Melissa Gilbert is set to guest star in a two-episode arc on Season 12 of the long-running series When Calls the Heart, set to premiere on the Hallmark Channel next year. The news was shared with those who gathered at the show’s annual Hearties Family Reunion fan event in Vancouver, Canada.
Gilbert will portray Georgie McGill, who “shares a surprising past with one special Hope Valley resident,” per the announcement description. The opportunity to join the series arose through executive producer Michael Landon Jr., who connected with the veteran actress at the Little House on the Prairie 50th Anniversary Cast Reunion and Festival held earlier this year. The two shared the news in a panel discussion onstage at the Hearties Family Reunion.
“When Calls the Heart has long drawn comparisons to Little House on the Prairie, for its charming and compelling stories of hope, human connection and frontier survival,” said Kelly Garrett, vice president of Hallmark Media programming. “It was only fitting that the first people to hear this special news were the Hearties — devoted fans who have celebrated the show year after year and made it such a success. The energy being here with them to share this news is electric and we cannot wait for them to meet Georgie next year.”
Gilbert is best known for portraying Laura Ingalls on NBC’s Emmy-winning family-oriented Little House on the Prairie. The Emmy-nominated performer also served as the former president of the Screen Actors Guild, launched lifestyle brand Modern Prairie and is a New York Times bestselling author. Her other credits include The Miracle Worker (for which she garnered her Emmy nod), Sweet Justice (opposite Cicely Tyson) and Secrets and Lies, an ABC drama that starred Ryan Phillippe, Juliette Lewis and Michael Ealy.
Beloved as Hallmark’s longest-running original series, When Calls the Heart Season 12 will consist of 12 episodes dropping in 2025. News of the renewal came amid the show’s release of Season 11, which followed Hope Valley residents as they embarked on the 1920s. The plot revolved around schoolteacher Elizabeth Thornton (Erin Krakow), who began a fresh start — with new romance, new challenges and new style. She and Mountie Nathan Grant (Kevin McGarry) navigated their growing romantic feelings while also leaning on each other for support as they faced parenting obstacles. The cast was rounded out by Chris McNally, Jack Wagner and Pascale Hutton.
Season 11 of the romantic period drama ranks as the most-watched entertainment cable series year-to-date among households, total viewers and women over the age of 18.
