Two prolific Hallmark stars are joining a TV series on Great American Family. Cindy Busby and Christopher Russell will be starring in the second season of “When Hope Calls,” Deadline reported.
The series is a spinoff of Hallmark’s “When Calls the Heart.” The first season aired on Hallmark, and Great American Family acquired the rights after that. GAF aired a two-part Christmas special in 2021, but this is the first time concrete plans about the second season have been announced.
A 3rd Hallmark Star Is Also Joining the New Season
Cindy Busby will be playing the role of Nora, Deadline reported, and Christopher Russell is portraying Mountie Michael.
Busby recently starred in Hallmark’s 2024 movie, “A Whitewater Romance.” Her numerous other Hallmark films include “Marry Me in Yosemite,” “Everything Christmas,” “Warming Up to You,” and “Love in the Forecast” and “Chasing Waterfalls” with Christopher Russell, and more.
Russell recently starred in Hallmark’s 2024 film “A Costa Rican Wedding.” His many Hallmark movies also include “Warming Up to You” with Cindy Busby, and more.
Russell is also starring in Hallmark’s 2024 Christmas movie “Santa Tell Me” and Great American Family’s 2024 Christmas film “A Vintage Christmas.” Busby will be in Hallmark’s 2024 Christmas movie “Unwrapping Christmas.”
Another Hallmark star, Nick Bateman, is joining the “When Hope Calls” season 2 cast as the character Wyatt, Deadline reported. He starred in “A Brush With Love” in 2019 on Hallmark opposite Arielle Kebbel. According to IMDb, he has a new movie coming out this season called “Operation Mistletoe,” which also stars Jen Lilley, a former Hallmark star who has revealed she might be interested in returning to the network.
Several Cast Members From Season 1 Aren’t Returning
A number of cast members are not returning for the show’s second season.
TV Line reported that Marshall Williams (Sam) and Neil Crone (Ronnie) are not listed on the season 2 cast list.
In addition, TV Line reported, Jocelyn Hudon (Grace) and Greg Hovanessian (Chuck) won’t be returning. They were not in the 2021 Christmas special, but it was explained that they chose to stay in London and got married.
Lori Loughlin and Daniel Lissing, who were in the 2021 Christmias special, are also not listed on the cast list. (Lissing played the ghost of Jack for a special cameo appearance. Loughlin revived her role as Abigail from “When Calls the Heart.”)
Elizabeth Saunders, who was in season 1 of “When Hope Calls” as Eleanor, has not been listed in media reports about the second season. She starred in 20 episodes of the breakout hit “From” in 2022, is on the cast list for the show’s second season, and has been in a number of productions in 2024.
Also of note: Jefferson Brown portrayed Joe Moody for 11 episodes in season 1 of “When Hope Calls.” He has also not been mentioned in any media reports and is currently starring in Hallmark’s “The Way Home.”
Some Stars Are Reprising Their Season 1 Roles
A number of stars are reprising their season 1 roles for the second season, Deadline reported. These include Wendy Crewson, who starred as Tess Stewart in 12 episodes, Hanneke Talbot who starred as Maggie Parsons in 10 episodes, Morgan Kohan who was one of the lead characters Lillian Walsh for 12 episodes, and Ryan-James Hatanaka who portrayed Mountie Gabriel for 12 episodes.
The first season followed the story of sisters Lillian Walsh (Morgan Kohan) and Grace Bennett (Hudon), along with Lillian’s growing romance with Gabriel (Hatanaka.)
Great American Family told TV Line that the opening episodes will “pay homage to (their) romance” but “new characters are introduced that are seminal to the orphanage and children, the sprawling farms and ranch lands, and to the town of Brookfield.”
Bill Abbott, President and CEO of Great American Media, said in a statement: “We were fortunate early on to understand that Janette Oke’s faith-filled characters had such rich origins that building entertainment universes from this world would present themselves over and over.”
The series is expected to premiere its second season in January 2025, TV Line reported. There will be eight episodes.
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