When Calls The Heart Executive Producer Brian Bird Answers Heartie's Burning Questions and Teases
a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
Q. Wende P. Moran: "Two questions, will WCTH ever be simulcast at the same time on computers devices as the TV cable? And also, how can the fans become extras on the episodes?”
BB: Wende, the television landscape is the new Wild West, because everything is constantly changing. In the old days, shows were on TV and then sold as reruns and sometimes on video tape. Now people are not just watching on TV, they are also watching from their phones and tablets and computers. The reason why When Calls the Heart premiers first on the Hallmark Channel, and then later on platforms like iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play and Netflix, is because that’s how this show pays for itself. Hallmark has the exclusive television broadcast window, and then the other platforms, including Home Entertainment (DVD) can present it to their audiences. It is a very expensive show to create because we have to recreate the world in the early 1900s and we have to provide all the elements that make it real. Contemporary shows have a much easier time of it because they can just go film anywhere and don’t have to change signs or cars or buildings or costumes on the cast or extras. The problem with a simulcast is that those other platforms serve as a way for us to recoup our costs.
On the second part of your question, since Season 3 was announced, we have received nearly double the requests from Hearties to come visit the set in Vancouver. Because there is no way to accommodate all the demand on a weekly basis, we are cooking up SOMETHING BIG to be ANNOUNCED SHORTLY that will give many, many Hearties a chance to visit Hope Valley! Stayed tuned for that announcement!
Q. Linda Leas Freeman: “I love this show and given how successful it is, why are the seasons so far apart?
BB: Linda, in the old days the 3-5 big television networks Wood order 24 episodes of TV series per season, and then they would re-run each of those episodes, so literally 48 weeks a year, audiences would be treated to their favorite shows. Today, the media pie is a lot larger, with upwards of a hundred different networks and cable channels making original dramatic programming. However, whereas there were only 3-to-5 slices of pie before, there are now hundreds of slices. Each slice is much smaller, and consequently, there are fewer resources available to make more original programming. That means these networks and channels can only order a limited number of episodes each year. If we were making 24 episodes like in the old days, the wait between seasons would seem much shorter, right?
Q. Nancy Bauman Radtka: “I would love to see characters have more authentic dress and hair from that time period like they were depicted in the first season. Why the change?”
BB: Nancy, you are not alone in your concerns about the changes between Season 1 and 2 with regard to the hair and costuming. There were many reasons for the changes we made, the biggest of which was to try to make Hope Valley more bright and cheery, and not so much the dingy place it was in Season 1. It’s definitely a taste issue and very subjective because for every complaint we received about costume and hair in S2, we got 3-4 compliments about the new direction. While some like authenticity, others can be put off by too much authenticity. In a way, trying to be a slave to the history and reality of what life might have looked like in the early 1910s can make a TV series in the 2010s very inaccessible. So the bottom line is accessibility - the largest number of audience members is always going to win out.
Q. Kathleen Stevenson: “What are the laws concerning the amount of hours per day that the young Canadian actors\actresses are allowed to work? Do you film their parts first thing in the morning, or do you follow a different game plan for all of our Hope Valley Kids?
BB: Kathleen, the child labor laws in the U.S. and Canada are very strict and well-regulated in the entertainment business, and we are happy to adhere to all the rules because that is what is in the best interests of our young performers. The specific number of hours they can work each day is dictated by the age. Our very young actors can only work a few hours a day, while our teenage actors have longer threshold for how long they can work. Each of the kids also has to put in a minimum number of school hours for every day they are on set working, and the production has to provide a licensed teacher and social worker to supervise their school and wellbeing while on set.
Q: Amy Chrysler: “How fun is it to work with the cast? Any favorite moments you want to share?”
BB: Amy, I have said it before, but I think all of us on the When Calls the Heart cast and crew believe we are members of the Luckiest People in the World Club. It is very hard work, often 12-14 hours a day, five days a week, but it also thrilling to be working alongside people who you come to love and who are really family. You are all pulling together for something you really believe in and you hope is going to be well-received by the audience. I guess my favorite moment was the big kiss in the final episode of Season 1. Daniel and Erin are obviously very professional actors, but they were also very nervous about the moment for which Hearties all across America had been clamoring for months. They wanted to get the moment right. They wanted it to feel real and emotional and believable because they knew it was going to be a cathartic moment for the audience. It was so fun to watch them figure out how not to be awkward with it. Of course, Daniel wanted to practice more than Erin.
Q. Tatiana Ogliastri: “Hi Brian and merci beaucoup. I just want to know if the cast have some influence when you're writing the story? Do they propose ideas or give you their vision for the evolution of their characters?”
BB: A great question, Tatiana. Actually the cast is not involved too much in the conception of the stories, but they always have questions and notes after they have read the first draft of the script. We really love to have a collaborative process, so we always try to answer their notes or explain why we are making certain story points. They are the protectors of their characters and so they want to make sure what their characters do in each episode is consistent with who they are supposed to be. On rare occasions, they will brainstorm with us informally about story ideas that come to them, and it’s always a good discussion because as it says in the Good Book, “iron sharpens iron.” In fact, one of the discussions we had with Lori Loughlin led to a storyline you will be seeing in the first episodes of Season 3. Lori, by the way, is a brilliant storyteller in her own right.
