Hallmark/Heavy "The Way Home"
Fans of “The Way Home” were stunned when Hallmark announced that the new season of “When Calls the Heart” would begin on January 5. For the past two seasons, “The Way Home” has premiered in January. The new Hearties announcement essentially means that “The Way Home” will likely be premiering later than normal on TV. Fans of the show, who affectionately call themselves “Ponderers,” grew even more worried after Hallmark responded to their concerns with little reassurance and no details.
On X, one Ponderer replied to the news about “When Calls the Heart” by writing: “Feeling crushed right now. 😭”
Another person on X wrote about the Hearties news: “Uh, ruined my night seeing this. What about #TheWayHome ??? Hallmark is seriously making us wait a full year between season 2 ending and season 3 premiering? Only other explanation is it’s going to Hallmark+.”
Hallmark’s Response About ‘The Way Home’ Changed After the ‘When Calls the Heart’ News
Hallmark is replying to questions about “The Way Home” on Facebook, but the answers aren’t revealing much. In fact, the official social media account sounded a bit more enthusiastic in its replies before the news about “When Calls the Heart” was released.
On November 7, Hallmark’s official “The Way Home” Facebook account shared a post about the show returning in 2025. “Season 3 is coming!” they teased. “How many times have you watched the announcement trailer?”
After news about “When Calls the Heart” was announced on November 9, the Facebook post was flooded with questions from worried fans.
One person wrote, “When is season 3 coming out? I see when calls the heart starts on 1/5 which is typically when the way home does.”
The only thing the Hallmark account said in reply was, “As soon as we have more information, we’ll be sure to post it on our FB page. Thank you for reaching out.”
This same reply was given to every fan question about the show’s future.
But before the “When Calls the Heart” news, the Facebook account answered a bit more enthusiastically. On November 7 they wrote: “We are excited for the premiere of season 3 also! Stay tuned! We will be sharing more information soon.”
With “When Calls the Heart” airing 12 episodes, its premiere date means that “The Way Home” likely won’t air on the Hallmark Channel until sometime in April. It’s unlikely that Hallmark would air the show on TV at the same time that “When Calls the Heart” is airing. The network typically airs its original series at different times.
After the news, one person on X wrote, “Nooo they just advertised the new season for When Calls the Heart on January 5th…that’s probably going to postpone a January premiere for #TheWayHome Season 3 😒.”
‘When Calls the Heart’ Season 10 Was Delayed Due to Two New Shows
On the official Facebook page for The Hallmark Channel, Ponderers also voiced concern about the Hearties news. One person wrote in response to a post about the trailer: “I’m so disappointed this is airing before Season 3 of ‘The Way Home’. This will mean over a year wait between S2 and S3. When calls the hearts last season just ended……making “The Way Home” fans wait isn’t fair…sad news.”
Another fan replied, assuring them that “When Calls the Heart” had a long wait before season 10, so this isn’t unheard of.
And that’s true. Just before season 10, Hallmark decided to air both “Ride” and “The Way Home” prior to “When Calls the Heart,” forcing the hit series to air much later than it normally did. The series typically premiered in February or early March, but in 2023 it didn’t premiere until July 30.
Here are the dates for each of the season premieres of “When Calls the Heart”:
- Season 1: January 11, 2014
- Season 2: April 25, 2015
- Season 3: February 21, 2016
- Season 4: February 19, 2017
- Season 5: February 18, 2018
- Season 6: February 24, 2019
- Season 7: February 23, 2020
- Season 8: February 21, 2021
- Season 9: March 6, 2022
- Season 10: July 30, 2023
- Season 11: April 7, 2024
The season 12 date marks the earliest a new season has premiered in the show’s entire history. However, it does put the premiere closer to its old February tradition.
The news has left some Ponderers expressing concern that “The Way Home” might move to Hallmark’s new streaming service, Hallmark+.
In a public Facebook fan group for “The Way Home,” one fan wrote, “Hope we won’t be forced to sign up for Hallmark Plus. I can’t afford more fees.”
Hallmark has not made any indication that this might happen, as of the time of this article’s publication.
Stephanie Dube Dwilson is a sports and entertainment contributor for Heavy covering Texas Longhorns football and Hallmark. She covered the presidential election results live in 2016 & 2020 for Heavy. She's an attorney with a master's in science and technology journalism, and runs a website on UFO news and FOIA reports called The Verified Report. More about Stephanie Dube Dwilson
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