In the fast-paced season 11 premiere of Hallmark Channel‘s hit series “When Calls the Heart” on April 7, 2024, one longtime character was noticeably missing from Hope Valley: Fiona Miller, played by actress Kayla Wallace since the series’ sixth season.
To explain her absence in the first episode, Natasha Burnett‘s Minnie tells Dr. Faith Carter, played by Andrea Brooks, that Fiona has sent a telegram from Nashville to say that because she’s loving working with her sister and other Suffragettes, trying to secure women’s right to vote, she won’t be returning to Hope Valley.
While Fiona may be fighting for women’s rights, Wallace has left the show for even greener pastures, landing roles in two projects that conflicted with filming and promoting WCTH — the indie comedy “Wing Man” and the highly-anticipated Paramount+ series, “Landman.” Whether she’ll ever return to Hope Valley remains to be seen, but many Hearties were stunned by Wallace’s unexpected departure.
Kayla Wallace’s New Comedy Likely Conflicted With Filming ‘When Calls The Heart’
Ahead of the season 11 premiere, WCTH star Erin Krakow told TV Insider that Wallace had to step away from the Hallmark show due to her new series.
“We love Kayla Wallace,” she told the outlet. “We would love for her to be in every episode. Kayla had a really incredible opportunity on another TV series that films out of town. We’re excited for her.”
In late January, Variety broke the news that Wallace would be a series regular in “Landman,” Sheridan’s follow-up to the hit show “Yellowstone,” alongside Academy Award winner Billy Bob Thornton.
Based on the popular “Boomtown” podcast, “Landman” is set in the world of oil rigs in West Texas and, according to Parade magazine, the series is filming in Fort Worth — far from the Hope Valley set in Vancouver, British Columbia. The outlet also reported that Jon Hamm and Demi Moore to its cast.
According to an Instagram post from 101 Studios, which is handling production for “Landman,” filming began in early February. On April 4, Wallace posted a photo of herself in her “Landman” trailer and wrote, “Life is good.”
However, season 11 of WCTH wrapped filming in mid-November, according to an Instagram post from series regular Jack Wagner. So it’s more likely that Wallace couldn’t be part of the season because she was filming “Wing Man,” a feature film starring comic actors Harland Williams, Russell Peters and Jamie Kennedy, according to Deadline.
The outlet reported on December 7 that filming had wrapped on the indie comedy, in which Wallace plays the “faithful assistant” to Williams’ main character, Bob.
On November 10, she posted photos from the set, tagged her co-stars and wrote, “I spent the majority of my time trying not to break with these wonderful people.”
As Fans Grieve Her Absence, Kayla Wallace Still Has Intimate Ties to WCTH
HallmarkKevin McGarry and Kayla Wallace in “My Grown-Up Christmas List”
Though Wallace has accepted new challenges in her acting career, she won’t soon forget Hope Valley. Hours before the season 11 premiere, she shared a post in her Instagram Stories from her fiancé, WCTH star Kevin McGarry dressed as his mountie character, Nathan.
Above the post, she wrote, “Season 11 BABY!”
She and McGarry, who also co-starred in the Hallmark movie “My Grown-Up Christmas List,” got engaged in New York City in December 2022. The special moment was filmed by Krakow as the couple spent time visiting the city with Krakow and her beau, fellow WCTH star Ben Rosenbaum. The two couples are close friends and returned to New York for another couples’ trip in July 2023.
Though they know Wallace will remain intimately tied to WCTH through her McGarry and her castmates-turned-friends, many Hearties expressed on social media how sad they were by her unexpected absence during the season 11 premiere.
One fan tweeted, “WHAT?! No Fiona? I DO NOT ACCEPT THIS 😭😭 @imKaylaWallace #hearties @hallmarkchannel”
Someone responded that they were “heartbroken” and another replied, “I’m disappointed, too. She really shook that town up and brought a lot of fun to it.”
Other Hearties shared that while they’re sad about Wallace’s departure, they’re happy for her successes.
One of them tweeted, “Fiona moved away. 😭😭😭 I will miss her #Hearties 💖💖 But very excited to see Kayla’s new show and support her other projects.”
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