‘When Calls the Heart’ a Canadian Coming of Age Story
As a novel, When Calls The Heart was meant to inspire—and that’s exactly what the Hallmark Original, making its debut on the Super Channel on Wednesday, sets out to do. Set in Canada and filmed in Langley, B.C., the frontier story follows a socialite and new teacher to the rough town of Coal Valley for her first job. Army Wives’ Erin Krakow plays fish-out-of-water Elizabeth Thatcher as she struggles to get by on her own for the first time—despite the guardian her father appointed for her, Mountie Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing).
“She doesn’t want to admit that she might need saving,” Krakow told TV Guide Canada about her character’s resistance to Jack’s help. “Look, in the first couple of episodes alone I think she’s saved from a few different kinds of vermin, so there’s that. But I think there’s also something to her spirit. She’s really excited about having this experience and starting her life on her own, as an independent woman and as someone who can take care of herself and is capable of doing so.”
She has plenty of role models to look up to. Elizabeth arrives in Coal Valley just after a mining accident kills most of the town’s men—and she watches as the women decide to become miners themselves to stave off eviction. Krakow describes how some of the women later go on to own their own businesses and show Elizabeth that she can get by on her own.
But one of the biggest influences on the young woman is her landlord and later roommate Abigail (Lori Loughlin, Full House). While most of the women in the town are—at the beginning at least—hostile to Elizabeth and her obvious ignorance, Abigail decides to give the new teacher a chance at the school and convinces the town to as well.
“That’s probably just Lori Loughlin being amazing,” Krakow joked about Abigail’s welcoming spirit. “She plays such a beautiful, graceful, compassionate role and I think that was just something that set her apart. She saw Elizabeth’s spirit, and she felt for her and really wanted to give her a chance. I think her faith in Elizabeth from the start is the beginning of their friendship, which only develops further throughout the season. That’s one of my favourite parts from the show, is the strong friendship between Abigail and Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth’s other major relationship is with the strapping Mountie Jack, who starts out feeling bitter towards the heroine after coming to believe he was sent to the small town to keep an eye on her. Krakow says that much of his frustration comes from not being posted somewhere more exciting—an expectations-meets-reality disappointment that shares similar notes with Elizabeth’s own beliefs about how her adventure would turn out.
Of course, having a Mountie around town gives When Calls The Heart a decidedly Canadian feeling—and while Krakow notes the universal themes of the show that helped it connect with American audiences, she hopes Canadians will see that and more.
“We put a lot of heart into When Calls The Heart and I hope that that shows through,” she said. “And I’m excited for Canada to get to see a show that I hope they feel will honour them in some way.”
When Calls The Heart airs at 8 p.m. ET on Super Channel.
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