Finished watching the first season of a new TV series from Hallmark, When Calls The Heart, which I unintentionally discovered. Usually, I don't watch Hallmark but was pleasantly surprised by this series which is loosely adapted from Janette Oke's Canadian West book series. Initially, the series was introduced as a 2 hour movie in October 2013 (which I haven't seen) starring a different lead actress & actor, Maggie Grace & Stephen Amell (Arrow). However, in the series, they were replaced by Erin Krakow & Daniel Lissing (which in my opinion were a better choice of leads) .The first season (12 episodes) which aired from mid January until late March this year was written by Brian Bird and produced/directed by Michael Landon Jr (yes his father was Michael Landon of Little House on the Prairie fame). This series is the second collaboration between Janette Oke and Michael Landon Jr (the first being the Love Comes Softly series). I was impressed by the high production value of this series (set in 1910), the consistently good scripts ,the great cast which includes Lori Loughlin, guest stars like James Brolin and the chemistry between the leads. If you like wholesome drama (suitable for family viewing) with great stories, plenty of romance and a sprinkling of humour, this series should be right up your alley. Noteworthy, Hallmark has not yet confirmed the second season for this series but has released the first four episodes on 2 dvds ,Lost & Found and A Telling Silence, on February and April this year. The movie itself was released on dvd late last year and if response for the dvds are encouraging, they might release the complete first season on dvd later this year (which I'm hoping for). Since Mother's Day is just around the corner, the dvds (from Word Entertainment) should make great gifts for some die hard romantic mums, don't you agree? ;)
Update : Hallmark has confirmed a second season for the series and the 2 dvds, Lost & Found and A Telling Silence, will also be re-released by Millennium Media in June this year. However, they will be sold as Walmart exclusives. Still unsure whether the dvds from Millennium Media will carry English & Spanish subtitles (found in the 2013 movie dvd) or if they include the extras (interviews & deleted scenes featured on the Word Entertainment dvds which incidentally are not subtitled). The Word Entertainment dvds are sold on Christianbook.com.
Addendum (5th May 2024) :
All 11 seasons of Hallmark's When Calls The Heart are now available on Amazon Prime. However, if you're looking for the DVDs, then you should check out the webstore for Edify Films who has been releasing all the seasons and specials for this series in Episode Edition and Collector's Edition Boxsets. The Collector's Edition usually contains bonus material besides the episodes.
Links below :)
When Calls The Heart (Amazon Prime) (paid link)
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