Hallmark Channel’s First Trailer ‘When Calls the Heart’ Prequel ‘Hope Valley: 1874‘. Hallmark Channel is taking a trip back in time. The network just announced that its new prequel series, Hope Valley: 1874, will premiere on Saturday, March 21, exclusively on Hallmark+.
After the big weekend debut, fans can catch new episodes every Thursday starting March 26. The show runs for eight episodes and follows the early days of the town that eventually becomes the setting for When Calls the Heart.
What the show is about
The story kicks off in 1874 with Rebecca Clarke (played by Bethany Joy Lenz). She moves from Chicago to the Western Canadian frontier with her young daughter, Sarah. Things don’t go exactly as planned—her wagon breaks down and her living situation turns out to be a mess.
She ends up getting help from a local rancher named Tom Moore (Benjamin Ayres). Even though she plans to keep to herself, she starts falling for Tom and makes friends with a tough pioneer woman named Hattie Quinn (Jill Hennessy).
The Cast
Hallmark fans will recognize plenty of familiar faces in this lineup:
- Bethany Joy Lenz (A Biltmore Christmas)
- Benjamin Ayres (The Santa Class)
- Jill Hennessy (City on a Hill)
- Roan Curtis (Firefly Lane)
- Lachlan Quarmby (Providence Falls)
The show also features Jedidiah Goodacre as a blacksmith named Clayton and Chelsea Hobbs as Peggy McCabe.
Behind the Scenes
The series is produced by All Canadian Entertainment. The executive production team includes several names familiar to the franchise, like Brad Krevoy, Brian Bird, and Michael Landon Jr.
The network also released a first-look trailer today, giving a glimpse of the rugged frontier life and the romance the show is known for. If you’ve been wondering how Hope Valley actually started, this is the story that covers it.
