Hallmark's "When Calls the Heart" Cleared for Season 11 Filming Amid SAG-AFTRA Strike
"When Calls the Heart," the beloved family western drama churned out by Hallmark Media, has just been sanctioned to resume filming. This comes as a result of an interim agreement awarded by SAG-AFTRA, effectively giving the green light for Season 11 production to start before the unveiling of Season 10 on July 30.
The series boasts Erin Krakow as its lead, marking it amongst a string of TV series to achieve interim agreements from the actors guild. Other series benefiting from similar arrangements include Apple's Tehran and the faith-influenced series "The Chosen."
Thus far, 68 projects have been recipients of such interim agreements from SAG-AFTRA, enabling them to continue shooting whilst the strike unfolds. Some of these titles include Glenn Close's "The Summer Book" and A24’s films "Mother Mary" and "I Dream of Unicorns."
The high viewership-luring show is a brainchild adaptation of Janette Oke’s book, "When Calls the Heart." The plot orbits around Elizabeth Thatcher (Krakow), a youthful teacher shipping off to a small coal-mining town in Western Canada. The series came to a cliffhanger in Season 9, when Lucas Bouchard (Chris McNally) asks for her hand in marriage, with the help of her young son, Jack.
An impressive ensemble cast supplements the leading characters, boasting names such as Pascale Hutton, Jack Wagner, Kavan Smith, Kevin McGarry, Andrea Brooks, Martin Cummins, Loretta Walsh, Amanda Wong, Johannah Newmarch, Viv Leacock, Natasha Burnett, Ben Rosenbaum, Hrothgar Mathews, Jaeda Lily Miller and Hyland Goodrich.
Behind the scenes, "When Calls the Heart" is a product of the combined efforts from WCTH 10 Productions, with Krakow, Susie Belzberg, Michael Shepard, Eric Jarboe, Jimmy Townsend, Brad Krevoy, Brian Bird, Michael Landon Jr., Vicki Sotheran and Greg Malcolm taking the reigns as executive producers.
Now, in the flip-side of this Western Canadian coin, we have to address the stampeding elephant in the room, or on the prairie if you will. The inner workings of the industry are quite often a web of contractual agreements, with labor disputes and strikes not being strangers to the world of glitz and glam.
The SAG-AFTRA strike, currently making waves, is but another mountain in the filming landscape, a hurdle which "When Calls The Heart" seems to have sidestepped with seasoned grace. Granted interim agreements aren't exactly rolling out the red carpet, they do however afford some continuity in the face of a stalemate.
The true testament though, is to SAG-AFTRA managing to carefully navigate these tumultuous waters. Churning out 68 interim agreements, whilst keeping the industry alive and in motion, is no feat for the fainthearted.
Pouring over the sea of memorable characters, it isn’t simply heartwarming to note, that the heart does not stop beating, even when the coal mines cease to yield. It is indeed a hark back to the resilience of the human spirit, a fitting tribute to the setting of the series.
From an audience perspective, I assure you, lovers of the series are undoubtedly awaiting the next romantic escapade Elizabeth Thatcher embarks on. And who knows? Maybe there will be a fresh “strike” in the mining town, only one of amore, post Lucas’s proposal.
As I see it, Hallmark Media and the entire ensemble certainly possess a unique knack for turning obscure Canadian coal towns into gold mines for the audience. So, between us, I am secretly cheering for Lucas and Elizabeth in Season 10.
