‘When Calls the Heart’ Showrunner Shuts Down Speculation About Jack’s Return in Season 12
Even though Daniel Lissing left When Calls the Heart years ago, some loyal fans are still holding out hope that the Jack Thornton actor could return to the Hallmark Channel series. Now, a moment in the season 11 finale has raised hopes that Jack could return. But an insider says that the character – who died in an off-screen accident in season 5 – will not be back despite that suggestive cliffhanger.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for the When Calls the Heart Season 11 finale.]
‘When Calls the Heart’ Season 11 ends on a cliffhanger
When Calls the Heart wrapped up its 11th season with Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) and Nathan (Kevin McGarry) stepping out for the first time as a couple at Mike (Ben Rosenbaum) and Mei’s (Amanda Wong) wedding. But as they shared a sweet kiss after the reception, a surprise visitor to Hope Valley seemed to threaten their newfound happiness.
Superintendent Hargreaves (David Lewis) rode into town to deliver a message. Hargreaves was Nathan’s superior officer at Fort Clay, but he wasn’t there to see his fellow Mountie. Instead, he had urgent – and private – business with Elizabeth.
“Mrs. Thornton, it’s about your late husband,” he said.
The episode ended before Hargreaves could deliver his message. But the mention of Elizabeth’s late husband Jack came as a shock both to her and the show’s viewers.
Jack died during a training exercise while he was stationed at Fort Clay. Originally, Nathan was supposed to participate in the exercise, but after he was disciplined for another incident, Jack replaced him. Ever since, Nathan has been harboring guilt about Jack’s death, and it was those feelings that led him to accept a post in Hope Valley.
Could Jack (Daniel Lissing) return to ‘When Calls the Heart’?
Hargreaves’ cryptic words in the When Calls the Heart Season 11 finale immediately sparked speculation that Jack might still be alive. During the episode, Hallmark also aired a preview for a new Christmas movie starring Krakow and Lissing, the latter’s first for the network since 2018. That likely fed hopes that Lissing’s Hallmark return might also involve a return to When Calls the Heart.
However, it sounds like the show has no plans to resurrect the Jack character. Showrunner Lindsay Sturman quickly threw cold water on that idea in a post-finale interview with TV Guide.
“Jack is not coming back, but we did want to keep his memory alive,” she said.
“From the beginning of the show, it was a story about widows and for Little Jack, as he’s hitting these milestones growing up, how does Elizabeth keep Jack alive for Little Jack and hold his memory and the complexity of that when she’s in a new relationship?” she said. “It was a way to complicate [Elizabeth and Nathan’s] new situation, which ends on a sweet note and then, oh no, there’s this new complexity. It can’t always be simple.”
Elizabeth must deal with her history with Jack, showrunner says
Earlier in the finale, Nathan again spoke to Elizabeth about feeling responsible for Jack’s death. Whatever news Hargreaves has to deliver may lead to him working through those emotions and Elizabeth assuring him that she she does not blame him for her earlier loss. Bringing Jack back via a convoluted and unrealistic plot device (such as having his character suffering from a years-long bout of amnesia) seems unlikely. If Lissing did return to When Calls the Heart, it seems more plausible that he’d appear in a dream sequence (as he did in the When Hope Calls Christmas special) or in a flashback.
Sturman went on to say that the mention of Jack in the finale was “not meant to upend everything we’ve built.”
“The show always was about how you come back from loss and as Nathan and Elizabeth settle, this complicates the two of them going to the wedding together and being together,” she said. “There is history that Elizabeth always has to grapple with.”
When Calls the Heart Season 12 will air on Hallmark Channel in 2025.
For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.
