TV Talk: Hallmark courts NFL fans, Swifties with ‘Touchdown;’ ‘The Agency’ stuns

PASADENA, Calif. — The road to Hallmark Channel’s Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce romance-inspired “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” (8 p.m. Saturday) began in January when the Kansas City Chiefs posted a Hallmark movie parody trailer that starred Tyler Hynes, who’s now also the star of “Holiday Touchdown” with Hunter King (“Life in Pieces”).

“Our playoff campaign was all around celebrating our Chiefs fans,” said Lara Krug, Chiefs’ chief marketing officer, during the Television Critics Association summer 2024 press tour. “We came up with the idea of doing the trailer ‘Falling for Football’ as an ode to what Hallmark does so well. … My biggest thing was hoping Hallmark would respond on social media and see it as an ode and not anything else. It was one part of a much bigger puzzle in making this partnership and movie come to life.”

Hynes stars as Derrick, the Chiefs’ director of fan engagement, who evaluates Alana (Hunter King) and her family for a Chief’s “Fan of the Year” contest. Of course, sparks fly between Alana and Derrick. When Alana’s grandfather (Ed Begley Jr.) can’t find his vintage Chiefs good luck winter hat, Alana begins to doubt her belief that her family is destined to win the contest.

Samantha DiPippo, senior vice president of Hallmark Media programming, described the film’s creation as a collaborative effort with the Chiefs, noting that originally, the script by Julie Sherman Wolfe featured a vintage Chiefs ballcap rather than a winter hat.

“One of the members of the Chiefs team said, ‘This reminds me so much of my grandfather who had this winter hat and he wore it every year and I remember him shoveling snow in it and it became my father’s and one day it will be mine,’” she said. “I texted Juie, ‘It’s a winter hat now.’”

DiPippo said “Holiday Touchdown” marks the most expensive Hallmark movie ever made and she notes it was filmed entirely in Kansas City and its suburbs in July. Despite the heat, Chiefs fans showed up in Christmas sweaters.

The film’s focus on fans makes the movie relatable beyond Kansas City, according to its writer, a San Francisco 49ers fan.

“I feel really strongly about the traditions and the family and the love and the passion that fans have,” Wolfe said. “And that’s what this movie really focuses on.”

For Chiefs’ representative Krug, “Holiday Touchdown” shows how sports and pop culture have become entwined.

“When we think through entertainment and sport and culture, I’m not sure there’s a disconnect anymore,” she said. “What we did around the playoffs in building a (fake movie) trailer, which was in some ways a love story to Hallmark from the Chiefs of what they do so well — telling these really family beautiful stories, it’s just exciting to actually see that come full circle and to see the fans excitement from the Chiefs Kingdom, from the Hallmark fans.”

‘The Agency’

No, this isn’t a reboot of CBS’s 2001-03, Rocky Carroll-starring CIA drama of the same name. But Paramount+ with Showtime’s “The Agency” is another drama about the CIA and this one is shockingly well made.

Tense and intense, “The Agency” gives off “MI-5” and “Sleeper Cell” vibes as it tells the stories of multiple CIA employees working in London, from station chief Bosko (Richard Gere) to new recruit Naomi (Katherine Waterson). But the largest focus is on the oddly but aptly named Martian (Michael Fassbender), who feels like an alien after six years undercover in Ethiopia where he fell in love with a married woman (Jodie Turner-Smith), against Agency rules, and finds himself drawn to her again when she shows up in London, also against Agency rules.

Now streaming its first two episodes, “The Agency” is an espionage political thriller directed by Joe Wright (“Darkest Hour,” “Atonement”) from writers Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (“Spectre”) that counts George Clooney and producing partner Grant Heslov (“Argo”) among its executive producers. The series is based on the 2015 French drama “Le Bureau des Legendes” (AKA “The Bureau”) about the lives and missions of agents within Frances principal external security service.

The first hour of “The Agency,” while deliberate (but not slow in a pacy way), builds tension as it situates viewers in the claustrophobic world of clandestine operations as seen from Martian’s point of view. The second hour delivers more action as an undercover operation in Ukraine goes sideways and Martian exfiltrates a CIA asset who may or may not be a double agent. The second episode also introduces the always delightful veteran actress Harriet Sansom-Harris (“Frasier”) in a rare dramatic role as a CIA clinical psychologist who joins the London operation at the behest of operations leader Henry (Jeffrey Wright).

“There’s a cost of doing this work. A price. Are you sure you’re willing to pay it?” a veteran handler tells Naomi as she receives her first assignment in Iran. “I’m not talking about the hardships it presents. I’m talking about what it costs a human being to abandon their identity, spend however many days, weeks, years they have left alive in another’s skin. … The price is surviving totally alone forever.”

Between “The Agency” and “Landman,” Paramount+ is having a banner month, delivering two great new drama series for its subscribers.

Channel surfing

CBS released its first trailer for Pittsburgh-set “Sherlock,” which includes brief glimpses of the city from the few days the show filmed locally in June … SportsNet Pittsburgh will televise women’s Duquesne University basketball games on SportsNet Pittsburgh Dec. 1 (2 p.m.), Dec. 21 (noon), Jan. 15 (6 p.m.), Feb. 12 (6 p.m.), Feb. 22 (2 p.m.) and Feb. 26 (11 a.m.). Men’s games will air on SNP Dec. 21 (2:30 p.m.), Jan. 8 (7 p.m.), Jan. 18 (2 p.m.), Feb. 1 (2 p.m.), Feb. 19 (7 p.m.) and March 1 (2 p.m.). My TribLive colleague Tim Benz hosts “The Duquesne Basketball Coach’s Show” (beginning at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 12 for men’s team show; 6:30 p.m. Dec. 19 for women’s team show). … Writers on PBS shows came to terms on a new contract last week, narrowly averting a strike. … DirecTV abandoned its deal to acquire DISH Network due to shareholder opposition.