What Fans Can Expect from WHEN CALLS THE HEART Season 11
By Movieguide® Contributor
As WHEN CALLS THE HEART season 10 draws to a close, fans have anxiously wondered what the future holds for Hope Valley and for Chris McNally’s character Lucas.
In an interview, showrunner Lindsay Sturman revealed that Lucas will return in season 11.
“Lucas is one of our leads and he always will be and he’s an incredible actor,” Sturman said. “His journey is incredibly exciting in season 11. And I think that…we get to see a side of him that we didn’t know…We went back and kind of mined what did we know about him, and then…carry those stories through because…there’s so much richness to the stories that we inherited. And then just growing them from there.”
While Lucas and Elizabeth’s (Erin Krakow) paths “were diverging,” his story will move in a new direction.
“I’m excited for…the direction that Lucas is going in,” McNally said. “And I think that it is a different avenue of storytelling or different stories that can come in for Hope Valley. It’s a town that is alive and it has a pulse and things shift and change and evolve, and I think it’s great. I’m very optimistic about it.”
McNally has been a part of the hit Hallmark series since season six.
In an interview with HOLR Magazine, the actor shared, “When stepping into a series with an already established fanbase, you really want to do well by them. Making sure that I did a good enough job for them was incredibly important to me, as well as a bit intimidating. That being said, once we became involved with the show and fans were being introduced to Kevin (McGarry) and I through social media, they were extremely welcoming. We felt very supported and accepted by them right off the bat. It was great.”
WHEN CALLS THE HEART’s season 10 finale aired this past weekend, leaving fans with cliffhangers and drama and setting the show up for season 11.
Movieguide® previously reported that the show landed a SAG-AFTRA waiver, allowing it to continue filming despite the ongoing strike.
The show’s 10th season premiered July 30, and the interim agreement means WHEN CALLS THE HEART’s cast and crew can proceed with work on Season 11.
WHEN CALLS THE HEART received an early pickup for Season 11 due to its popularity with viewers.
Hallmark’s executive vice president of programming, Lisa Hamilton Daly, called WHEN CALLS THE HEART “a standout amongst our Hallmark catalog” and said the network is “thrilled that we’re able to bring more stories of faith and community to the homes of millions of viewers.”
The show has been a huge hit for Hallmark because of its commitment to faith and moral values.
“The season 9 finale of WHEN CALLS THE HEART in May 2022 drew 3.1 million viewers and was the most-watched episode of the season. The series also ranked as last year’s No. 1 most-watched scripted series on basic cable in total viewers, averaging 2.9 million every Sunday night,” ET Online reported.
Movieguide® previously reported:
The faith-based series WHEN CALLS THE HEART is Hallmark Channel’s most-watched and longest-running primetime series. According to executive producer Brian Bird, in February 2021, the show’s Christian values will continue.
“When everybody else is serving up zombies, vampires, crystal meth dealers and dead bodies, we’re serving up hope, faith, love, grade, forgiveness and community,” Bird told The Christian Post…
“I think the big narrative of season 8 also follows one of the passages of Scripture that has always personally gotten me through the curveballs of life,” Bird said. “James 1:2-4 says, ‘Consider it all joy, brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.’”