The uncertain status of Hallmark's biggest show
Yeah, it's been a while since I've brought up anything related to Hallmark. And since GAC news has been quiet lately, time to bring up the only thing about Hallmark that I still care about: Their longest running show.
WCTH Season 9 ended recently. Usually there's a renewal announcement before the finale, or immediately after. But, it's been very silent. No renewal announcement as of yet.
Hallmark recently released the delayed viewing numbers:
Looks like the typical PR spin to me. like, why release these numbers and still no announcement on Season 10?
Given the knarly state Hallmark is in (ratings for each of their new movies for last month for all terrible, and 1 had wokness sprinkled in it, and 1 had a gay man.), it's not a 100% possibility that Hallmark might just decide to ditch this show.
Here's a recent interview with 1 of the EP's of the show: (Source: https://heavy.com/entertainment/hallmark/when-calls-the-heart-plans-if-not-renewed/ )
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Brian Bird, executive producer of “When Calls the Heart,” has made a big promise to fans after Hallmark still hasn’t renewed the series. In a recent interview, he told Hearties that one way or another, the series is going to continue.
Bird Promised that ‘Whether or Not’ Hallmark Keeps the Show, It Will Still Continue
In an interview with JLJ Media on YouTube following the season 9 finale, Bird promised that “When Calls the Heart” will continue, even if Hallmark doesn’t renew the series.
Bird said around 31 minutes into the interview:
I really don’t believe we’ve even peaked yet in this show with season nine. We will be around for a long time, I believe. Whether or not the Hallmark Channel wants to keep us around forever doesn’t matter. There will be somebody else who wants it because it is so unique. And we will keep making the show as long as those Hearties want to show up and watch the show.
He preceded his statement by talking about how fresh the show still is and how much its storylines are needed in today’s society.
“This show is a healing agent in the culture in my opinion, and I think that’s why so many people watch it,” he said. “To be the top scripted program on Sunday nights on cable tv in the last two or three seasons — that’s happened every Sunday night. Once we started to beat the zombies, we never looked back. … I think we’re doing good work and we’re doing the right work on the show, but it’s not because of us, it’s that the audience is starved to death for this. And when you give people food, they will just love you, they’ll be so loyal to you. And that’s why the audience keeps coming back every Sunday night. Shows this deep into their lifespan can get old…and we’re not yet.”
‘We Get to Decide’ When the Series Is Over, Bird Said
Bird returned to the promise of the show continuing at about a little more than an hour into the interview.
“We don’t see the end of this show,” Bird insisted. “I don’t know when season 10 or if season 10 will be announced 100 percent, but all I’m saying is that we still feel like we’re going to go forward. And we will no matter what, I can tell you that… We haven’t decided that it’s over yet, and we get to decide… I’ll leave it at that.”
Bird is also executive producer of the “When Calls the Heart” spinoff, “When Hope Calls,” which takes place in the same universe as the parent series. While the spinoff started out at Hallmark, it was picked up by GAC Family for a second season after Hallmark dropped the show. GAC Family aired a two-part Christmas special for “When Hope Calls” in December, but it’s not clear if or when the rest of the season will air.
In a separate interview with “When Calls the Heart” fans, showrunner John Tinker said he would be shocked if the series wasn’t renewed.
“Not being coy, I haven’t heard anything [about a tenth season],” Tinker said. “But i would just be stunned, shocked, and amazed if this show weren’t picked up.
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My take: I'm thinking there's already a back up plan in place for GAC Family to pick this show up if Hallmark decides to ditch it. This show has a huge fandom throughout social media, and they've been very vocal on Twitter about wanting Season 10.
Do I actually want WCTH to move? In a way, yeah. Season 9 was very clean, which is a huge win on this going-more-woke-at-a-fast-pace-network! Except for 1 uncomfortable scene involving 2 women who I couldn't tell were together together, or just 2 separate moms.
It'll be very interesting to see what happens next. Losing their longest running, not to mention highest rated throughout it's whole run show would be a huge blow to Hallmark, even bigger then losing their biggest money making actress! Will they actually try to fight for it? We'll see.
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