HBO Trailer Revisits Buffalo Blizzard Refuge
A trailer for HBO's documentary The Buffalo Miracle recalls how a McDonald's stayed open during the 2022 blizzard.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Football
HBO released a trailer for The Buffalo Miracle, part of its NFL Shorts series, revisiting the 2022 blizzard in the Buffalo, N.Y., region. The documentary centers on a McDonald's that stayed open on Christmas Eve as a refuge for people who had lost power.
Why it matters
The blizzard shut down infrastructure and emergency services across the Buffalo region, leaving residents without shelter and warmth. The documentary preserves a firsthand account of how community members responded when official systems were unavailable.
The documentary combines survivor testimony with hand-drawn animation, and its premiere is scheduled for November 24 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. The extraction does not state how many people the restaurant sheltered or what consequences followed its decision to stay open.
The players
HBO
HBO is the premium cable network that produces the NFL Shorts documentary series, including The Buffalo Miracle.
Kristin Kosha
Kristin Kosha is a McDonald's employee who participates in the documentary about the 2022 Buffalo blizzard.
Jeffrey Spengler
Jeffrey Spengler is a McDonald's employee who participates in the documentary about the 2022 Buffalo blizzard.
The details
The documentary features McDonald's employees Kristin Kosha and Jeffrey Spengler, along with firsthand accounts from survivors. It also recounts strangers gathering around a laptop to watch the Buffalo Bills play the Chicago Bears during the storm.
Timeline
December 24, 2022: The blizzard peaks and the McDonald's restaurant remains open as a refuge.
November 2, 2026: HBO releases the documentary trailer.
November 24, 2026, 9 p.m. ET: The documentary premieres on HBO.
Season Trajectory
The Buffalo Miracle is an installment of HBO's NFL Shorts series, which uses short documentaries to tell stories tied to the league and its fans. Its focus on a Bills game watched during a blizzard places a community memory alongside the football broadcast that anchored it.
Viewers can watch The Buffalo Miracle on HBO starting November 24 at 9 p.m. ET, with streaming available on HBO Max. The documentary offers a look at how a Bills game drew strangers together during a storm.
The takeaway
The documentary shows how ordinary workplaces can become community lifelines when official services fail. Readers interested in similar stories can follow HBO's NFL Shorts series for other short-form sports documentaries.
What happens next
The documentary premieres on HBO on November 24, 2026 at 9 p.m. ET, and will stream on HBO Max afterward.
Further reading
Explore more Football coverage for context on the Bills game that anchors this story.
