Stay strong, Hearties! Hallmark Channel gave fans peace of mind about the future of When Calls the Heart following Lori Loughlin’s dismissal stemming from a college admissions scam.
“#Hearties, we assure you that Hallmark Channel has no plans to cancel When Calls the Heart,” the network wrote via Instagram on Thursday, March 14. “Hope Valley has many more stories left to share and we will let you know the details soon.”
Earlier on Thursday, Hallmark announced that the network cut ties with Loughlin, 54, amid her legal woes. “We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations,” Crown Media Family Networks said in a statement. “We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Loughlin including Garage Sale Mysteries, an independent third party production.”
The Full House alum was a series regular on When Calls the Heart. She also frequently appeared in Hallmark Channel original movies as well as starred in 15 films in the Garage Sale Mystery series.
Hallmark noted that the company is “evaluating all creative options” for the period drama, which will not air on Sunday, March 17.
Loughlin was taken into custody on Wednesday, March 13. The actress and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were indicted along with dozens of others — including Felicity Huffman — who allegedly bribed individuals to get their children into highly competitive colleges.
The couple, who share daughters Bella, 20, and Olivia Jade, 19, allegedly “agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team — despite the fact that they did not participate in crew — thereby facilitating their admission to USC.”
Loughlin previously opened up exclusively to Us Weekly about what her part on When Calls the Heart meant to her. “I love everyone I work with. We have a real family,” she said in February 2018. “There are many levels to it that make you happy. … I love the fact that it’s the same cast and crew and we get together and it’s like a family. I feel very blessed.”
She added: “And nowadays … things come and go so quickly. You do two episodes and then they pull you because you don’t have a high enough rating or something. I feel like the fact that this show has resonated with people and keeps growing … [has] been really wonderful.”
