When Calls the Heart
Genre
Based onWhen Calls the Heart
by Janette Oke
Developed byMichael Landon Jr.
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons10
No. of episodes107 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Vicki Sotheran
  • Greg Malcolm
  • Lori Loughlin
Production locationsVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Running time39–84 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkHallmark Channel
ReleaseJanuary 11, 2014 (2014-01-11) –
present (present)
Related
When Hope Calls

When Calls the Heart is an American television drama series, inspired by Janette Oke's book of the same name from her Canadian West series, and developed by Michael Landon Jr. The series began airing on the Hallmark Channel in the United States on January 11, 2014,[1] and, in Canada, on April 16, 2014, on Super Channel.[2]

The series originated from a two-hour television movie pilot in October 2013, starring Maggie Grace as young teacher Elizabeth Thatcher and Stephen Amell as North-West Mounted Police officer Wynn Delaney.[3] In the television series Erin Krakow plays the lead role alongside an ensemble cast.

On March 21, 2018, Hallmark renewed the series for a sixth season. The season premiered with a two-hour Christmas special that was broadcast as part of Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas event, and was to continue for a 10-episode run starting in February 2019.[4] However, due to the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal involving Lori Loughlin and her subsequent removal from all Hallmark properties, the season was put on a "retooling" hiatus and resumed in May to conclude in June, with Loughlin's scenes edited out.[5][6]

On February 22, 2023, ahead of the tenth season premiere, the series was renewed for an eleventh season, which is set to premiere on April 7, 2024.[7]

Plot

When Calls the Heart tells the story of Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow), a young teacher accustomed to her high-society life. She receives her first classroom assignment in Coal Valley, a small coal-mining town in Western Canada which is located just south of Robb, Alberta. There, life is simple, but often fraught with challenges. Elizabeth charms most everyone in Coal Valley, except North-West Mounted Police Constable Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing). He believes Thatcher's wealthy father has doomed the lawman's career by insisting he be assigned in town to protect the shipping magnate's daughter. Wishing to thrive in this 1910 coal town, Elizabeth must learn the ways of the Canadian frontier.[8]

Abigail Stanton's (Lori Loughlin) husband (the foreman of the mine), her only son, and 45 other miners, were killed in an explosion, due to the mining-company site manager's irresponsible management and lack of due care in his management of the mine. The newly widowed women find their faith tested when they must go to work in the mine to keep a roof over their heads, food on the table, and help pay the wage for the town's teacher.[9] The town of Coal Valley was renamed Hope Valley in the first episode of the second season after the coal mine was closed.

Episodes

Main article: List of When Calls the Heart episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
112January 11, 2014 (2014-01-11)March 29, 2014 (2014-03-29)
27April 25, 2015 (2015-04-25)June 13, 2015 (2015-06-13)
New Year's WishDecember 26, 2015 (2015-12-26)
38February 21, 2016 (2016-02-21)April 10, 2016 (2016-04-10)
ChristmasDecember 25, 2016 (2016-12-25)
410February 19, 2017 (2017-02-19)April 23, 2017 (2017-04-23)
The Christmas Wishing TreeDecember 25, 2017 (2017-12-25)
510February 18, 2018 (2018-02-18)April 22, 2018 (2018-04-22)
The Greatest Christmas Wish (Blessing)December 25, 2018 (2018-12-25)
69February 24, 2019 (2019-02-24)June 2, 2019 (2019-06-02)
Home for ChristmasDecember 25, 2019 (2019-12-25)
710February 23, 2020 (2020-02-23)April 26, 2020 (2020-04-26)
812February 21, 2021 (2021-02-21)May 9, 2021 (2021-05-09)
912March 6, 2022 (2022-03-06)May 22, 2022 (2022-05-22)
1012July 30, 2023 (2023-07-30)October 15, 2023 (2023-10-15)
1112April 7, 2024 (2024-04-07)[10]June 23, 2024 (2024-06-23)[10]

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Notable guest stars

Production

The series, originally planned to be filmed in Colorado, is filmed south of Vancouver, British Columbia, on a farm surrounded by vineyards. The fictional frontier town of Coal Valley (later Hope Valley) was erected in late 2013. Some of the set trimmings and a stage coach came from the Hell on Wheels set.[23] The Thatcher home is the University Women's Club of Vancouver.[24]

The series was renewed for a second season,[25] which aired from April 25 to June 13, 2015. Hallmark Channel announced in July 2015 that the series had been renewed for a third season, which aired from February 21 to April 10, 2016,[26] with a sneak peek airing during the 2015 Christmas season.[27]

In mid-2016, it was announced that Season 4 would premiere on the Hallmark Channel Christmas Day with a two-hour special. On April 11, 2016, Lissing and Krakow announced via the series' Facebook page that Hallmark Channel had renewed the series for a fourth season, which aired from February 19 to April 23, 2017.[28][29]

On April 24, 2017, series star Erin Krakow announced via the Hallmark Channel website that the show would return for a fifth season,[30] which premiered in February 2018 and ended in April.[31] Filming for season five began in Vancouver on August 22, 2017, and ended on December 21, 2017.[32][33]

On March 14. 2019, Hallmark announced it had dropped Loughlin from future company projects due to her role in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal.[34] On April 10, 2019, it was announced that season six would resume on May 5, 2019, with Loughlin's scenes edited out.[6]

On April 13, 2019, the series was renewed for a seventh season which aired February 23 to April 26, 2020.[35][36]

On April 26, 2020, Hallmark Channel announced via a video from Krakow that the series would return for an eighth season, which aired from February 21 to May 9, 2021.[37][38]

On May 9, 2021, Hallmark Channel announced via a video from Krakow that the series would return for a ninth season, which aired from March 6 to May 22, 2022.[39][40]

On June 17, 2022, the series was renewed for a tenth season.[41]

On February 22, 2023, ahead of the tenth season premiere, the series was renewed for a 12-episode eleventh season.[42]

Broadcast

The first season of the series was subsequently picked up by CBC Television for rebroadcast as a summer series in 2015.[43] The network has since aired all six seasons.[44][45] The series became available internationally on Netflix in August 2017, but was taken off in early 2021. Seasons 7-9 were added to Peacock in November 2022.

Spin-off

A spin-off of the show, When Hope Calls, was announced at Hallmark's Television Critics Association summer press tour on July 26, 2018. The series debuted on August 30, 2019, as the initial offering of the Hallmark Movies Now streaming service.[46][47] The second season aired on Great American Family.

References

  1. ^ Reiher, Andrea (January 11, 2014). "'When Calls the Heart' premiere: Will you return to the frontier?". Zap2It. From Inside the Box (blog). Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  2. ^ "'When Calls the Heart' features Aussie Mountie". Canadian Press, April 10, 2014.
  3. ^ "Hallmark Channel - The Movie Cast". Hallmarkchannel.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2014-02-28.
  4. ^ Petski, Denise (March 21, 2018). "Hallmark Channel Upfront Presentation Canceled Due To Storm, Net Makes Announcements, Including 'When Calls the Heart' Renewal, At Central Park Event". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  5. ^ DeSantis, Rachel (March 17, 2019). "When Calls the Heart Is 'Retooling' Without Lori Loughlin After Hallmark Cuts Ties with Actress". people.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "When Calls the Heart Return Date Set, Lori Loughlin Edited Out of Episodes". TVLine. April 10, 2019. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  7. ^ Schwartz, Ryan (January 23, 2024). "When Calls the Heart Sets Season 11 Premiere Date, as Hallmark Teases a Whole 'New Style' — Get First Look". TVLine. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  8. ^ Owen, Rob (April 22, 2015). "TV review: Hallmark's 'When Calls the Heart' too predictable". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  9. ^ "Hallmark Channel - About the Series". Hallmark Channel. Archived from the original on 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2014-02-28.
  10. ^ a b "Shows A-Z – When Calls the Heart on Hallmark". The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  11. ^ Behar, Deidre (February 23, 2020). "Daniel Lissing Has No Regrets Leaving 'When Calls the Heart'". Entertainment Tonight. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  12. ^ "The Real Reason Why Daniel Lissing Left 'When Calls the Heart'". Good Housekeeping. 19 February 2021. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  13. ^ Swift, Andy (March 14, 2019). "Lori Loughlin Fired From All Hallmark Projects Over College Scandal — Report". TVLine. Archived from the original on March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
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  19. ^ "When Calls the Heart: Josie Bissett On Why AJ and Bill Should Be Together After That Kiss (Exclusive)". MSN. Archived from the original on 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  20. ^ "My Devotional Thoughts | Interview With Actor Niall Matter, "Engaging Father Christmas"". mydevotionalthoughts.net. Archived from the original on 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  21. ^ Wang, Connie (27 February 2020). "Get Your First Look at This Week's All New When Calls the Heart". Archived from the original on 14 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  22. ^ "'When Calls The Heart' Spoilers: Helen Bouchard Bossy from the Jump". Soap Dirt. 23 February 2021. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  23. ^ Brioux, Bill (December 6, 2013). "'When Calls The Heart' TV Series Set In Fictional Town Built In B.C." The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  24. ^ Owen, Rob (May 1, 2015). "TV Q&A: 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Younger,' 'Bones' and a former Pittsburgh news anchor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
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External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to When Calls the Heart.
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