‘Countdown to Christmas’ star shares more about film debuting this weekend; Hamlin filmed scenes with Abbott HeartMates at Highmark Stadium

Behind the Screens with Joshua Maloni

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For the second weekend in a row, the Buffalo Bills will factor into a Hallmark Channel “Countdown to Christmas” holiday feature.

In September, safety Damar Hamlin filmed scenes for “The More the Merrier” inside Highmark Stadium with a half-dozen special guests – members of the Abbott HeartMates.

“The More the Merrier” airs at 8 p.m. Friday on the Hallmark Channel.

Hamlin is an ambassador for the program, which “creates a team-like community where people who are navigating or who have overcome heart health challenges can share stories, share support and celebrate wins. With over 100 million Americans impacted by heart conditions, the HeartMates team was created to combat the isolation and loneliness that often accompany these struggles.”

Hamlin also is an ambassador for the American Heart Association’s “Nation of Lifesavers” movement, which began 2023 following his sudden cardiac arrest after a tackle made during a “Monday Night Football” game with the Cincinnati Bengals. Thanks to CPR, Buffalo and local medical providers, Hamlin was resuscitated and made a miraculous recovery.

The HeartMates youth couldn’t have been happier working with Hamlin, as they laughed, took pictures and asked football questions – like why the Bills were auditioning punters, which was visible through windows overlooking the field. Their parents were able to watch each take, and listen to the movie dialogue through special headsets.

During a Christmas Eve blizzard, ER doctor Alice (Rachel Boston, pictured), and newly hired cardiologist Brian, team up to deliver four babies while spreading holiday joy for the patients and hospital staff. (Credit: ©2025 Hallmark Media/photographer: Allister Foster)

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In the “The More the Merrier,” ER doctor Alice (Rachel Boston) once again finds herself working on Christmas Eve – and looking to bring smiles to her patients and coworkers. As the night goes on, Alice and cardiologist Brian (Brendan Penny) find themselves snowed in – and with three women about to go into labor!

At the same time, 14-year-old heart patient David is in need of some holiday cheer – which comes from his well-known pro football friend (Hamlin) and their HeartMates teammates.

Boston is a Hallmark mainstay, having starred in network favorites including “Debbie Macomber's Joyful Mrs. Miracle,” “Christmas in Angel Falls,” “Check Inn to Christmas” and “A Christmas Carousel.” The talented, award-winning Tennessee native is known for portraying smart, determined characters, full of kindness and able to overcome adversity – just what Hallmark fans want in their on-screen leads.

Taking a break from Thanksgiving meal prep, Boston shared more in this edited Q&A.

Buffalo also was the subject of “Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story,” which premiered last Saturday.

BTS: Back in September, our own Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was in town with some special Abbott HeartMates guests, and they were filming some scenes for “The More the Merrier” at Highmark Stadium. So, we are totally claiming this feature as one of ours here in Buffalo!

Where did you actually film this movie?

Rachel Boston: I was in Vancouver while you all were at the stadium filming. You guys filmed the morning of our shoot. Basically, I think it was 6 a.m. Vancouver time, 9 a.m. your time. And then as soon as they wrapped the Buffalo Bills segment, that came to our set in Vancouver, and I got to see all of your footage and hear about the shoot. So, it was really amazing to know that there was a production going on in Buffalo while we were still filming in Vancouver, Canada.

Damar Hamlin at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. (Photo by Joshua Maloni)

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BTS: Have you seen the finished product? I watched Damar’s uncut scenes, but I don't know how the best takes turned out. What can you tell me about what you saw or what you've seen so far?

Rachel Boston: Oh, it turned out – it is so sweet. And I have to tell you, everybody coming to set and just going on and on about what a wonderful person Damar Hamlin is, and how beautiful he was in these scenes with these children, and how kind he was to them. It was just glowing reviews when they showed up. So, he made Buffalo very proud.

It was also really exciting when we heard there was going to be a partnership with Abbott HeartMates. Once I put together that this is based on Damar Hamlin's passion and dream for helping other people, it really just puts in perspective how powerful this is – and you really feel that through the movie.

It's set in this rural hospital, and this little boy comes in just needing some extra tests run on Christmas Eve. And then you get to see Damar Hamlin FaceTiming in, because he's part of this program – Abbott's HeartMates – and then his friends that he's made in the hospital realize, “Wait a second, you're friends with Damar Hamlin!?!” It's so sweet to see that.

He did a fantastic job. He will make you very proud.

Shown in Hallmark’s “The More The Merrier”: Lucia Walters, Rachel Boston, Jecca Beauchamp, AJ Kostynick and Carmel Amit. (Credit: ©2025 Hallmark Media/photographer: Allister Foster)

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BTS: You said you learned (about Damar) when you saw he was going to be involved. Tell me more about what initially attracted you to the script, and to this character in particular.

Rachel Boston: Well, my sister-in-law is a nurse. So, many, many a holiday she has called and said, “I'm working this Christmas, this Thanksgiving” – whichever holiday it might be. I think getting to honor our doctors, our nurses, our first responders, in a Christmas movie – and just how impactful it is where nobody really wants to end up in a hospital on Christmas Eve, but if you are there, it's like what steps these people are taking, too.

That's what I loved about this doctor, is that she goes above and beyond. She's so focused on her work, but yet she knows how important it is for people in certain situations to just have a little bit of love and magic around them, and she makes that happen for this hospital.

It's a really, really sweet story.

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BTS: We have connections locally to several of your past costars. Neal Bledsoe was one of the first people to film a major motion picture in the Buffalo area in quite some time. Wes Brown and Andrew Walker were here this past year, filming two very large Hallmark productions, with “A Newport Christmas” and then “Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story.” We're having quite a production boom here in Buffalo.

For you, as an actor and as a producer – to the extent you have a say – what do you look for when considering where to spend time filming?

Rachel Boston: Well, a lot of places I have filmed in before, so it's crews that I'm really familiar with. But I was so tempted – because I had just finished a movie with Andrew Walker, and he left right after we wrapped our “Adventures in Love & Birding” movie to film the “Bills Love Story.” I was so tempted just to, like, pack myself inside his suitcase and go! (laughs)

I have not filmed in Buffalo, and I would absolutely love to. I've heard it's fantastic crews. Everything I saw from the premiere night, it just looked like the spirit, and the town of Buffalo – everybody showed up for this movie. That's always really exciting to see – that people seem really just thrilled that the entertainment industry is having more productions there.

BTS: Filming holiday/Christmastime in Vancouver – when presumably it's a warm August/September – what's the challenge and trick in doing that?

Rachel Boston: Well, this year, we were inside a hospital for almost the whole movie, so it was very different. Normally, what's so interesting about these movies, as you drive – and I will know: I'll drive by a street and I'm like, “Oh, I guess we're filming there,” because there's a big Christmas tree (laughs). You see all the Christmas decorations in June or July on a city street. That's always really fun.

We did have a few days outside of the hospital. We were at a Christmas tree farm. Just seeing how much work goes into adding the snow and turning a town into Christmas while it's still summer.

My daughter is 3 years old, and she thinks it's just Christmas all the time. She asks, “Well, when is it Christmas in this state or this place?" (laughs) That's been really fun to just introduce her to, like, “Sure, it's Christmas here now!”

It is really wonderful to be part of people's holiday traditions; to tell these stories through Hallmark that are just so uplifting and bring families together. Being part of Thanksgiving week is always so exciting, just knowing you are going to be part of families’ holiday kickoff traditions. And this movie is filled with heart, and it's really special.

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BTS: You alluded to this earlier in our conversation: When Hallmark was letting us know about Damar Hamlin, and in describing the movie, they said “It's a celebration of a community coming together to support one another through unexpected turns.” Knowing it's been such a challenging year for people all around the world, how nice is it to be able to bring something like this into the world?

Rachel Boston: Oh, I love this so much. I mean, the fact that people can take a step out of their lives, and turn the news off, and live in a world where people do show up for each other – there's kindness, there's care. It's something that I am grateful for every single day.

I feel like, right now, at this time in our nation and in our world, just to have a place that reminds people of what humanity is, and the good we can do for each other, it's something that is really remarkable. I'm just so happy to be telling stories like this.

Brendan Penny and Rachel Boston star in the Hallmark Channel’s “The More the Merrier,” part of “Countdown to Christmas.” (Credit: ©2025 Hallmark Media/photographer: Allister Foster)

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BTS: One of the things we've come to realize – particularly over these past few months, and seeing these productions here, and in getting to know some of your former castmates and some of the people behind the scenes – is that it seems like Hallmark just does this so much better than everyone else – whether it be “Countdown to Christmas” in general, or whether it’s just making these aspirational films. They really have cornered the market.

What do you like about working with Hallmark? I'm sure you’ve seen some of those same things that we see.

Rachel Boston: Well, there's so much heart behind the scenes, as well. And I had been in the entertainment industry for well over a decade when I started working for Hallmark, and something just felt different. And you feel it at the press events, where it's Annie Howell, who's our chief communications officer, she's fantastic. Annie Howell, I think, just from the top, leads with this, when we're out on these press events for “Countdown to Christmas,” just so much joy.

I think that we've got this team of people working together that all just genuinely care about each other, and we look out for each other.

One of my dearest friends, (“Finding Mr. Christmas” host) Jonathan Bennett, I met as a teenager in New York City, and now we're both working with Hallmark. So, there's a lot of people along the way that, I think, have similar spirits in the entertainment industry, that found Hallmark because it is such a heart-centered company, and we get to tell stories that really matter to us.

I think you see that jump off the screen.

BTS: My mom loved “American Dreams,” so I have to ask you: When you think back to that time and that experience, and working with that cast, what comes to mind?

Rachel Boston: That was my first experience in Hollywood. We shot the pilot of “American Dreams” in Vancouver, Canada. It was my first time working in Vancouver. I was, I think, 19 years old. Jonathan Bennett was, interestingly enough, filming his very first pilot in Vancouver at the same time. So, we were staying in the same hotel – like best friends from New York; kind of like our careers were following each other from the beginning!

But it was such a special group. It was a family show, and our producers knew there were so many actors – young actors – that this was our first big project, and we had a lot of family dinners. Our rehearsals would be around a dining room table. We would read through the script while we were all having dinner together. It was a very grounded group; but we were all just starting our career. So, when we started filming the series in L.A., we were also just really excited.

Our producer encouraged us to follow different departments around. He'd be like, “One day, just follow the sound department around and see what they do; and follow the props team around – see what they do.” So, we got to really understand filmmaking, and how much work goes into every single part of this production.

It was so unique and special. Jonathan Prince was our executive producer, and that was just the way he led. He just always told us to drink a lot of water, and pay attention to everything (laughs)! And that was his advice.

That is a show with so many artists coming on, too. Usher came on. We had Kelly Clarkson. We had so many performers come on the show that made it really fun.

BTS: Based on some of our favorite “Rachel roles,” in real life, are we more likely to see you birding (as in “Adventures in Love & Birding”), making cookies (as in “A Christmas Cookie Catastrophe”) or taking in a stray dog (as in “The More Love Grows”)?

Rachel Boston: (Laughs) Probably taking in a stray dog while birding! At the same time! Taking my sweet stray dog. I don't know how that would work, but probably both of those … as I was excused from the kitchen, just now, to do our interview. I feel like they're not going to miss me too much!

Damar Hamlin and his Abbott HeartMates friends at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. (Photo by Joshua Maloni)

Parents of Abbott HeartMates participants watch and listen as a portion of “The More the Merrier” is filmed at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. (Photo by Joshua Maloni)

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