Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Hallmark+ Orders "Hope Valley: 1874," a Prequel to "When Calls the Heart"

The eight-episode origin story will film in Vancouver next week for a March 2026 streaming debut.

Overview

  • Bethany Joy Lenz, Benjamin Ayres and Jill Hennessy lead the cast, joined by Roan Curtis and Lachlan Quarmby.
  • Lenz plays Rebecca Clarke, a mother from Chicago whose journey on the Western Canadian frontier sets the stage for the town that becomes Hope Valley.
  • Ayres portrays rancher Tom Moore, Hennessy plays pioneer Hattie Quinn, Curtis is Hattie's daughter Olivia and Quarmby appears as Constable Alexander Vaughn of the early RCMP.
  • The series will run for eight episodes and will premiere exclusively on Hallmark+ beginning in March 2026.
  • Hallmark positions the prequel as a franchise expansion under programming chief Michelle Vicary, alongside the main show's Season 13 launch on January 4 and a Season 14 renewal.