Hallmark's When Calls The Heart has had to jump through some hoops to figure things out during Lori Loughlin's scandal, but it appears the actress' latest legal woes won't affect the show's future. Series star Erin Krakow took to social media to announce When Calls The Heart will be returning to Hallmark next year for Season 7.
Erin Krakow added that When Calls The Heart will be returning from its hiatus Sunday, May 5 and Monday, May 6 for a two-night return at 8:00 p.m. ET. That much was previously known by loyal Hearties, along with the news that future episodes of Season 6 would be edited to remove Lori Loughlin's Abigail from the screen. Loughlin has been dropped by Hallmark productions entirely, so don't expect her to slink back in for Season 7.
As for what will become of her character Abigail Stanton, When Calls The Heart still has yet to reveal its long-term plan for the series. Right now the options appear to be to either write Abigail out of the drama permanently in a way that doesn't require Lori Loughlin, or recast her character with another actress. Hallmark hasn't hinted to which direction it's leaning, but with the way it's aggressively scrubbing Loughlin from episodes, one of those two things will likely happen.
As the show's producers noted in a prior statement, the show is bigger than the sum of its parts. Some fans may have been skeptical, but now it does truly sound like When Calls The Heart was really just retooling the series to accommodate the drama and not headed for cancellation. Now, if only we knew how these changes will affect Season 6, and if Loughlin's removal will result in changing some future plans that were previously in place.
When Calls The Heart isn't the only series to have dropped Lori Loughlin in 2019, as Fuller House has apparently done something similar. The Netflix original's final season will still air, but it will reportedly not feature Loughlin's Aunt Becky the final episodes. Both moves happened before a recent document was released that revealed more details behind Loughlin's alleged wrong-doing in the scandal, which included her reportedly agreeing to lie to the IRS about the nature of her payment to help Rick Singer.
The payments, as reports have stated, were allegedly bribes meant to ensure her daughters were admitted into USC. Lori Loughlin is one in a group of reportedly 50 people caught up in the controversy, which also involves actress Felicity Huffman. Huffman recently announced she will be pleading guilty, and has seen some impact on her career as well as a result of the scandal.
As mentioned, When Calls The Heart will return to Hallmark Sunday, May 5 in the beginning of a two-night special. CinemaBlend will provide updates on the ongoing scandal as they come, as well as other things happening in entertainment news in general.
