What will Elizabeth Thatcher do next? Hallmark has announced they’ve ordered an eighth season of the When Calls the Heart TV show. The plan is for it to debut in 2021. In years past, Hallmark has aired a new When Calls the Heart holiday movie in December but, due to the pandemic, that doesn’t seem to be happening this year.
The historical drama series stars Erin Krakow as Elizabeth Thatcher, a young teacher from a high society background who assigned to teach in a coal country classroom. The cast also includes Jack Wagner, Pascale Hutton, Kavan Smith, Chris McNally, and Kevin McGarry.
The seventh season of When Calls the Heart averages a 0.25 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 2.38 million viewers (Live+same day ratings). Compared to season six, that’s down by 9% in the demo and down by 3% in viewership. When Calls the Heart is still Hallmark Channel‘s highest-rated TV show.
Here’s the official announcement:
HALLMARK CHANNEL ANNOUNCES A SEASON EIGHT RENEWAL OF THE NETWORK’S HIGHLY RATED AND LONGEST-RUNNING ORIGINAL SERIES “WHEN CALLS THE HEART”
STUDIO CITY, CA – April 26, 2020 – Hallmark Channel has ordered an eighth season of the network’s original, primetime drama series “When Calls the Heart.” It was announced today by series star Erin Krakow during the season seven finale of the hit show.
Currently ending its seventh season, the hit drama “When Calls the Heart’s” ratings momentum continues, with this season’s previous episode 7009 ranking as the highest-rated episode in the series’ history. The program ranked as the #1 original scripted series of the week and marks the #2 original scripted series on ad-supported cable in 2020-to-date among Households, Total Viewers and Women 18+. On a Live +3 basis, the program delivered a 3.3 Household rating, 3.1 million Total Viewers, and 477,000 Women 25-54. The episode reached over 3.7 million unduplicated total viewers.
Source: Nielsen, December 30, 2019 – April 19, 2020
