In 2019, the Hallmark Channel made a very public separation from one of their most popular leading ladies — Lori Loughlin. The former Full House star was in the midst of a very public college admissions scandal with her two daughters, so Hallmark announced it would be cutting ties. Her movies were removed from the network, and she was even cut from scenes in her series, When Calls the Heart. But with the scandal and Loughlin's jail time behind everyone, it seems the network is testing the waters by quietly bringing her content back.
On July 22, Hallmark announced in a Facebook post that the first three Garage Sale Mystery films would be available for viewing on its streaming service.
"Stream the first three "Garage Sale Mysteries" now available on #HallmarkMoviesNow!"
Fans were quick to express their excitement surrounding this news and even support for the actress, wishing the network would bring her back in new content.
"Lori is a great actress who made a terrible mistake, but paid the price. Hallmark should forgive the actress and bring her back in Garage Sale Mysteries. One of the best mystery movies! PLEASE bring her back with new movies! Thanks!" one fan said in the comments.
Alonso Duralde of The Wrap acknowledged this move on Twitter, noting that it was interesting all around, considering how the network initially reacted amid the scandal a few years ago.
Interesting that the Hallmark cable channels made a very big to-do of disappearing all their Lori Loughlin content when the scandal went down, but now they're subtly reintroducing the Garage Sale Mysteries to their Hallmark Movies Now streaming service with minimal fanfare.
— Alonso Duralde 🎄🌹🏳️🌈 (@ADuralde) August 2, 2022
"I wasn't attached to any of her franchises (GSM, When Calls the Heart), and I didn't think that her crime merited the removal of her content, I'm just fascinated how they're testing the water for reinstating her shows/movies, whether or not they bring her back into the fold," he added in a follow-up tweet.
All very interesting points.
On Aug. 1, another installment of Loughlin's popular mystery series was promoted on Hallmark's Facebook, and more fans expressed their excitement in the post's comments.
"Yahoo! Happy to see her back on Hallmark. We'll done!" said one fan.
"I love these, I hope they show them all." added another.
In a recent interview with Navigating Hollywood, When Calls the Heart co-creator Brian Bird explained that he tried to get Loughlin back on the series, but ultimately, Crown Media felt like it wasn't a good time. Instead, he opted to bring her to the show's spinoff series, When Hope Calls, which is airing on GAC. The series originally aired on Hallmark, but was renewed for a second season on Great American Family (GAC), which is co-owned by former Crown Media CEO Bill Abbott.
"Our first choice would have been to bring her [Loughlin] back to Hope Valley and to 'When Calls the Heart.' We had those conversations with the network... In their judgment, it just wasn't the right time... But Lori had done her time... The spinoff show ... is a derivative show... it's a neighboring town, a day's ride away... We said OK, well, we believe it's time to offer Lori her second chance here, and so we decided to bring her there to Brookfield... She has indicated she would love to continue on that show if we're able to do it."
Many Hallmark stars have been shifting over to GAC, including Hallmark's queen bee Candace Cameron Bure. It will be interesting to see if the network includes Loughlin in any additional new programming in the future.
