When Hope Calls & Abigail Stanton Are Back!!!

    Oh wow guys! I did NOT see this coming!

    Okay before I start off down a big whirlwind of "oh my goodnesses" let me welcome you. Welcome! I hope you're all doing wonderfully today! Alright. I did it. Now...

    OH MY GOODNESS!!!

    I was just living out a normal day for me. I went to check Instagram, saw WCTH had an Insta Story, and... was clear blown away. It was a pic of Abigail, and had a link to a news story. This said news story then proceeded to tell me these crazy things like:

    When Hope Calls isn't dead! Or... gone. Over. Never to be seen again. (However you want to put it. :) It also said...

    ABIGAIL IS COMING BACK!!! No stinking way! (And I say this in a good and excited way FYI. :D )

    Other details include the fact that Cody is coming back too! (I'm so curious to see him back and all grown up!) And the fact that WHC is now NOT on Hallmark Channel. Yes. I'll get to that in a minute, and where you can find the new channel.

    And finally... There's a WCTH Christmas Special coming out this December!!! Actually scratch that... There's a TWO PART Christmas Special coming this December!!!

    Do you feel overwhelmed with news? Well, hold on to your butts, cause I'm not done yet. But for convenience sake let's take this one step at a time.

 

When Hope Calls

    So first let's just talk about WHC. I wasn't sure what was going to happen with that show. I liked WCTH better but definitely enjoyed the spinoff. It was sweet, and the whole premise of two orphaned sisters finding each other, and starting their own orphanage was just great. A little while ago I read a news article stating some rumors about WHC having a Christmas Special and then changed to an entire Season 2. It sounded promising, but I kind of let it go and forgot about it. In hindsight... obviously those rumors were true.

    I believe I heard the first day of filming started just this week, but I'm not 100% sure about that. (Please correct me if you know.) The second season is set to kick off with that two part Christmas Special I mentioned earlier on December 18th titled, When Hope Calls: A Country Christmas.

    However... there is some very sad news... While Morgan Kohan is set to come back as Lillian, and Ryan-James Hatanaka  as Gabe... Jocelyn Hudon has stated that she will not be back for WHC S2. She is apparently filming an action film and will not be coming back as Grace. This is... very, very sad. If you've read my episode reviews for S1 of WHC you'll know I literally raved on, and on about her acting. I'm just not even sure how you do the show without Grace.

    I had wondered if she was just not going to be in the Christmas Special and would maybe come back later in the season. After all she went to England in S1's finale, so that would make sense. But when asked if she would be a part of S2 Jocelyn flat out said no. And so... I'm stumped. 

    Will she be recast? I really, really think she needs to be if the show is to continue on it's original premise. Her and Lillian's story is literally the whole reason this show exists. I mean, sure the writers could go a season without her and find creative ways to fill the gaps, but only if Jocelyn was going to come back for S3 should there be one. But... even then there would be such a hole in the show without her.

    Now as jarring as it would be, I could be okay with Grace being recast BUT only, ONLY if they got someone I really really liked. And even then... it's pretty risky. People loved Grace and Chuck's story, and so... yeah. This could be a mess, or the writers could surprise me big time and make the show even better. Who knows? We've been through the loss of Jack on WCTH and Abigail, so... I think the writers could pull it off. 

    Speaking of Abigail... I'm going to get to her in just a second. I just want to finish the WHC topic here and say that really the only WHC actors who are 100% coming back is Morgan Kohan wand Ryan-James Hatanaka. However I don't know about Chuck, his mother, Joe, Maggie, or Ronnie coming back. Granted this doesn't mean they aren't, as things are still in the early stages. Just wanted to let you know. :)

    IMO... if Grace doesn't come back, I think the writers should totally revamp the show. Bring new characters, and sort of create a redesigned version of When Hope Calls.

 

Abigail Is Back!!!

 

    And now... Abigail. Wow. Guys I really wasn't sure if TV would ever see Abigail Stanton again... But it turns out it will, and I am excited!

    Now (Disclaimer) I am not going to deny that she was not my favorite character last time we saw her in WCTH. IMO she really took up a lot of screen time, and I wasn't a fan of the person she became as mayor of Hope Valley. I liked S1 Abigail WAY better. However I am actually excited to hear that she's coming to WHC! It's been forever since we last saw her, and I'm so curious to see what happens! I'm also curious if she's going to be in more than just the Christmas Special. However I don't think so as Carter Ryan (AKA Cody) said in an Instagram post, "Excited to be part of When Hope Calls “A Country Christmas” 🎄episodes of Season 2." This leads me to believe that both him and Lori are just in the Christmas Special. But we'll see. :)

    We also get to see Cody again as well, which again I'm excited for! He's grown into such a young man, (Have you heard that kid's voice? :O ) and it will be really fun to see him again!

    Another character I'm really wondering if we'll see is... (Drum roll please...) Henry Gowen! "What now?" You may be saying aloud. Let me explain. You see, in the synopsis for Part 2 of the Christmas Special it states that "Abigail has a profound conversation with a dear friend from the past." AND... what was Henry doing just as Season 8 ended? Getting in his car and driving off somewhere, with a fleeting glance at Abigail's Cafe sign before he left. Now... I'll be honest here. I have no idea if it is even possible for Henry to show up. WHC being on a different channel produces a lot of complications. It might not be a possibility. But... it would be really, REALLY neat!

    Now while I for one am excited to see Abigail back... not everyone feels that way. For instance... Hallmark Channel. They recently released a statement concerning Lori, and it pretty straight forward in showing how they feel about her.

 

“Hallmark Channel has not cast Lori Loughlin in any current projects, including When Calls the Heart, nor do we have any plans to cast her in the future. She was cast by GAC Family, a wholly separate cable network not affiliated with Hallmark Channel or Crown Media Family Networks,” 

 

    Wow. That's... really cold. It's honestly really sad they feel that way. Sad for Lori, and sad for the future of WCTH or even Garage Sales Mysteries and Hallmark movies in general. I really don't think they had to take things this far. But this does answer the Hearties questions about Abigail ever coming back to Hope Valley. And the answer would obviously be... no. 

    Now like I said Abigail wasn't my all time favorite character, just due to how her character changed, and the fact that she took up a lot of screen time. Therefore I'm more okay with her not coming back to Hope Valley. But... I have to admit there are certain aspects to her coming back that would have been really fun to see. Her being reunited with her best friend Elizabeth, and Henry, the man who's totally in love with her. Her seeing how things have changed, and seeing Elizabeth and Lucas as a couple. It all would have been fun. So I have mixed feelings about it. But all of that aside... that was still really cold of Hallmark. 😢

 

A New Channel

    The final thing I have to mention is the brand new channel that WHC will be on. Honestly... the story is something else.

    When Hope Calls will be airing on GAC Family. The channel was previously Great American Country until.... Bill Abbott acquired the channel! Yes that's right! Hallmark Channel's former CEO went and acquired and rebranded the channel. According to the news article he plans on airing family friendly movies like he did on Hallmark. (Which is great news to me!) And obviously the channel will be WHC's new home.

    Brian Bird, Michael Landon, Jr., AND Alfonso H. Moreno are all a part of the crew for WHC! The fact that Alfonso is a part of the crew makes me hopeful! WCTH Seasons 6-7 were undoubtedly some of the best seasons in WCTH history, and he was the showrunner for those! (Yay!)

    If anyone isn't sure where to find the new channel or your TV provider doesn't carry it, there is a streaming service called Philo. It only costs 25$ a month and you get a 7 day free trial. It has all of the "feel good channels" like Hallmark, UPtv, and GAC Family and unlimited DVR. I hope this is helpful!

    Wow. Wow, wow, wow... This was such an explosion of news, wasn't it? But it's so exciting! Here's the link to the article if you'd like to read about Lori and When Hope Calls' Christmas Special for yourselves! https://deadline.com/2021/09/lori-loughlin-reprise-abigail-stanton-when-calls-the-heart-season-2-when-hope-calls-gac-family-return-to-acting-college-admissions-scandal-1234845738/

     Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to tell me your thoughts on all of this in the comments below or on my Twitter or Instagram pages! Have a wonderful week! God Bless!

    P.S. Last day to save! Shop now and get 20% OFF EVERYTHING in my shop! https://heart-and-family-mercantile.myspreadshop.com/