On March 17th, Hallmark Channel announced that it was parting ways with Lori Loughlin because of how she reportedly got both of her daughters into college…illegally. That meant that her series, When Calls the Heart, that was airing its 6th season, had to be retooled to eliminate her presence.
The retooling is done and the show will begin airing new episodes starting on May 5th. Since the viewers have been so loyal to the show, they will air a second episode the next night as a present.
Just to give you a hint how popular WCTH is, it was the second most-watched show on cable during its 6th premiere week It was only beat by The Walking Dead. It will be interesting to see how it does without its most famous, now infamous, star.
On Thursday, Hallmark Channel announced that it was parting ways with Lori Loughlin, who was indicted for allegedly illegally bribing her daughters’ way into University of Southern California.
That meant the end to her starring role in the Garage Sale Mystery movies, any of their other telemovies and the series When the Heart Calls. The latter is the biggest problem of them all for them. The drama just began airing its 6th season and is still a powerhouse for the network.
What to do? Well, Hallmark pulled tonight’s episode, but what does that mean for the future of the series? Over the weekend, the producer Brian Bird gave an update on his show.
“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. 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.
“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.
“On behalf of our entire producing team, including Michael Landon Jr., Brad Krevoy and Alfonso Moreno, I want to thank you for continuing to show your support. Your private messages of support and your #Hearties4S6 worldwide trending on Thursday brought a lot of tears to the eyes of our cast and crew and to the good folks at Hallmark Channel. Your love for When Calls the Heart is the courage we count on as we work through this challenging transition and your Hearties community will always be the most important legacy of this TV series. We love you!”
I am happy that the network will keep the show alive for its fans. I just feel the cast and crew had to suffer unnecessarily because of someone’s costly mistake.
Just days after Lori Loughlin was indicted and arrested for allegedly helping her daughters get into college illegally, Hallmark Channel has made a decision about her future with their networks.
They announced today, “We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations. 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.”
She was in Canada filming with the network when the news broke, now the 16th Garage Sales Mysteries telemovie looks to be in doubt. No word if Hallmark Channel will continue airing the series When the Heart Calls which is currently airing its 6th season on Sundays nights. The show averages around 2 million viewers.
Is the news a surprise? Of course not. Hallmark Channel is a squeaky clean network and would not want to be associated with her and her scandal.
Which makes you wonder if Netflix will do the same with her for the final season of Fuller House. If they can fire creator Jeff Franklin, then they can do the same with her.
Which makes you want to ask her, was it worth it?
UPDATE: It was not worth it because Hallmark Channel has pulled Sunday’s new episode of When the Heart Calls.
Not only that TMZ is reporting that both of her daughters have dropped out of USC. They say that Olivia and Isabella could not handle bullying.
UPDATE 1: Lori Loughlin will also not be returning for the final season of Fuller House on Netflix.
In the last week, Jerry O’Connell and Cameron Mathison got a new look over their eyes. The Stand By Me star sat down with a threader who threaded his bushy brows thin. Kind of like what puberty did to him. When it comes to the Home & Family host, he had a little accident at home that almost cost him a whole eyebrow instead of half of one. Thus causing the makeup department on the Hallmark Channel show to have an accident when they saw him come in.
Now that you have seen both bros’ brows, who do you think looks sexier with their new look? I say it is a tie, as in someone tie a bandana over their eyebrows until they grow back in. That is if they do grow back in…
BTW I feel for O’Connell because that had to hurt a lot. I hope there is video!
It is no secret that Rebecca Romijn and her husband Jerry O’Connell really love animals, so it makes sense that Hallmark Channel made her their Spokesperson of Adoption Ever After.
She and the network have joined together to get the word out about adopting pets from shelters. So many animals need a home, and you do not have to pay hundreds of dollars by buying one from a pet store. You can go to your local shelter and bring home your furbaby. One by one, you will be helping to cut down on the numbers of pet homelessness.
Romijn will join Happy the Dog and Happy the Cat, as they will promote the program with off-air elements, grassroots efforts, social media outreach and strategic corporate partnerships.
My sweet and lovable cat, who is the best thing that ever happened to me, was rescued from the LA Shelter the day before she was going to be put down. Therefore, I know how important it is to adopt don’t shop. Thus, I love that Hallmark Channel is doing this and that they made Romijn their Ambassador. I cannot think of a better person.
Think I am excited about all of this, not as excited as the actress. She wrote, “So thrilled about this I could cry. Thank you @hallmarkchannel.” If she does cry, good thing she has a lot of dogs and cats to lick off her tears. Another reason to bring one home today.
