Super Channel, Canada’s only national English pay television network, is pleased to announce it has pre-licensed the exclusive Canadian broadcast rights to When Calls the Heart, a new family drama inspired by the bestselling book series from acclaimed author Janette Oke, about the Canadian West in the early 1900s. The series will make its Canadian broadcast premiere on Super Channel in spring 2014.“When Calls the Heart illustrates our on-going commitment to bring high quality Canadian produced series to the premium pay-television space in Canada,” said Sandy Perkins, Vice President of Programming for Super Channel. “The series is an ideal complement to Super Channel’s roster of exclusive premium content and offers our subscribers a uniquely Canadian series that appeals to the whole family. Super Channel truly has something for everyone, ranging from cutting-edge award winning dramas like Homeland and Sons of Anarchy, to heart-warming family fare like When Calls the Heart.”
When Calls the Heart tells the captivating story of Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow, Army Wives), a young teacher accustomed to her high society life, who receives her first classroom assignment in Coal Valley, a small coalmining town where life is simple, but often fraught with challenges. Emmy-nominee Lori Loughlin (Full House) plays Abigail Stanton, a wife and mother whose husband, the foreman of the mine, along with a dozen other miners, has just been killed in an explosion. The newly widowed women find their faith is tested when they must go to work in the mines to keep a roof over their heads. Elizabeth charms most everyone in Coal Valley, except Constable Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing, Last Resort), who believes Thatcher’s wealthy father has doomed the lawman’s career by insisting he be assigned in town to protect the shipping magnate’s daughter. Set against the wild canvas of a 19th century coal town, Elizabeth will have to learn the ways of the frontier if she wishes to thrive in the rural west on her own.
When Calls the Heart is currently filming in British Columbia and features a mostly Canadian cast that also includes two-time Leo nominee Steve Bacic (Republic of Doyle, Big Love), Genie-winner Martin Cummins (Eureka, V), and Chelah Horsdal (Blackstone, Hell on Wheels).
The series is produced by Canadians Vicki Sotheran and Greg Malcolm, exec produced by Michael Shepard, written by Ken Craw (Heartland, Robson Arms), Vanessa Parise (Jack and Jill vs. the World) and Brian Bird (Touched by an Angel, Step by Step), and directed by Genie-award winner and Canadian filmmaking legend, Anne Wheeler, as well as Emmy-nominee Neill Fearnley (R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, Arctic Air), and Michael Landon Jr. The series is also set to air in the US on the Hallmark Channel in January 2014.
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