On Christmas Eve 2022, with Buffalo buried under one of the worst blizzards in its history, one McDonald’s on the edge of the storm did something its rulebook didn’t allow: it stayed open. The Buffalo Miracle, a new HBO Original documentary short, tells the story of the strangers who found warmth, food and one another inside.
Directed by two-time Academy Award® winner Ben Proudfoot (The Last Repair Shop, The Queen of Basketball) and executive produced by Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, the film debuts Tuesday, November 24, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will stream on HBO Max. It premiered at the Telluride Film Festival.
Three Days Without a Way Out
According to HBO, the December 2022 storm lasted three days, brought hurricane-force winds and more than four feet of snow, and shut down roads, infrastructure and emergency services across the Buffalo region. At its height, a longtime McDonald’s manager decided to defy corporate policy and keep her restaurant open as a shelter for people who had lost power and had nowhere else to go.
The group that gathered there could hardly have been more different: an injured single father caring for his infant daughter; a young man with Down syndrome spending his first Christmas away from his mother; an engaged couple cut off from their families; and immigrant nail salon owners who spoke no English. Outside, police worked to reach survivors in whiteout conditions.
A Game on a Laptop
As the storm raged, the strangers crowded around a laptop to watch the Bills play the Chicago Bears. HBO describes the team as a source of comfort for people who, like the players, would not make it home for Christmas morning.
Proudfoot builds the film from firsthand accounts of the people who were there, and uses hand-drawn animation to recreate the nights inside the restaurant. It is the latest installment in HBO’s “NFL Shorts” documentary series.
Who Appears in the Film
The documentary features McDonald’s employees Kristin Kosha and Jeffrey Spengler; Paaché Spikes-Redding; Jimmy Bessing and Maria Alessi Bessing; Tan Zhao and Lili Zhao; Lyndon Hayles; and Amherst police officers Thomas M. Brown and Derek Westbrook.
How to Watch
- Title: The Buffalo Miracle
- Premiere: Tuesday, November 24, 2026, 9:00-9:37 p.m. ET/PT on HBO
- Streaming: HBO Max
- Directed and produced by: Ben Proudfoot
- Executive producers include: Josh Allen, Ben Proudfoot and Kevin Merida
- Edited by: Nick Garnham Wright
- Produced by: Nicholas Ruff
- Production: A Skydance Sports Entertainment presentation and a Breakwater Studios, Out of Pocket Studios and NFL Films production
- Series: HBO’s “NFL Shorts”
Images courtesy of HBO.
