‘When Calls the Heart’ Spinoff ‘When Hope Calls’ to Return with Surprise Season 2 in 2025
When Hope Calls is coming back for season 2. New episodes of the When Calls the Heart spinoff begin filming this month and will air starting in January 2025 on Great American Family (streaming on Pure Flix).
Morgan Kohan, Ryan-James Hatanaka return for ‘When Hope Calls ‘sequel’
The next season of When Hope Calls is being billed as a “sequel” to the show’s first season, which aired in 2019, and the 2021 Christmas special. Original cast members Morgan Kohan and Ryan-James Hatanaka will return as Lillian and Mountie Gabriel, respectively. Wendy Crewson will also be back as Tess Stewart, as will Hanneke Talbot as Maggie Parsons.
New cast members include Cindy Busby as Nora, Christopher Russell as Constable Mountie Michael, and Nick Bateman as Wyatt.
When Hope Calls Season 1 followed Lillian and her sister Grace (Jocelyn Hudon, now a series regular on Chicago Fire) as sisters who start an orphanage in the small town of Brookfield. In the Christmas special, it was explained that Grace had moved to London. Her season 1 love interest, Chuck (Greg Hovanessian) followed her abroad.
Lori Loughlin appeared as her much-missed When Calls the Heart character Abigail Stanton in the When Hope Calls holiday episodes. She was not mentioned in the season 2 cast list.
What to expect from ‘When Hope Calls’ Season 2
The second, eight-episode season of When Hope Calls will begin with an “homage” to Lillian and Gabriel’s romance in the opening episodes, Great American Family says.
New characters will also be introduced who “are seminal to the orphanage and children, the sprawling farms and ranchlands, and to the town of Brookfield,” including Michael, the new constable with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Morgan Kohan previously hinted she wouldn’t be returning to ‘When Hope Calls’
When Hope Calls originally aired on Hallmark’s streaming service Hallmark Movies Now. Though Hallmark declined to renew the show, Great American Family announced in 2021 that a second season was in the works. But after the Christmas special, no new episodes materialized.
In 2023, Kohan hinted that she wasn’t likely to return to the show if season 2 did happen.
“It’s a show that keeps popping by to say ‘Hi,’ but you never know,” she told Hello! “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.”
“It was really, really special but I feel like a different person now from when I was filming that show,” she said.
Kohan currently stars with One Tree Hill alum Chad Michael Murray in Sullivan’s Crossing. Season 2 premieres Wednesday, Oct. 2 on The CW.
For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.
