‘When Hope Calls’ Stars Cindy Busby & Christopher Russell Preview Nora & Michael’s Romance

Never lose Hope. After years away, viewers are finally about to be transported back to Brookfield for the second season of When Hope Calls, the When Calls the Heart spinoff that originally aired on Hallmark Channel in 2019. Great American Family, which picked up the franchise in 2022, is now debuting eight more episodes — with a brand-new set of romantic leads. Both newcomers to the small town, adept lawyer Nora (Cindy Busby) and dutiful Mountie Michael Fletcher (Christopher Russell) will bump into each other — sometimes literally — and eventually, they’ll fall, hard. Busby and Russell tease the path ahead.

What brings Nora and Fletcher to Brookfield in 1916?

Cindy Busby: Nora’s an orphan, so she’s looking for community. She’s left the big town to start anew, and then she connects with some family and realizes that she’s been missing something. Brookfield is the place where she creates these roots and, of course, keeps randomly running into Mountie Fletcher.

Christopher Russell: And Constable Michael Fletcher, he has suffered a series of injuries that have made it difficult for him to continue his arduous journeys around the continent. So, he’s had to take over the post of Mountie Gabriel [RJ Hatanaka] from Season 1. He’s very confident, and you can’t ruffle his feathers, except for one person in town. When Nora’s around, then he gets clumsy.

Busby: He’s very accident-prone.

Russell: They have a couple of meet-cutes.

How would you describe their connection?

Busby: They’re both very strong-willed people who haven’t quite found the person [they’re meant to be with]. You know when you meet that person and you just can’t stand them, but you also need to be around them?

Russell: She’s representing criminals because she’s a lawyer. He’s arresting criminals. So he has a bias right away. Nora enlightens him that not everyone convicted of a crime is guilty.

Since this is a period piece, did you pick up any new skills?

Busby: I had to learn how to drive a horse and wagon and say lines while steering.

Russell: I think what’s great, though, is that you’re always driving the wagon, and I’m the passenger.

Busby: [Laughs] It says a lot about our characters. I mean, it is [Nora’s] horse. However, I feel like Nora is very ahead of her time in many ways.

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Much like your characters on When Hope Calls, you two also have a strong connection — fans know you from starring together in four Hallmark films already!

Busby: We’ve known each other since 2015. When this series came around, we both did not know that we auditioned for it, but somehow, Chris [found out] that I was in the mix. I literally fell to the ground [when I realized].

Russell: When you’re coming into the second season of a series, it’s really helpful to be working alongside someone that you are comfortable with. I felt like if the whole thing fell apart around me, at least I had Cindy to keep me afloat.

Busby: I’m your life raft!

Russell: Yeah, you’re my life raft.

When Hope Calls, Season Premiere, Sunday, April 6, 8/7c, Great American Family