When Calls the Heart is returning for its 13th season in 2026 — but fans will have to wait and see if it’ll take place in Hope Valley.
“Psst. I got news. When Calls the Heart is returning for a season 13 and we are so excited,” star Erin Krakow, who plays Elizabeth Thornton, confirmed via Instagram in March 2025. “We can’t wait to get back to Hope Valley to tell more of the stories you love. We’ll see you on Hallmark for a baker’s dozen season.”
While Krakow, who married WCTH costar Ben Rosenbaum during the offseason in June 2025, said she was excited to return to Hope Valley, Hallmark hasn’t confirmed how long that will take.
During the season 12 finale, Elizabeth and boyfriend Nathan Grant (Kevin McGarry) hopped on a train to Cape Fullerton, revealing they didn’t know when their blended family would return.
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When the cast reunited in June 2025 to begin filming, they shared glimpses of the familiar Hope Valley set, hinting that fans will see both locations this season.
Scroll down for everything to know about season 13 of When Calls the Heart:
Where Did Season 12 Leave Off?
At the end of season 12, which aired in March 2025, Elizabeth had a difficult decision to make about her future in Hope Valley. After her son, Little Jack (Hyland Goodrich), had an issue with his diabetes insulin supply that resulted in him having trouble waking up, Elizabeth decided to leave her home and move to Cape Fullerton (where there is an insulin lab) for the foreseeable future.
Elizabeth worried about what would happen between her and boyfriend Nathan after recently becoming a couple. She tried to wait for Nathan to return from his shift as a Mountie to tell him her plan in person but eventually had to leave for the train with Little Jack.
As soon as Nathan learned what happened he and daughter Allie (Jaeda Lily Miller) headed to the train station. When they met up with Elizabeth and Little Jack en route to the train, they revealed that the family sticks together. “Where you go, I go,” Nathan told Elizabeth, noting that they would be coming to Cape Fullerton.
Is Brook Shields Coming Back?
The season 12 finale revealed that Elizabeth and Little Jack would be moving to Cape Fullerton to better regulate his insulin and diabetes. The relocation to the bigger town opens the door for Little Jack’s grandmother Charlotte Thornton (Brooke Shields) to return, as she is the one who informed Elizabeth about the insulin lab in the city. Charlotte is currently running a boarding house in town, hinting that their paths will cross.
Charlotte was last seen during season 3 of the show. She is the mother of Elizabeth’s late husband, Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing). Shields has not publicly confirmed her return nor has Hallmark.
When Was Season 13 of ‘When Calls the Heart’ Announced?
In March 2025 — as the season 12 finale was about to air — the network confirmed that the show would be back for another season.
“Hey #Hearties, time to rejoice!!! When Calls the Heart will return for season 13! We’ll see you back in Hope Valley in 2026. 
,” the show’s official Instagram page read at the time.
There’s a New Showrunner
Executive producer Brian Bird announced in March 2025 that Joy Gregory will take over as showrunner for the new season. “I’m pleased to be on this Zoom with Joy Gregory, our fantastic season 12 writer and executive producer, who is joining us again for season 13 as our showrunner,” Bird said during an appearance on “The Official Hearties Aftershow” podcast.
He added: “We’re so thrilled with that. Joy did such an amazing job this year on the show. Her first year on the show, but she just got it so quickly. Picked up the world, picked up the values, picked up the vibes. And brought her own to it, too, which is what we always love about our fantastic writers.”
Have Fittings Begun?
Pascale Hutton, who plays Rosemary Coulter, posed for a mirror selfie in May 2025, signifying the start of season 13 fittings. The cast came in over the next month, finishing up their costuming needs in June 2025.
Has ‘WCTH’ Season 13 Started Filming?
Krakow announced via her Instagram Story on June 30, 2025, that “Day 1 of WCTH SEASON 13!!!!” was about to begin. She teased the start of production with a photo of her alarms set at 3:55 a.m., 4:00, 4:15, 4:25 and 4:45 a.m.
That same day, the actress shared a selfie from set. “#PlaneSetSelfieNotAPlainSelfie 
,” she captioned the photo, which showed Krakow on a fake plane winking for the camera.
What’s Next for Jack Wagner and Melissa Gilbert’s Characters?
Jack Wagner, who plays Bill Avery, teased that his character’s brief romance with Melissa Gilbert’s Georgie McGill could turn into something more next season. (Gilbert appeared on two episodes of WCTH during season 12 as a forensic investigator.)
“They brought Melissa Gilbert on the show last year, and I kissed her at the end of our one episode, and that kind of created a little romance for Bill,” Wagner told TV Insider in June 2025, revealing, “Melissa’s coming back this year, so they’re going to keep this going, which I think is terrific.”
The actor called Gilbert “great” and said he’s excited to be taping into Bill’s romantic side moving forward. “I haven’t been playing that at all on When Calls the Heart, so for me, it’s like plugging into Jack Wagner from the ’80s or ’90s. I realized that’s why I’m having so much fun,” Wagner added. “It’s like, ‘Wow, I’m dusting off my old charming romance guy. Let’s dust this guy off.’”
Will Nathan and Elizabeth Get Engaged?
McGarry exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2024 that Nathan and Elizabeth’s romance would be a slower burn — that would sprinkle over into a possible wedding. “It took five years to get to the kiss, so I mean, we got lots of time to envision what this wedding [is] going to look like,” he confessed. “I will say if and when it happens — when and if it happens — I hope it’s special to them.”
While fans have been wanting an engagement since Elizabeth and Nathan became a couple at the end of season 11, showrunner Gregory explained that season 13 will focus, in part, on their coparenting of Little Jack.
“They’re going to coparent someone who has a chronic illness,” Gregory said during “The Official Hearties Aftershow” podcast in March 2025. “And while we certainly aren’t going to dwell in the kind of peril that we brought to the end of our season, we do want to honor the reality of that and how it might change Elizabeth.”
She revealed, “I’m excited to lean into watching their relationship mature together and that’s going to be through good times and challenges.”
How Will Allie Evolve?
“We’re excited to bring Allie into young adulthood. [Jaeda has] grown into such a talented actor who can handle anything we throw her way,” showrunner Gregory said of Nathan’s daughter during a March 2025 episode of “The Official Hearties Aftershow” podcast.
She noted Allie’s “bond with Jacob [Shoemay] on screen, who plays Oliver, is really lovely and working so well. We’re excited to develop their friendship together.”
When Will ‘When Calls the Heart’ Season 13 Premiere?
Hallmark Channel announced in March 2025 that the series will return sometime in 2026.
