Could ‘When Calls the Heart’ Get Another Spinoff? Hallmark Exec Weighs In
When Calls the Heart Season 11 is coming to Hallmark Channel in April. The new season of the family-friendly period drama will pick up after the dramatic conclusion of season 10 and looks like it will focus on a new romance between Elizabeth Thornton (Erin Krakow) and Mountie Nathan Grant (Kevin McGarry).
But Hope Valley is home to many more characters than Elizabeth and Nathan, from Elizabeth’s best friend Rosemary Coulter (Pascale Hutton) to enterprising businessman and inventor Ned Yost (Hrothgar Mathews). Could any of them ever get their own show? A Hallmark Channel exec recently weighed in on the possibility.
A ‘When Calls the Heart’ spinoff is ‘possible’
In a recent interview with Variety, Hallmark Media’s executive vice president of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly was asked whether the network had ever considered expanding the When Calls the Heart universe.
“We always have conversations about how to expand our IP,” Daly replied. “It’s a constant conversation, but for that one, it’s going so well still. It’s hard to think, who would you peel off? Erin is really central to the show, as many of the cast members are.”
Daly went on to say that if When Calls the Heart were to come to an end, there was a chance Hallmark might consider a follow-up or spinoff show. But at the moment, the plan is to remain focused on When Calls the Heart.
“It’s possible, were that show to reach a conclusion, then we might think about what to do, but at this point, we plan to keep going,” she said.
What’s the status of ‘When Hope Calls’?
While it doesn’t sound like there are any current plans for a When Calls the Heart spinoff, Hallmark has pursued the idea in the past.
When Hope Calls debuted in 2019 on Hallmark’s streaming service, Hallmark Movies Now. It aired on Hallmark Channel in 2020. The show focused on two sisters who run an orphanage in a town called Brookfield, not far from Hope Valley. While When Hope Calls had its own setting, characters, and storyline, characters from When Calls the Heart occasionally popped up on the show.
Unfortunately, it seems that When Hope Calls is unlikely to return for a second season. In 2021, a different network, Great American Family, picked up the show for season 2. A Christmas special aired that December, but since then, there’s been no word on future episodes. Recently, series star Morgan Kohan – who’s now starring in Sullivan’s Crossing on The CW – has hinted the show had come to an end.
“It’s a show that keeps popping by to say ‘Hi,’ but you never know,” Kohan told Hello! In an October 2023 interview when asked about the status of the series. “I think it’s a really beautiful world and I’m so happy for my time in it. I think maybe, at a point, I would [return to the show] but I’m really excited with where my career is taking me now.”
At the time, Great American Media did not respond to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s inquiry about the status of When Hope Calls Season 2.
When Calls the Heart Season 11 premieres Sunday, April 7 at 9 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel.
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