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These days, not many TV shows make it to 11 seasons. When Calls the Heart is one of the exceptions. The Hallmark Channel has been going strong since it premiered in 2014. That’s due in large part to the show’s loyal fans, aka Hearties, who’ve built a thriving community around their fandom. 

What’s driving the enthusiasm for a low-key period drama about a schoolteacher who takes a job working in a small town on the Canadian frontier? Author Janette Oke, who wrote the books on which When Calls the Heart is based, has an idea why the show resonates with so many people. 

‘When Calls the Heart’ author says the show gives people a sense of belonging

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When Oke wrote When Calls the Heart, she had no idea that the book would go on to inspire Hallmark Channel’s longest-running TV series — or lead to a thriving fandom. But when Hallmark took the core idea of her 1983 novel and adapted it into a movie and then a television series, that’s exactly what happened. Real-life friendships have sprung up among fans who connected online. And every year, devoted Hearties gather to meet the cast and tour the show’s set.  

Recently, Oke spoke with CBS News Sunday Morning about When Calls the Heart and the community that has emerged around the show, which she says gives people a sense of community and belonging. 

​​”We come from different cultures and different areas of the world, and yet, we have that common human need to understanding, working together, feeling accepted,” she said. “That accepted is a pretty big word.”

“There’s lots of places in our world, even in our busy cities and whatnot, where you don’t know if you’re accepted, you don’t have a place to really fit, you don’t have anyone to fill that spot in your heart,” she went on to say. “And I think that’s why this show has touched so many hearts because we need that. We have to be a part of the group. We were made to be, belong to one another, support one another.”

‘When Calls the Heart’ star Erin Krakow says the show appeals to a ‘desire for heartwarming entertainment’ 

When Calls the Heart also delivers the kind of gentle, low-key drama that’s become harder to find on TV and streaming. 

“There’s a real desire for heartwarming entertainment, stories about community and family and love,” series star Erin Krakow, who plays Elizabeth Thornton, told CBS. “It hearkens back to a simpler time, and it’s something that I think all of us really want in our lives.”

“We just wanted to make a good show. And it turns out that there is nobody else making content like this nowadays. It just doesn’t exist,” executive producer Brian Bird told CBN in 2022. 

“When the world is filled with zombies and vampires and crystal meth dealers and dead body shows, there are a bunch of people who are saying, ‘I’m not watching that.’ A huge audience,” he added. “We came along at a time when nobody was giving them food. It’s like an audience that starved in a famine, and they’re hungry. If you bring them food, they will reward you. They will love you like nobody’s business.” 

When Calls the Heart Season 11 premieres Sunday, April 7 at 9 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel. 

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