Why Brian Bird Calls WHEN CALLS THE HEART ‘Radical,’ ‘Revolutionary’
By Movieguide® Contributor
WHEN CALLS THE HEART producer Brian Bird sat down with Movieguide® to talk about why the show continues to succeed after 11 seasons.
“This is the only television show across the country that is based on a Christian novel,” Bird began. “We think it’s radical. We think this is revolutionary. There’s not another show like it on television.”
The series, inspired by Janette Oke’s book of the same name, follows “Elizabeth Thatcher, a young schoolteacher from a wealthy Eastern family, [who] migrates from the big city to teach school in a small coal mining town in the west.” Along the way, she finds love, friendship and community, and the show’s focus on Christian values makes it perfect for the whole family.
“Get this, a whole family can sit down and watch this show together,” Bird revealed. “We challenge anybody to show us where you can actually do that on television.”
“So, for us, it’s exciting,” he continued. “My best memories, and probably some of yours, are with my family watching television, and nowadays it everybody to their own rooms, to their own iPads, their own phones, their own tablets, their own TVs, watching their little niche channels. There’s something wrong with that picture, and I think that it’s about time that we fix that.”
Season 11 kicked off earlier this month, and star Erin Krakow, who plays Elizabeth Thatcher Thornton, explained how this season impacts her character.
“Season 10 was a very challenging emotional time for Elizabeth,” the actress explained. “A lot of self-reflection, a lot of trying to figure out what’s the right move and is she with the right person. Moving into Season 11, it was important for me to explore the sides of Elizabeth that show her celebrating life a bit more and being open to those. There’s a real lightness and joy that comes with that.”
“There have been so many changes in the rollercoaster of Elizabeth’s journey,” Krakow continued. “Season 11 is no exception. We’re breathing new life into Elizabeth and into the fabric of the town in various ways. And Nathan is there and there’s all this excitement and change happening in Hope Valley. And so not only for Elizabeth, but for everyone in town, it feels like a new beginning.”
Movieguide® previously reported:
WHEN CALLS THE HEART actress Erin Krakow recently spoke to TV Insider about the show’s Season 11 premiere, hinting at her character’s romantic future.
TV Insider reported, “Season 10 ended with Elizabeth at her late husband’s grave, and her words did imply that she saw Lucas as the ‘safe’ option, as someone whose loss wouldn’t affect her like Jack’s did.”
“So, to speak to how Elizabeth was feeling at the grave at Jack’s grave when she was mentioning that she had, I guess, inadvertently sought out something safe, yeah, I think you’re right,” Krakow acknowledged. “I think she was absolutely frozen and petrified over the idea that she might love again and find herself as broken as she was when Jack passed.”
The actress went on to explain that Elizabeth’s love for Jack didn’t diminish her relationship with Lucas, but she realized that they weren’t meant to be.
“I don’t think she was even aware of it when she made the decision to choose Lucas, that she was, you know, call it ‘choosing safe love over great love,’ but there was this very slow awakening to the fact that they weren’t meant to be,” she said.
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