Heartland: Season 17 of Hit Canadian Drama Sets U.S. Premiere (Exclusive)

Matt Webb Mitovich
·2 min read

Heartland, the longest-running Canadian drama, has set a time and (slightly new) place for the U.S. release of its 17th season.

TVLine has learned exclusively that Heartland Season 17 will premiere Stateside on Thursday, April 25, on the commercial-free subscription streaming service UP Faith & Family, which already hosts the first 16 seasons. New episodes will release weekly, with a three-week break after Episode 5 — though during that brief hiatus, UP Faith & Family will roll out all-new exclusive content for fans (detailed below).

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UP Faith & Family will be the exclusive U.S. streaming home for Heartland until early 2025; a linear premiere date on UPtv, where Heartland episodes previously made their U.S. debut, has not yet been set.

A virtual event, Heartland FanFest, will be held on April 15 from 2-3 pm ET and invite Heartland fans to submit questions via social media for cast members to answer live. (Amber Marshall, Michelle Morgan and Chris Potter are among the cast expected to appear.) Participants will also get a sneak peek at an upcoming episode. FanFest will be recorded and available exclusively to UP Faith & Family subscribers during the aforementioned three-week hiatus; those wishing to attend live can register online at HeartlandFanFest.com.

“Fans of Heartland know that UP Faith & Family continues to be the exclusive home of the newest season and the first place to see all episodes of their favorite series here in the U.S.,” says Hector Campos, SVP content strategy and programming at UP Entertainment. “We are also big fans of the series ourselves, and this season we are thrilled to celebrate Heartland with the first ever FanFest allowing exclusive access to talent.”

Based on the bestselling series of books by Lauren Brooke, Heartland is set in the rolling foothills of the Rockies in the fictional town of Hudson, Alberta. “Amy (played by Marshall) and the rest of the family know better than most that while dreams can sometimes come true, life also often takes us in unexpected directions,” reads the official synopsis. “In the new season, the Bartlett-Fleming family will find themselves excited for the future and ready to embrace new adventures, challenges and relationships. But no matter how much things may change, Amy, Lou (Michelle Morgan), Jack (Shaun Johnston) and Tim (Chris Potter) will continue to fight for what they believe in while staying rooted in the land that has been in the Bartlett-Fleming family for generations.”

Michael Weinberg, Tom Cox, Jordy Randall and Mark Haroun serve as executive producers on Heartland, the writers are Haroun, Ken Craw, Caitlin Fryers, Heather Conkie, Alexandra Clarke and Adam Hussein, and Season 17’s directors include Dean Bennett, Ken Filewych, Kristin Lehman, Madison Thomas, and cast members Potter and Morgan.

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