Warning: This story contains spoilers from season 9 of When Calls the Heart
Welcome back to Hope Valley! The cast of When Calls the Heart is returning for season 10 — and fans can’t wait to see what happens next.
“When Calls the Heart continues to push the limits as to what we can achieve with this show,” Hallmark Media executive vice president of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly said in a statement in June 2022. “There are many more stories still to be told about the lives of the beloved characters in this series and we cannot wait for everyone at home to tune in to see what unfolds.”
The renewal news came one month after season 9’s finale aired on Hallmark Channel and seven years after When Calls the Heart first premiered. The series, which is a family western drama inspired by Janette Oke’s book of the same name, is the network’s longest-running drama in history.
It stars Erin Krakow as Elizabeth Thornton, who moves to the small town of Hope Valley to serve as the coal mining city’s school teacher. After adapting to the Canadian frontier, she marries Royal North-West Mounted Police Constable Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing). Their relationship, however, comes to an end during season 5 when he dies.
One year after her husband’s death, Elizabeth, who is now a single mother, meets businessman Lucas Bouchard (Chris McNally). While they start off as friends — and she entertains a romance with Nathan Grant (Kevin McGarry) — Elizabeth and Lucas eventually begin dating and fall in love.
By the end of season 9, Elizabeth seems to be happy once again after Lucas asks for her hand in marriage. The businessman popped the question during the season finale, which aired in May 2022, and enlisted Elizabeth’s son, Jack, to help.
“Including Little Jack in the proposal is a signal that her top priority now is as a mother,” the show’s co-executive producer and writer Elizabeth Stewart told Entertainment Tonight of the moment. “We made a conscious effort in season 9 to bring Lucas and Little Jack together.”
While Stewart insisted that Lucas and Jack are “buddies” now, she teased that when they become stepfather and stepson “that relationship will obviously evolve.” The producer also revealed in May 2022 that the couple’s road to the altar might not be easy.
“All I can say is that the course of true love never did run smooth!” she added.
Scroll down to learn more about season 10 of When Calls the Heart: