Is Jack Wagner leaving Hallmark? Fans have been wondering about the star following several developments, including the death of his son.
During Season 9 of When Calls the Heart, Wagner’s character, Bill Avery, struggled with poor health. After several visits to Dr. Faith Carter (Andrea Brooks) for a persistent cough, she urged him to go to a nearby city for an X-ray. His symptoms suggest he had tuberculosis.
Though Wagner has been a member of the cast since the first season of When Calls the Heart, several beloved characters were written off the show last year. Jesse (Aren Buchholz) and Clara (Eva Bourne) moved to Montana to try homesteading. Dr. Carson Shepherd (Paul Greene) also left Hope Valley so he could pursue his dream of becoming a surgeon. Fans have speculated that if these characters can be written off the show, so can Wagner’s.
Is Jack Wagner leaving Hallmark?
Wagner’s other major project with Hallmark was the Wedding March film series. The actor played Mick Turner, a widower and former rock star who runs a Vermont inn. He falls for Livvy Phillips-Pershing (played by Josie Bissett), and the two end up getting married in the sixth and final movie in the series, Sealed With a Kiss: Wedding March 6, which aired in August 2021.
In an interview to promote the movie, Wagner said he was taken aback by how emotional he became filming the wedding.
“I don’t think we knew what to expect,” Wagner said. “The emotion was unbelievably raw and in the moment and real.”
A move to GAC Family?
Hearties were thrilled when Hallmark announced in June that When Calls the Heart was coming back for another season. But while other stars of the series posted about it on social media, Wagner was preoccupied with the loss of his son Harrison, who passed away at the age of 27.
Some fans have wondered if the loss will prevent Wagner from returning to the Hallmark series. Others have unearthed an October interview with the CEO of GAC Family Bill Abbott, in which he said that Jack Wagner will eventually be featured on the family-friendly network.
“He will be part of the family ultimately too,” Abbott said.
(The interview can be seen here.)