When Calls the Heart fans will have to wait a little longer than they probably thought before the Hallmark Channel’s show returns with season 10. On February 17 Hallmark announced that When Calls the Heart season 10 will return on July 30, 2023.
Hallmark Media Exec VP President of Programming Lisa Hamilton Daly told reporters at the Television Critics Tour today that the series won’t return until the middle of 2023. The network renewed the drama in June and announced that Lindsay Sturman (Supergirl) will take over as showrunner.
Synopsis
“When Calls the Heart” season 10 opens with a discovery that could help turn around the town in “Carpe Diem,” premiering Sunday, July 30 (9 p.m. ET/PT), on Hallmark Channel.
Hope Valley faces an economic downturn together. Meanwhile, Elizabeth (Krakow) and Bill (Wagner) learn that the children of Hope Valley have made a discovery that could change the future of the town. Change is in the air for Hope Valley with the foundry that’s to be built and the upcoming mayoral election.
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‘When Calls the Heart’s 100th Episode Celebration: Go Behind the Scenes!
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Erin Krakow on Elizabeth & Lucas’ ‘Real’ Relationship & Wedding Planning
Elizabeth and Lucas are engaged. How is their relationship this season?
Erin Krakow: Their relationship is real, is I guess how I’d put it, in that it isn’t perfect. With each new chapter in their relationship, they’re learning new things about each other. There are interesting challenges both from outside the relationship and within the relationship, individual challenges for each of them. And don’t get me wrong, there are still very romantic tender moments between them and plenty of them, but it is a real relationship and we’re seeing them navigate those challenges together.
Speaking of those challenges, what’s the biggest challenge they’ll be facing as a couple?
Oh, I don’t think I can share that. [Laughs] I will just say that really being true to themselves and how that kind of manifests within their relationship is important to both of them in Season 10. And as we all know, that’s not always easy.
Because there’s also fact she has a kid to consider. Yes, he’s been around Jack (Hyland Goodrich), but it’s different when now they’re going to be married.
Very true. Excellent point. What I’d say about that is Lucas has been such a great father figure, sort of buddy, as they call each other from the beginning. Chris McNally is so great with kids in general, but he and Hyland have had such a special bond. I will say there aren’t really any problems in that department. They get along great.
How’s teaching going for Elizabeth this season? It seems like she’s settled in teaching how she wants to.
Oh, yeah. Elizabeth has always been, to the best of her ability, true to teaching in the way that feels most supportive of her students and what works best for them. In this case, there’s a new feature, let’s call it, in Hope Valley, that some of the kids discover, and so she has to kind of monitor that adventurous behavior a little bit. But beyond that, she’s obviously thrilled to be with her students and teaching.
What’s the biggest challenge she’ll be facing separate from her relationship with Lucas?
I think a lot of women can relate to this, but obviously it’s a challenge for Elizabeth to just balance everything she has going on in her life. There’s being a single mom, her relationship, planning this wedding, keeping her friendships alive — so, as Rosemary once said, their friendship doesn’t wither on the vine — and just being hopefully a pillar of the community, being a teacher. It’s just a lot to juggle. I think Elizabeth is the type of person who wants to be everything for everyone, and sometimes that’s hard.
And especially because everyone in the community is involved in everyone else’s lives.
Of course, small town business, right? That’s how it goes. Everybody knows everyone else’s business, especially Florence.
How is wedding planning going? Rosemary certainly is excited in the premiere.
When is Rosemary not excited? [Laughs] Yes, wedding planning is full of sweet little moments. We’re seeing them work on their invitations, and there’s cake tasting and the things that you would expect out of wedding planning.
What can you say about the wedding itself?
I can say nothing about the wedding itself. [Laughs] Some things need to be kept secret. … I don’t want to give anything away because we like to have some surprises, but I will say that they cake tasting sure is delicious. I could have done a ton of takes of that scene. Our props department delivers some really good cake.
Bill’s health is a concern right now. Who is he allowing to help him? Anyone? How is Elizabeth handling that? We see how close Bill is with her son, and those scenes are so adorable.
Oh, they’re so sweet, aren’t they? It was the end of Season 9 we learned more about Bill’s health issues, and he is the type of guy who doesn’t really want to let anyone help him. Bill can be kind of a curmudgeon in that way. And so Dr. Faith Carter [Andrea Brooks] almost has to beg him to let her help. Obviously there are plenty of people in town who care about him, but he’s trying to be so tough about it all. And it may be that there’s a little bit of that Hope Valley magic that helps him heal in Season 10.
The show has moved past the Elizabeth-Lucas-Nathan (Kevin McGarry) love Triangle, but Nathan’s love life is still complicated right now. What does Elizabeth think of that? They are still friends.
Elizabeth wants Nathan to be happy. She truly cares about Nathan’s happiness and wellbeing. I will say Nathan does have his own romantic storyline this season, and there is a flirtation that we get to enjoy for Nathan.
Something that stands out as how far Henry (Martin Cummins) has come from Season 1 — everyone likes him. And now he’s facing these charges. What’s coming up with him and how is the town going to handle it?
I think for Henry Gowan, his big issue is really forgiving himself. It seems like at a certain point, the community understands why he’s made the choices he’s made and believes in redemption and second chances, and they really have come to see the good in Henry. It’s just a matter of him believing that he’s deserving of that good.
Are we going to see Elizabeth’s family coming to town this season with the wedding coming up?
We sure are. Not her entire family, but yeah, that’s a fun tease. We are going to get to see some of Elizabeth’s family back in Hope Valley. And just as Elizabeth was a fish out of water in Season 1, we see that a certain member of her family is also a bit of a fish out of water in Hope Valley.
What’s coming up between Elizabeth and Rosemary? I love their friendship so much, and I feel like Elizabeth can offer some advice with the baby coming, and maybe Rosemary will want it, maybe she won’t.
I’m so glad you love their friendship. I am also a big fan of the Rosemary-Elizabeth friendship, just as I am a big fan of the Pascale and Erin friendship. But yeah, Rosemary has some fears, nerves about what kind of a mother she’ll be. It is really nice that they have a friendship where Rosemary can turn to her and kind of share some of those fears, and Elizabeth is right there to reassure her and let her know that of course motherhood has its challenges, but Rosemary’s going to be an incredible mother.
Who’s dealing with the most drama this season?
There’s all sorts of drama in Season 10, but there is kind of a larger town-based drama that has the potential to affect everyone in a really dangerous way. So the stakes are high for everyone in Season 10. They don’t all know it at the same time, but as we learn more, certainly toward the end of the season, we discover just how dangerous things are.
What can you say about how When Calls The Heart Season 10 ends to set up Season 11?
I can say there’s a lot of teamwork to try to ensure everyone’s safety and wellbeing and that love is of the utmost importance, and it’s just really great, OK? You gotta watch.
Erin Krakow Promises When Calls The Heart Season 10 Has Many ‘Jaw-Dropping’ Moments
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Get ready, Hearties, season 10 of When Calls the Heart promises to be a wild ride!
Ahead of the anticipated return of the Hallmark Channel drama, Erin Krakow sat down with ET, where she offered a preview of all that’s to come for Elizabeth and the folks in Hope Valley.
“I am very excited,” Krakow said. “I have such a memory of being on set in season 1 and wrapping up the season and we were talking as a cast about where we thought the show could go. And the fact that we are here celebrating the premiere of season 10, it’s remarkable. I am so grateful.”
The new season picks up following the events of the finale, which saw Elizabeth and Lucas (Chris McNally) getting engaged, and expectant couple Rosemary (Pascale Hutton) and Lee (Kavan Smith) preparing for the birth of their baby.
“Season 10 is packed. We are truly leveling up the When Calls the Heart experience,” Krakow, who is also an executive producer, teased. “We are bringing in lots of exciting guest stars. We’ve don’t know if they are good guys or bad guys. We have family visits, we have musical episodes — not a true musical episode, but there is music. There’s some singing, there’s a tourist destination — this hot springs in town, there’s a lot of romance. There’s a new baby. It’s a momentous season, as it should be in season 10.”
Krakow revealed the season begins with Elizabeth and Lucas enjoying the early stages of their engagement as the couple dip their toe in wedding planning.
“There is cake tasting and invitations and, you know, talk of dress designs,” the actress hinted. “All the good stuff. We will see them on that journey.”
But she added that Elizabeth may be the one When Calls the Heart character who faces the biggest obstacles this year.
“Elizabeth goes through it this season. She has some emotional hurdles that she has to overcome,” Krakow said. “Her kid is growing up. Little Jack has all of these questions now about his father and that is a new challenge for Elizabeth. She has a lot on her plate. She is juggling a lot.”
“And then you’ve got Henry Gowen. He is at a point where the community has really forgiven him, but he has to figure out if he can forgive himself, which is a big process for Gowen. Lucas, he has some career opportunities that will challenge him in a good way. But change is hard,” she continued. “And then you have Rosemary, who is questioning what kind of a mom she might be and obviously Elizabeth is there to comfort her and support her on that journey. There is something for everyone [to go through].”
With the Hallmark favorite reaching a milestone 10th season, which will include the series’ 100th episode, Krakow promised the drama is at an all-time high.
“There will be some jaw dropping. There will probably be a few moments of dropped jaws,” she teased. “There’s a bit of a life-or-death situation.” Thankfully, no one perishes as a result of the life-or-death situation, Krakow assured, but “it gets a little dicey for a second.”
And it wouldn’t be When Calls the Heart without tug-at-your-heartstrings romantic moments. “We’ve got some big romance beats, jaw-dropping beats there,” Krakow said.
“Just buckle your seatbelts,” she added. “I am not kidding, it’s a massive season. It’s a roller-coaster. It’s a fun roller-coaster.”
Erin Krakow Says Episode 100 Is a ‘Celebration of Our Community’
Hearties, there is so much to look forward to coming up on the sweet Hallmark Channel series. Not only is When Calls the Heart returning for its 10th season (premiering July 30), fans will get to see the drama’s 100th episode!
“It’s just a huge event in Hope Valley,” series star and executive producer Erin Krakow tells TV Insider. “It is a celebration of our community, and we get to see everyone enjoying a special new feature in Hope Valley. I will say maybe that’s when we can expect to see some family. And yeah, it won’t feel like a departure from our story and it won’t feel like a departure from the way we typically tell stories. We didn’t want to divert at all from the stories that we were telling this season. So it will very much feel like a cohesive part of the rest of this season.”
As for the rest of Season 10, “we have no shortage of interesting storylines in Season 10, which is a real testament to our writers, I’d say, because we’ve told a lot of stories over the years, but there’s still so much left to tell and they’ve done an incredible job crafting Season 10,” Krakow raves.
Expect plenty of romance, friendship, and drama.
“There’s real drama,” the star stresses. There’s also action and adventure coming up, along with “sweet, funny moments with the kids” and music. “It’s just a very full, exciting season,” she promises.
Plus, When Calls the Heart, already the network’s longest-running drama, was renewed for Season 11 in February, so there’s much more to come.
“It’s huge news,” Krakow says of the (very) early pickup. “We’re thrilled, and it’s like everyone can kind of just relax and enjoy Season 10 and not have to worry about getting the Season 11 because quite frankly, we’ll already be filming it.”
President and CEO Wonya Lucas and EVP of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly discussed the changes happening at the network with talent heading to competitors, including Great American Family (previously titled GAC)
“We’ve kept a lot of our talent under options, save for Christmas movies. We’re looking for new talent all the time. I think there’s a lot of talent out there that we’ve worked with in the past that GAC is now working with, but I think that we also are constantly trying to evolve the talent pool that we’re working with,” said Lucas. “We have, I think, retained almost everybody that we’re really excited to have. So that’s where we are.”
“Talent works with Netflix, talent works with Lifetime and that’s kind of the way the industry works. I think one of the things that makes us unique versus a lot of other places is that, when I first got here, people would say, ‘We’re a family.’ I didn’t quite get that but our talent, they know each other. They have a great relationship and that’s the secret sauce we have as Hallmark,” she added. “That continues today. We have existing talent that’s been with us a long time, and we have a new talent that we’re bringing in as well. And they all feel part of this Hallmark Channel love and so that that will be consistent. That is consistent in the past; that’s consistent today.”
UPDATE
I got your impassioned Q in front of Krakow, and the Hallmark series’ star/EP was generous enough to write back, “Let’s just say that they are still learning new things about each other. There are ups and downs, as in any relationship, but in the end everything is as it should be.”
Some spoilers form Erin Krakow
“It’s going to be epic. It’s going to be a very exciting, dramatic, romantic season. There’s music. It’s really jam-packed, and I’m very proud of it.”
“Season 1 feels like a lifetime ago and sort of just yesterday all at once,” Krakow admitted. “It’s this bizarre feeling. But it was a really exhausting and incredible chapter of my life. I continue to feel so proud to be a part of When Calls the Heart and grateful that the Hearties have kept us on the air all these years, that Hallmark continues to believe in our show. Season 1, I think, we filmed in 2013; it aired in 2014. It was a long time ago. And the show has changed and grown a lot since then. But looking back, I just feel a lot of pride to be a part of it.”
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