LOVE COMES SOFTLY is heading back to the frontier, this time with a widowed sheriff trying to build a new life for his daughter.
“We’re honored to bring this cherished story to life as an all-new series,” said UP Entertainment Executive Vice President of Networks and Content Strategy Angela Cannon in the company’s October 15 announcement.
UP Faith & Family has begun production in Los Angeles on the Western drama, which it expects to premiere in 2027. The project draws on author Janette Oke’s books and the movie franchise that introduced many viewers to her stories of faith, loss and second chances.
Actor Zak Steiner will play A.J. Davis, the newly appointed sheriff of Rock Springs, while actress Sophia Paras plays his daughter, Emily. The family moves to town after the death of A.J.’s wife, and he wants to give Emily a stable, loving home.
That father-daughter relationship gives the announcement a more personal hook than another familiar title returning to television. The setup puts parenting through grief at the center of the new family’s arrival, even as the surrounding community faces its own fresh starts.
TVLine’s first look introduces actress Ryann Bailey as schoolteacher Sarah Chandler and actress Maya Herzog as aspiring doctor Jessie Davis. Actor Leo Howard joins them as town physician Richard Bain.
The ensemble also includes actor Pooch Hall as Louis Stoval, actress Tunisha Hubbard as Josephine Stoval and actor Levi Mynatt as Thomas Stoval. The story unfolds during the expansion of the American West in the 1880s, with romance and the difficulties of frontier life shaping the community.
Longtime readers will recognize the emotional territory, even though the announced television setup differs from the first novel’s opening. Baker Publishing Group’s description of Oke’s book follows young widow Marty Claridge, who cannot return home after tragedy interrupts her journey west.
Widower Clark Davis and his daughter need help, too, and an unexpected arrangement brings their lives together. Courage and faith are central to the question of whether that practical beginning can grow into love.
Actress Katherine Heigl and actor Dale Midkiff starred in the original 2003 television movie. In its review of that adaptation, Movieguide® praised its strong Christian worldview and its portrayal of prayer and compassion overcoming grief and stubbornness.
That earlier review describes some action-related peril and accidental injuries but no foul language, sexual content or nudity. Those observations concern the original movie, not the upcoming series, which families will need to assess on its own.
LCS Productions produces the series in association with Larry Levinson Productions. Producer Larry Levinson serves as executive producer, with producers Libby Beers and Jennifer Jenkins as co-executive producers.
Directors Russell Mulcahy and Bradford May direct the series, and Ali Calamari serves as head writer. Their project moves the franchise into an ongoing series format rather than another standalone television movie.
For now, viewers have a cast, a setting and a planned premiere year — not a specific release date. The next chapter offers a familiar invitation: return to a frontier community where rebuilding a home matters as much as finding romance.
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