When Calls the Heart is the Hallmark Channel’s most-watched show of all time, and after 13 seasons, it is still going strong. So strong, it is getting a prequel on Hallmark+ today.
Hope Valley: 1874 stars Bethany Joy Lenz, Benjamin Ayres, Jill Hennessy, Roan Curtis, and Lachlan Quarmby.
Newly widowed, Rebecca Clarke (Lenz) left Chicago with her 11-year-old daughter, Sarah (Mila Morgan), to open a boarding house in Hope Valley.
The town needs one because there are plenty of pioneers who are flocking there to find gold. The locals don’t want them there, so they don’t want the boarding house.
Since it is 1874, Rebecca did not see what the building looked like before she bought it. That is a bad thing because it is in complete decay. She gave up everything for it, so what is she going to do?
Tom Moore (Ayres) is a local rancher, and he hates the pioneers more than everyone else there. He does not want them there and is doing everything he can to stop them. But they are fighting back, and that is leading to a lot of conflicts between those who live there and those who are new to the area.
Constable Alexander Vaughn (Quarmby) has been assigned to Hope Valley and will try to maintain order between the two groups. He has the law on his side, but is that enough?
Then there is Hattie Quinn (Hennessy) and her daughter, Olivia (Curtis), who together run the valley’s trading post. They are the bridge between the two sides. They are pioneers who have settled there.
The mother and daughter have also welcomed Rebecca to their town, and they will make a good trio. Will Tom make them a quartet? Rebecca and Tom have a connection, but their differences are coming between them. Something I am sure will change as the show goes on.
I have to admit, I have never seen When Calls the Heart, so I can’t compare the two or know how they are connected. Having said that, I really enjoyed Hope Valley.
It is the perfect period piece for us to enjoy. It might take place 150 years ago, but it feels modern. It is also a series that we can enjoy as a family, and we need more of that.
So if you have been debating whether to subscribe to Hallmark+, this is your reason to do so.
