What to Know
Six years after Lori Loughlin was written off of Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart, she’s about to be back in action. Lori’s time with the network came to an end in 2019, when the college admissions scandal broke. But now, she is set to reprise her famous role playing Abigail Stanton on the popular show.
Hallmark is bringing the former Full House star back, but there’s a catch: The new episodes she’s in won’t air until 2027.
Hallmark Channel announced the big news this week.
The big news broke on Wednesday, when the network shared that When Calls the Heart has been renewed for a 14th season.
“Since the series’ debut in 2014, the character of Abigail Stanton was a fan favorite and beloved by the Hearties,” Hallmark Channel head of programming Michelle Vicary said in a statement, via Today. “At its core the Hallmark brand is about hope, positivity and connection, which is also the central theme of When Calls the Heart. We felt that Season 14 was the right time to continue Abigail’s story with her return to this beloved series.”
Since season 13 of the show premieres in January, it will still be a while before Lori’s episodes make it to the screen. She’ll be back when the show returns for a 14th season in 2027.
On the show, Lori plays Abigail, who fans met in the first season as a widow who had lost her husband and son in a mine explosion.
Lori’s costar is already celebrating her return.
Fellow Hallmark star Erin Krakow shared photos she’d taken with Lori over the years, both on the set and off, to celebrate the news.
“The very best news: Abigail’s returning to @wcth_tv and Season 14 has been greenlit!” she wrote in her caption. “Tears of joy (not hormones, I think)! Swipe through to see the 1st photo Lori and I ever took together.”
Judging by the comments, a lot of fans are just as excited as she is to see Lori on the show again.
She lost her work with Hallmark after the scandal went public.
After Lori and her estranged husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were discovered to be part of Operation Varsity Blues, she was written off of When Calls the Heart in its sixth season. At the same time, the Hallmark movies she appeared in were all pulled from the air, but they have since been re-added to the lineup on the channel and the network’s streaming service.
Lori served two months behind bars after she pled guilty in the scandal, and was released in December 2020.
