types of projects.

Spotting upcoming trends is only one piece of what I do,” Ponoroff explained. “It’s about having an intuition, following that feeling, and exploring ideas until you hope you’ve found something that resonates with people.

She and Glass mentioned they’ve already started brainstorming a holiday movie based on mahjong. DiPippo added that they’re well into planning for Christmas 2026, with a film potentially being shot at Disney World.

DiPippo praised the team’s ability to quickly adapt and respond to changing needs. She described them as incredibly efficient and resourceful, jokingly calling them ‘magical elves’ for how seamlessly they get things done.

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2025-12-18 14:02