When Calls The Heart Goes On Hiatus After Fallout From College Bribery Scandal and Indictment Involving Actress Lori Loughlin.
People reports:
- When Calls the Heart Is ‘Retooling’ Without Lori Loughlin After Hallmark Cuts Ties with Actress
The show will go on for the Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart despite star Lori Loughlin’s alleged involvement in a college admissions scandal.
The fate of the show was unclear after Loughlin, 54, was arrested on Wednesday on a felony charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
Though the network has since severed ties with the star, producer Brian Bird and his production team said Saturday via WCTH‘s Instagram account that the show has not been canceled and will return with new episodes after a “retooling” hiatus.
“#Hearties, thank you for your love, support, and patience these last several days as we have all been preoccupied with the news about Lori Loughlin and her family, and the decisions our colleagues at the Hallmark Channel USA needed to make,” the statement began. “As you can imagine, everyone involved with When Calls the Heart was surprised by these developments, so we hope you can forgive us for initially staying silent while we sorted through how to respond.”
The statement continued: “As for the show itself, we know millions of fans are on pins and needles wondering what will happen now. Let us reassure you, When Calls the Heart has always been bigger than the sum of its parts, and it HAS NOT BEEN CANCELED. With the full support of the network, we have gone on a creative hiatus to do some retooling on the remaining Season 6 episodes. That process has already begun. Hope Valley will return to your TV screens as soon as we can bring the episodes to you.”
The statement concluded with a thank you to fans for their continued support through what Bird called a “challenging transition.”
The post also included a photo with the words, “Hope Valley will return soon. The show must go on.”
When Calls the Heart premiered in 2014, featuring Loughlin as widow Abigail Stanton. The former Full House star was dropped by the Hallmark Channel in the wake of her arrest.
“We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations,” the network said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE on Thursday. “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 Lori Loughlin including Garage Sale Mysteries, an independent third party production.”
The network also said it would not be airing any past content featuring the actress…
