Season 13 of When Calls the Heart has officially begun — so when will fans see Lori Loughlin return as Abigail Stanton?
Erin Krakow, who plays Elizabeth Thornton on the Hallmark series, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the Sunday, January 4, season 13 premiere that viewers won’t see Loughlin’s comeback this year.
“Lori Loughlin is returning in season 14,” Krakow, 41, confirmed, noting she is “so excited” and “over-the-moon happy” about Loughlin’s homecoming.
The actress confessed, “I can’t tell you anything about it because I don’t know anything about it. We haven’t written the season yet.”
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Although WCTH season 14 remains a mystery, Krakow told Us she “cannot wait” to see Loughlin’s character, Abigail, “reunite with her friends and most especially with Henry,” who is played by Martin Cummins.
“I’m really excited for that moment that Elizabeth and Abigail finally get to hug ‘hello’ after many years apart,” Krakow continued. “But there’s just always been something between Henry Gowen and Abigail, and I can’t wait to see how that develops.”
Loughlin, 61, and Krakow were both part of the original cast of When Calls the Heart when it premiered in 2014.
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After six seasons on the show, Hallmark cut ties with Loughlin in March 2019 amid her connection to the college admissions scandal.
Loughlin and now-estranged husband Mossimo Giannulli initially denied having any part in allegedly paying for their daughters, Bella, 27, and Olivia Jade, 26, to be admitted to the University of Southern California. They later changed their plea to guilty to charges of wire and mail fraud and served two and five months, respectively, in jail. (Us confirmed in October 2025 that Loughlin and Giannulli had separated after 27 years together.)
Hallmark explained Loughlin’s absence during season 6 of the series, revealing during a May 2019 episode that Abigail had left Hope Valley to help her sick mother out east.
When Calls the Heart has continued to tell the story of its Hope Valley residents, but Loughlin and her character, Abigail, have never been far from the cast’s minds.
“I think there’s been lots of people that [have] said we’d love to have her back,” Kevin McGarry, who plays Mountie Nathan Grant on the show, exclusively told Us of Loughlin in June 2024. “It’s not our decision, of course.”
Krakow, meanwhile, has remained friends with Loughlin during her six-year hiatus from the show, teasing on more than one occasion how much she wanted the actress to return.
“I love Lori Loughlin, and I love the character she created, Abigail Stanton,” Krakow exclusively told Us in November 2025, saying she sure hoped they were getting “closer” to having her back on the hit series.
Weeks later, news broke that Loughlin will be returning to the show for six of the 12 episodes next season.
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“Since the series’ debut in 2014, the character of Abigail Stanton was a fan favorite and beloved by the Hearties,” Hallmark Media’s head of programming, Michelle Vicary, said in a statement in December 2025. “At its core the Hallmark brand is about hope, positivity and connection, which is also the central theme of When Calls the Heart. We felt that season 14 was the right time to continue Abigail’s story with her return to this beloved series.”
Krakow was thrilled about the announcement, telling Us that same month that Loughlin’s story line is being kept under wraps at the moment.
“I have no idea what they’re going to write for us, but I hope that we get to learn more about what Abigail has been up to, where she’s been,” Krakow mused in December 2025. “We know that she went away to look after her ailing mother, but we really don’t know much more beyond that, what has become of Cody (Carter Evancic) and Becky (Ali Skovbye), her adoptive children. There’s a lot to learn.”
Krakow noted, “It’ll be really exciting for Abigail to get to see all of the ways that Hope Valley has changed since she’s been away, the different relationships, the new characters, a lot has changed.”
When Calls the Heart airs on Hallmark Channel Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.
