<\/p>\n
A Christmas Day tournament in which Luke (James Lafferty) and Caroline (Zibby Allen) compete is at the climax of Lifetime\u2019s \u201cA Pickleball Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Sydney Wong \/ Lifetime)<\/p>\n
Cable television movies are able to capitalize on trendy sports like pickleball or buzzy teams like the Bills because of the breakneck pace at which they\u2019re produced. Tapping into more niche scenarios, hobbies and sports teams allows the networks to invite new audiences in, while keeping their loyal viewers satisfied with a break in formula.<\/p>\n
The idea for \u201cA Pickleball Christmas\u201d was born out of a South Pasadena pickleball club. Sami Ponoroff, senior manager of programming for Lifetime, is an avid player and a member of a club called iPickle. She mentioned the idea of a pickleball holiday movie to a pro instructor there, Blake Rutledge. Lucky for them, Rutledge is also a writer who had been working on a pickleball-related script.<\/p>\n
From there, the two dove into development. It was \u201ckismet\u201d that they happened to meet through the sport at the center of the movie, Ponoroff said. When Ponoroff initially brought the idea up to the movie\u2019s eventual executive producer, Karen Glass, her first thought said it all: \u201cOf course, there has to be a pickleball Christmas movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
While there are mentions of dinking and pickleball kitchen rules in the movie, you don\u2019t need to be familiar with the sport or its specifics to appreciate the story. Ponoroff credits Rutledge with creating a balance between giving pickleball fanatics what they want while not isolating non-players. Since he teaches newcomers, he knows how to introduce people to the sport well, she said.<\/p>\n
The same is true of \u201cHoliday Touchdown.\u201d While members of the Bills Mafia, as the team\u2019s fan base is called, will appreciate the shots from Highmark Stadium and the many cameos from both current and former players and other Bills figures, even viewers who root for rival teams (or no team at all) might find something they like.<\/p>\n
Samantha DiPippo, Hallmark\u2019s senior vice president of programming, joked that there was a secret recipe to a Hallmark Christmas movie, one that she couldn\u2019t reveal, but the key to a Hallmark movie is the root of romance. Referencing \u201cAdventures in Love & Birding,\u201d a movie from earlier this year that also plays to the niche hobby of birding, she said the basis is \u201cthe story just getting them through, right? That\u2019s how we\u2019re finding these two people in this movie fall in love.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHoliday Touchdown\u201d is the second movie to come out of Hallmark\u2019s partnership with the NFL \u2014 last year\u2019s \u201cHoliday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story\u201d was the first, which \u201ckind of tapped into some crazy zeitgeist moment last year,\u201d DiPippo said, referring to the frenzy over the relationship between Taylor Swift and Chiefs player Travis Kelce<\/a>. Kelce\u2019s mother, Donna, even made a cameo in the movie. <\/p>\n But Hallmark\u2019s NFL connection is based on far more than buzzy relationships. DiPippo said about 75% of Hallmark\u2019s audience also watches NFL games.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople watch with the same passion, whether they\u2019re rooting on their team or watching a Hallmark movie, and so we wanted to tap into that and make something that feels truly bespoke for our Hallmark viewers, but also NFL fans,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n The writers and team behind the movie traveled to Buffalo early in the production process and \u201crooted ourselves in all things Orchard Park and Buffalo and East Aurora to really understand what the fandom is up there,\u201d DiPippo said. The Bills\u2019 strong season this year has been \u201cpretty fortuitous,\u201d she added. \u201cMaybe that\u2019s the Hallmark Christmas magic, right? Get a movie and let\u2019s go to the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n Lifelong Bills fans Gabe (Matthew Daddario) and Morgan (Holland Roden) find love in Buffalo at Christmas. <\/p>\n (David Scott Holloway \/ Hallmark Media)<\/p>\n Approaching holiday slates with unique angles appears to be working for the networks. Hallmark holiday movies have reached 24 million people so far this season and Lifetime saw more than 23 million people tune in last year, according to data from Nielsen provided by the respective networks to The Times.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a more, maybe, niche focus \u2014 even though it\u2019s the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., it\u2019s more of a niche focus \u2014 but that becomes the hook that makes the story itself feel fresh,\u201d Ponoroff said. \u201cThere\u2019s obviously going to be a romance in it that might feel familiar, but the world itself is new, and that blending of novelty and authenticity is what our audiences are responding to and coming to us for. Feeling like their worlds, their community, what they\u2019re really engaged in is being represented on screen.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n