When Calls the Heart 'Not Cancelled' Despite Lori Loughlin's Hallmark Ouster

Hallmark’s Heart will continue beating without Lori Loughlin — but for how long?

In the wake of Loughlin’s indictment in the college cheating scandal and subsequent firing from When Calls the Heart (among other Hallmark projects), the EPs behind the feel-good drama are setting the record straight about the show’s post-scandal fate. As previously reported, Hallmark execs opted to press pause on the show’s currently-unspooling sixth season to explore its “creative options” moving forward. It now appears that the one-episode pre-emption has turned into a full-blown hiatus.

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“With the full support of the network, we have gone on a creative hiatus to do some retooling on the [seven] remaining Season 6 episodes,” read a statement issued by EP Brian Bird via Instagram. “That process has already begun. Hope Valley will return to your TV screens as soon as we can bring the episodes to you.”

Bird reassured fans that When Calls the Heart “has always been bigger than the sum of its parts,” before insisting that “it has not been canceled.”

It also has not been renewed — not yet anyway. Hallmark is not commenting on what impact Loughlin’s departure will have on the show beyond the already-shot sixth season.

You can read Bird’s full statement below…

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