The co-creator of Hallmark’s hit series When Calls the Heart told fans that “good conversations” are happening about Lori Loughlin returning to the show.
“Our attitude always has been, as the producing team around the writing team around When Calls the Heart, that what better place for second chances than Hope Valley?” Bird said in an interview on the “Heart to Hearties” podcast. “So, in theory, it should work, right? But again, can’t fully promise it, but we’re working on it.”
Fans have been asking if Loughlin would return ever since the Season 10 finale of When Calls the Heart aired. In that episode, titled “Starry Nights,” Henry Gowen (Martin Cummins) was shown standing in front of a house with “A. Stanton” written on the mailbox. (Abigail Stanton was the name of Loughlin’s character on the show.) After he knocked on the door, someone opened it and Henry said, “Abigail.”
When Calls the Heart
Lori Loughlin played widow Abigail Stanton on the Hallmark series from 2014 to 2019. Her character served as a mentor for Elizabeth (Erin Krakow). She challenged the mining company, opened a cafe, and eventually became mayor of Hope Valley.
Loughlin was working on Season 6 of the series when news broke of her involvement in a college admissions scandal. The show took a month-long hiatus as writers and producers decided what to do with her character. They eventually wrote her out of the show.
In March of 2019, Loughlin and her husband, J. Mossimo Giannulli, were among 50 people charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts with falsifying their children’s test scores and athletic abilities to gain admission to top universities. Both Loughlin and her husband pleaded guilty to charges of wire and mail fraud. She served two months in prison, paid a $150,000 fine, and was ordered to complete 150 hours of community service.
Lori Loughlin return
Brian Bird has made it clear that he thinks Loughlin belongs back on the show. During a June 2021 interview, he said, “If anyone should return to Hope Valley, it should be Abigail.”
Loughlin has largely been absent from the small screen since the admissions scandal became public. She did reprise her role as Abigail Stanton for a Christmas special for When Hope Calls, a spinoff of When Calls the Heart. She also starred in Fall Into Winter, a movie for Great American Family, a network founded by former Hallmark CEO Bill Abbott.
A representative for Hallmark media said that the company was not talking with Loughlin about a return.
