Hallmark Channel fans already have much to look forward to in 2026, from the season 13 premiere of “When Calls The Heart” to a January full of “Winter Escape” movies to Lacey Chabert’s Christmas movie at Disney World.
But before diving into the New Year, we’re looking back at what made 2025 so fun for Hallmarkies: tons of surprises (mostly the good kind!), both onscreen and off. In no particular order, our TOP 10 biggest surprises of the year…
Hallmark Channel Returned to Reality in 2025
Six years after Hallmark Channel last aired an original unscripted series — “Meet the Peetes,” a reality show about Hallmark star Holly Robinson Peete’s family — the cable network announced in March that it was ready to give reality TV another try, starting with the May premiere of Connie Britton’s “The Motherhood.”
The network’s streaming platform, Hallmark+, had experimented with multiple unscripted series since its September 2024 launch, including Jonathan Bennett’s “Finding Mr. Christmas” competition, Luke Macfarlane’s renovation series “Home Is Where the Heart Is,” Ashley Williams’ dating show “Small Town Setup,” and “Celebrations With Lacey Chabert.”
As part of Hallmark Channel’s new “reality with heart” lineup, “Christmas at Sea” debuted in July, following superfans and their favorite stars on the Hallmark Christmas Cruise. “Celebrations” and “Finding Mr. Christmas” were renewed for second seasons, both which aired on Hallmark Channel, and Tamera Mowry-Housley helmed the holiday bake-off “Baking With Love: Holiday.”
‘When Calls The Heart’ Stars Revealed 2 Surprise Weddings
Hearties were surprised by the sound of wedding bells — twice in 2025. In May, “When Calls The Heart” star Jack Wagner revealed he’d tied the knot with musician Michelle Wolf, whom he’d very quietly been dating for four years. The couple married in Italy, surrounded by a small group of friends and family.
Weeks later, on June 23, real-life Hallmark couple Erin Krakow and Ben Rosenbaum, who also star on “When Calls The Heart,” revealed that they were also married, sharing pics from their outdoor wedding. The couple dated for over a decade, but had not revealed publicly that they were engaged, so their nuptials were another huge surprise for Hearties!
Hallmark Channel Stars Won Big Awards in 2025
Hallmark Channel’s hard work paid off in 2025, as its stars won numerous esteemed awards for their movies. On March 27, the team behind “The Groomsmen” trilogy — including stars Jonathan Bennett, Tyler Hynes, and BJ Britt — were thrilled to win the GLAAD Award for Outstanding Film – Streaming or TV. The awards honor film, TV, music and journalism with the most “fair, accurate, and inclusive portrayals of the LGBTQ+ community,” per the organization.
Hynes was also present at the 2025 Gracie Awards in May, as he and the cast of 2024’s “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” won the Best Ensemble Cast for a Made-for-TV Movie Award. Hunter King was brought to tears over an extra surprise when her mom and sister, actress Joey King, appeared onstage to present her with the award.
Meanwhile, the cast and crew of “The Way Home” took home the coveted Audience Choice Award at the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards in June. The awards celebrate Canadian-based talent and productions, and “The Way Home” is filmed in Toronto.
Stars & Fans Were Stunned by Programming Exec Michelle Vicary’s Return to Hallmark Channel
August brought a surprise leadership change that delighted countless stars and fans, as former Hallmark executive Michelle Vicary was announced as the new head of Hallmark Media. Vicary spent 22 years at the channel and is credited with recruiting much of its beloved talent roster, including Tyler Hynes, Jonathan Bennett, Luke MacFarlane, Kimberley Sustad, Nikki DeLoach, Paul Campbell, Ashley Williams, Erin Cahill, and Andrew Walker.
According to Variety, Vicary also speerheaded popular series like “Chesapeake Shores” and “Good Witch” and also “expanded the company’s commitment to diverse storytelling, including hiring multiple LGBTQ+ actors.” She left Hallmark in 2021, shortly after a shakeup in leadership, but in August, Hallmark’s Chief Brand Officer Darren Abbott told the outlet she was “the missing piece of the puzzle” as Hallmark Media moves forward.
“We will be telling stories that reflect the world that we live in and the diverse storytelling that we can bring to the table,” Abbott told the outlet. “That was important to Michelle, it’s important to me. That is part of the Hallmark brand. You can’t be a brand about connecting people if you’re not for all people, and so at the end of the day, that’s really important to us — whether it’s in the products we sell, the movies we make or the experiences that we’re creating.”
‘When Calls The Heart’ Announced the Return of Beloved Cast Members Including Lori Loughlin
Before kicking off its 13th season on January 4, “When Calls The Heart” surprised fans with several major announcements in 2025. In early December, the network announced that the show had already been renewed for a 14th season, to premiere in 2027. A great surprise!
In tandem with that announcement, executives dropped the bombshell news that series alum Lori Loughlin will return to the show in season 14. The cast surprised fans with the news by bringing her out onstage at the Hallmark Christmas Experience, as seen in the video above.
Those surprises came after other big casting news, including Brooke Shields returning for season 13, a decade after the actress last appeared as Charlotte Thornton, and that season 12 guest star Melissa Gilbert will be back, too.
Hallmark Channel Canceled ‘The Way Home’ During Season 4 Filming
The saddest surprise of the year came in November. While “The Way Home” cast was still filming the fourth season of their magical family drama, Hallmark execs announced that when it airs in the spring of 2026, it will be the series’ final season. Samantha DiPippo, SVP of programming at Hallmark Media, told People that in season four, “the Landry family’s journey comes to a satisfying close, viewers will get the answers they’ve waited for.”
The decision was a huge blow to many fans who have started a petition, hoping that Hallmark will reconsider or that Netflix, which began streaming the series in September (another big surprise) might continue the show.
Hallmark Channel Announced Several Huge Programming Partnerships
Flexing its muscle as the go-to place for rom-coms, Hallmark Channel secured partnerships with some of the biggest entertainment companies in 2025. Following the huge success of its NFL-themed 2024 movie “Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story,” the two entities teamed up again for a second movie — “Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story” — which quickly became the most-watched cable movie of the year, according to Hallmark.
Hallmark also partnered with Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry for a star-studded 2025 holiday movie, “A Grand Ole Opry Christmas” (with merchandise to boot!) and announced in December that Lacey Chabert had already begun filming the company’s first movie at Disney World, scheduled to premiere in late 2026.
‘When Calls The Heart’ Stars Announced Triple Baby Boom
Hearties were beside themselves with excitement over the news that THREE Hallmark couples — all with ties to “When Calls The Heart” — are expecting babies in 2025. In November, Kayla Wallace debuted her baby bump on the red carpet of her other series, Paramount+’s “Landman,” revealing that she and her husband, WCTH lead Kevin McGarry, were expecting their first child.
Later that month, their dear friends and co-stars, newlyweds Erin Krakow and Ben Rosenbaum, revealed that they, too, were expecting their first baby. In December, during a WCTH panel discussion at the Hallmark Christmas Experience, Chris McNally pulled out sonogram images from his pocket to reveal that he and fellow Hallmark star Julie Gonzalo are expecting their second child — even noting that all three babies are due within six weeks of each other this spring. Wow!
Fans Were Thrilled by Onscreen Reunions of Beloved Casts & Duos
Reunited and it felt so good! Hallmark surprised fans with multiple onscreen reunions, including a third movie with the full “Haul Out the Holly” cast — this time with a Halloween spin — and a third movie with the “Three Wise Men” cast, led by Tyler Hynes, Andrew Walker, and Paul Campbell.
A couple of beloved onscreen couples also reunited thanks to fan demand. After weeks of buzz, Tyler Hynes and Erin Krakow confirmed they’d teamed up for “Christmas Above the Clouds” — four years after their 2021 hit movie “It Was Always You.” Meanwhile, Walker and Lacey Chabert reunited for “She’s Making a List,” marking their first movie together since 2018’s “My Secret Valentine.”
Hallmark Announced Surprise ‘When Calls The Heart’ Spinoff Series
In another surprise move, Hallmark announced in mid-December that filming was about to begin on a “When Calls The Heart” pre-quel called “Hope Valley: 1874.”
The eight-episode series will debut on Hallmark+ in March, starring Hallmark’s Benjamin Ayres, Bethany Joy Lenz, Lachlan Quarmby, Chelsea Hobbs, and Hallmark newcomer Jill Hennessy. Here’s everything we know about the series so far!
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Hallmark Channel’s TOP 10 Biggest Surprises of 2025