Hallmark Channel’s Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story is a hit — and its stars are hungry for a sequel.
While attending the premiere of the Christmas movie on Nov. 30 in Kansas City, Mo., Ed Begley Jr., Megyn Price and Diedrich Bader told PEOPLE that they are hoping for another go-round that sees romantic leads Alana (Hunter King) and Derrick (Tyler Hynes) start a family.
“We had the best time ever. We want to do it again,” Begley, 75, who plays Alana’s grandfather Paul, says of filming the movie. “Let’s do a sequel.”
“Yeah, we’re pitching the sequel now,” quips Price, 53, who stars as Alana’s mother Leah. “We’re calling it ‘The Extra Point.’ ”
“Yeah, because it’s about a baby,” explains Bader, 57, who portrays Leah’s husband Hank.
Price agrees, “It’s about a baby. We need a baby,” as Bader jokes that the trio “literally just came up with” their idea for the sequel “about 30 seconds ago.”
Begley adds that he was ready to talk to some of the cast and crew at the premiere and “try to get them involved,” while Bader declares, “We’re all gonna be producers on it and we’re getting paid a lot.”
Begley even offers a way to keep the budget reined in: “I’ll do craft service on it. I work cheap.”
Holiday Touchdown, which premiered on Nov. 30 and became Hallmark’s No. 1 most-watched movie of the year, follows Alana and her family — die-hard Chiefs fans who own a Chiefs merchandise store — as they vie for the team’s “Fan of the Year” contest. Alana meets Derrick, the Chiefs’ director of fan engagement, and before long, sparks begin to fly between the pair.
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Alana opens up to Derrick about how her two sets of grandparents first met after purchasing Chiefs season tickets and being seated next to each other at Arrowhead Stadium. Eventually, the two couples’ respective kids — Hank and Leah — grow up, get married and welcome Alana, who is determined to carry on their Chiefs-loving legacy.
Derrick, meanwhile, is inspired by Alana’s family to dig deeper into his role and find special ways to connect with the Chiefs’ fans and wider community.
Samantha DiPippo, senior vice president of development and programming at Hallmark Media, told PEOPLE during an exclusive set visit to Arrowhead Stadium in July that the Chiefs partnership felt like a “special” opportunity.
“We started talking before they won the Super Bowl, and it was pretty quick that both teams were like, ‘This could be amazing. We could really have something special here.’ So we just dove in and made it happen,” she recalled.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Hallmark is based in Kansas City… or that the Chiefs are such a winning team… or that they have that whole Taylor Swift effect.
As for whether a Holiday Touchdown sequel — or a second Hallmark/NFL movie — could happen in the future, DiPippo said: “We’ll have to see. … It’s interesting because we all have our teams. We’re all talking like, ‘Oh, what would it be?’ But I think right now my brain is nothing but Hallmark Channel Christmas and the Kansas City Chiefs.”
“So I haven’t thought beyond that,” she added, “but I think that there’s a real opportunity here.”
In addition to a cast of favorite actors, Holiday Touchdown also features a cameo from one of the most famous members of Chiefs Kingdom: Donna Kelce, mother of tight end Travis Kelce. Travis’ coach Andy Reid and teammates Trey Smith and Mecole Hardman Jr. also make appearances.
Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story next re-airs on Hallmark Channel on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 6 p.m. ET/PT and again on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. ET/PT.
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