Hallmark Channel’s When Calls The Heart, which starred embattled actress Lori Loughlin, reportedly edited out Loughlin from its final episodes of its sixth season.
When Calls The Heart is a ratings juggernaut for the Hallmark Channel. The Season 6 premiere brought in approximately 3.1 million viewers. It was the second highest viewed scripted show behind The Walking Dead the week it premiered. It is the highest rated show on the Hallmark Channel. The show had been pulled from the Hallmark Channel lineup after Lori Loughlin found herself at the center of the college admissions cheating scandal. Louhglin plays the Mayor of Hope Valley, Abigail Stanton.
EW reports the popular Hallmark Channel show will return on Sunday, May 5th at 8 p.m. and the next day on Monday, May 6 for a two-night event. Following the two-night event it will return to its normal time slot on Sundays. While the show will be returning, Loughlin’s character has reportedly been edited out of the show. A source from EW tells them that “the remaining season 6 installments have been re-edited in such a manner that removes any appearances by Loughlin.” Not only has Loughlin been edited out of the show for the remaining episodes, but an entire episode of the show was also axed. The report indicates “highly creative editing” and “minor reshoots” were required to remove Loughlin’s character.
Back in March when Loughlin was accused of bribing the University of Southern California, Hallmark had scrubbed Loughlin from the promotional materials for the show on their website.
In an attempt to update and reassure fans the show hasn’t been canceled. Executive Producer Brian Bird took to Instagram to thank fans of the show writing, “Thanks for sticking with us through this challenging time.”
Last month, Hallmark Cards, owner of Hallmark Channel released a statement that read:
“We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin, including ‘Garage Sale Mysteries,’ an independent third party production.”
This isn’t the only show that Lori Loughlin has found herself on the outs with. TMZ reported she would no longer be starring in Netflix’s Fuller House as Aunt Becky. Netflix also indefinitely delayed actress Felicity Huffman’s upcoming romantic comedy Otherhood after she was involved in the college admissions cheating scandal.
It has been a rough week for Loughlin as she was also struck with a money laundering charge for her involvement in the college admissions scandal.
What do you think of Hallmark’s approach? Are they in the right for scrubbing Lori Loughlin out of When Calls The Heart? Let me know your thoughts on the matter!