Hallmark Media started production on WHEN CALLS THE HEART Season 14 this summer in British Columbia, and Lori Loughlin returns to Hope Valley as Abigail Stanton for the first time in seven years.
“Since the series’ debut in 2014, the character of Abigail Stanton was a fan favorite,” Michelle Vicary, Head of Programming at Hallmark Media, said. Vicary added that the timing finally felt right to write Abigail back into Hope Valley’s story after her long absence.
Loughlin has said the return feels like coming home. “I just want to thank everyone at Hallmark for being so loving and welcoming,” she said in December. “We have such a special cast, and such a special bond and it’s just so nice to be back with my family.”
That kind of loyalty to a single character matters at Movieguide®, where reviewers have handed the show a perfect four-star Entertainment Quality rating and praised its “very strong Christian, moral worldview” built around prayer, marriage and honesty. The Hallmark drama has also earned two Movieguide® Award nominations after a Christmas special drew 4.8 million viewers, the most-watched episode in the show’s history.
Season 13 ended in March with Nathan Grant, played by Kevin McGarry, proposing to Elizabeth Thatcher, played by Erin Krakow. Lucas Bouchard, played by Chris McNally, stepped down as Hope Valley’s governor in that same finale, leaving Season 14 with plenty of loose ends to untangle.
Cast members have leaned on Instagram to bridge the gap between seasons. Pascale Hutton, who plays Rosemary Coulter, posted a wardrobe-change video in July documenting her transformation from modern clothes into Rosemary’s 1920s costume, captioned simply, “We’re back at it!”
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Krakow shared her own update on Aug. 4, posting a video with McGarry and young co-stars Jaeda Lily Miller and Hyland Goodrich from the Hope Valley set. The clip gave fans their first real look at the reunited cast since filming resumed.
Not everyone is coming back, though. Samantha Ferris announced on July 18 that she would not reprise her role as Mayor Maisie Hickam, writing, “I won’t be back as the fabulous Maisie Hickam on WHEN CALLS THE HEART this coming season.” Producers also cut Melissa Gilbert’s character, Georgie McCall, reportedly to trim the budget.
Hallmark has ordered 12 episodes for Season 14, with Loughlin set to appear in six of them, and the season is expected to premiere in early 2027, according to Parade. New episodes will air Sundays on Hallmark Channel, with each one landing on the Hallmark+ streaming service the following day.
Samantha DiPippo, Senior Vice President of Programming at Hallmark Media, credited the fan base for the show’s staying power, telling Parade, “Hearties are far more than a fan-base — they are a connected community, as loyal and supportive as the characters of Hope Valley.”
WHEN CALLS THE HEART draws its inspiration from Janette Oke’s Christian fiction and has held down a spot on Hallmark’s Sunday lineup since 2014 under executive producers Michael Landon Jr. and Brian Bird. Bird has marveled at the show’s staying power, asking, “What other show can say in Season 13 that it’s getting better?”
Twelve years and 13 seasons in, Hope Valley still gives Christian families a reason to gather around the television on Sunday nights. That kind of consistency, built on faith, community, and hope rather than shock value, is worth noting in a television landscape that rarely rewards patience.
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