Lori Loughlin Sets TV Return in ‘When Calls the Heart’ Spinoff ‘When Hope Calls’

Lori Loughlin in Disputing Hearts
Eike Schroter/Crown Media

Lori Loughlin is set to reprise her popular When Calls the Heart character Abigail Stanton in the spinoff series When Hope Calls, which moves to the GAC Family network for its upcoming second season.

The Full House actress was a regular on the hit Hallmark Channel series before being let go halfway through Season 6 due to her involvement in the college admissions bribery scandal. Last year, Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud, and on August 21, 2020, Loughlin was fined and sentenced to two months in prison.

Loughlin will make her return as Abigail in the When Hope Calls second season premiere, titled When Hope Calls: A Country Christmas. The two-part episode is scheduled to air on Saturday, December 18.

The first season of When Hope Calls initially launched in 2019 on Hallmark Movies Now, the Hallmark Channel’s digital streaming service. The series was then aired on the Hallmark Channel in early 2020. Season 2 will air on the recently launched GAC Family, formerly Great American Country, which is run by former CEO of Hallmark Channel parent Crown Media Family Networks, Bill Abbott.

Morgan Kohan, who starred in the first season as Lillian Walsh, is set to return to the role for the second season. Carter Ryan will also reprise his When Calls the Heart role as Cody Stanton, Abigail’s son. Additional cast members have yet to be confirmed.

The Season 2 premiere revolves around a Christmas festival, with the residents of Brookfield attempting to win a Harper’s Bazaar search for America’s #1 Country Christmas Town. In the midst of all the commotion and chaos, a stagecoach appears, and out steps Abigail and her son Cody, who have brought a troubled boy to Lillian’s orphanage.

Loughlin’s return to television comes just weeks after her daughter Olivia Jade was confirmed as a contestant on the current season of Dancing With The Stars.

When Hope Calls, Season 2, Premiere, Saturday, December 18, GAC Family