Robert Buckley‘s latest Hallmark Channel movie has changed his life in a way he never saw coming. Just as Tyler Hynes surprised himself by becoming a huge Kansas City Chiefs fan while filming Hallmark’s first NFL movie, “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” in 2024, Buckley has revealed the same thing has happened to him, declaring he’s now a lifelong Chicago Bears fan after making “Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story.”
The third movie in the franchise, filmed at Chicago’s iconic Soldier Field and in surrounding neighborhoods, is set to premiere on October 17, 2026. In a hilarious interview with Jasmine Baker, the team’s well-known content creator, Buckley said that in his Hallmark contract, he insisted on a requirement for him to become a lifelong Bears fan, joking, “They were like, ‘That’s unnecessary.’ And I’m like, ‘Put it in the deal or I’m not signing!'”
Robert Buckley Jokes He Could Be the Bears’ ‘Locker Room Guy’
Buckley, a California native, genuinely loved filming the new movie in Chicago over the summer with a star-studded cast that includes Lyndsy Fonseca, three-time Oscar nominee Marsha Mason, Buckley’s former “One Tree Hill” co-star Barbara Alyn Woods, “The Walking Dead” alum Khary Payton, and cameos from Hallmark fan-favorites Tamera Mowry-Housley and Marilu Henner.
The cast also includes Chicago Bears greats past and present, including quarterback Cab Williams, tight ends Colston Love and Cole Kmet, and the team’s head coach, Ben Johnson.
While they managed to become actors for a day or two to join the movie, Buckley admitted he probably couldn’t return the favor and join the team. Suggesting the only position he could potentially play is kicker, Buckley told Baker that things could get ugly if he “actually took a hit from an NFL player.”
“Do you remember in ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ when the bad guys would get punched in their chest and they would explode into, like, a thousand pieces?” he asked. “I think that might happen to my body.”
He then amusingly suggested he could be “a locker room guy,” explaining, “I’d be that guy who’s, like, been in the league for 15 years and they’re like, ‘Has he ever taken a snap?’ ‘No, but he is great for morale.'”
Fortunately, the Bears seem to be doing just fine without Buckley on the field or in the locker room, so he can focus on his newfound identity as a superfan.
“I’m a new fan, so I feel like I’m in the infancy of my fandom and I really feel like this is a young team, kind of in the infancy of what is to come for them,” Buckley said.
‘Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story’ Cast Just Attended a Bears Game at Soldier Stadium
“Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story” was filmed over the summer, before the NFL pre-season began. That was a surprise to football novice Fonseca, who adorably admitted in her interview with Baker that she thought the team would be actively playing while they were making the movie.
But she, Buckley, Mason, and Woods did get to attend an actual game at Soldier Field on October 4, cheering the team to victory from the sidelines and appearing on the giant stadium screen as they led the stadium in a chant. Buckley called it the “best day ever.”
Hallmark’s 17th annual Countdown to Christmas lineup kicks off on October 16, and “Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story” premieres the next day at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Hallmark Channel. It will also be available to stream via Hallmark+ the next day.
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Robert Buckley is a Changed Man After Filming New Hallmark Movie