CONFIRMED RETURN!

Someone is returning to a When Calls the Heart role - just not the way we thought!

Abigail Stanton is returning, but not to Hope Valley! Lori Loughlin, formerly of When Calls the Heart, will reprise her popular character from the Hallmark Channel series on the spinoff When Hope Calls, which is coming back for a second season on GAC Family. Lori will appear in the two-part Season 2 premiere titled When Hope Calls: A Country Christmas, slated to air on GAC Family on Saturday, December 18.

Many fans of the show, called #Hearties, have been vocal about not being able to forgive Lori for her past wrong doings with her daughter's college scandal. Having worked for universities myself - the practice of legacy gifting is all too common for me to have thought it a crime worthy of jail time. I always believed the one who belonged in jail was the coach who took advantage of the parents and their willingness to pay whatever necessary to ensure a spot at the colleges. When a wealthy person "buys" a building name at a college through a monetary donation - it's almost guaranteed their children have a spot in whatever graduating class where they need to be included. I think it's great that this new network, run by marketing genius Bill Abbott, is giving Lori the chance to return to her previous job of acting. Forgiveness in action is a true sign of integrity.

Lori was last seen on TV as Abigail in Season 6 of When Calls the Heart before she was let go over her involvement in the college admissions scandal. The actress, who is on probation after serving a two-month sentence, sparked speculation that she may be returning to work last week following a Mercury News report that she had been given permission by a Boston federal judge to travel to Canada for about a week in late September-early October for “a filming production project.”

Season 2 of When Hope Calls, that first aired on Hallmark Channel’s streaming service Hallmark Movies Now, is the first original series that has been announced for GAC Family. Star Morgan Kohan will reprise her role as Lillian Walsh, with additional cast, believed to include RJ Hatanaka, to be announced soon.

Photo credit: Crown media