When Calls the Heart was just picked up for a 14th season because it is still a top ratings getter.
Because of that, Hallmark Channel ordered the prequel, Hope Valley 1874, and now we know who will be starring in it. Bethany Joy Lenz, Benjamin Ayres, and Jill Hennessy will lead the eight-episode period drama set in 1874, which explores the early days of the settlement that later becomes Hope Valley.
Lenz portrays Rebecca Clarke, who travels from her home city of Chicago to the Western Canadian frontier with her 11-year-old daughter. But when her wagon breaks down, she has no choice but to accept help from local rancher and confirmed bachelor, Tom Moore (Ayres). Despite Rebecca’s best intentions to remain unattached, the future she dreams of for her and her daughter, along with the people she meets in this fledgling town – including the guarded Tom and tenacious pioneer woman Hattie Quinn (Hennessy) – ultimately compel her to put down roots and make a fresh start.
