In “When Hope Calls” Season 2 Cindy Busby stars as Nora, a lawyer with a secret, while Christopher Russell plays Constable, Mountie Michael. It recently premiered on Great American Family.
“When Hope Calls” is a spinoff of Oke’s iconic book series When Calls the Heart and followed a pair of sisters, Lillian Walsh (Morgan Kohan) and Grace Bennett (Jocelyn Hudon) to the town of Brookfield, circa 1916.
“When Hope Calls” is a family drama that is centered on the town’s orphanage and its residents who meet tremendous challenges while creating a hopeful, faith-filled community on the cusp of change in the frontier town while nurturing the children in their care.
The first season had 10 episodes, followed by two one-hour Christmas episodes in 2021, which saw Lori Loughlin reprise her role as Abigail Stanton.
There are six episodes in Season 2, and while the opening episodes pay tribute to the romance of Lillian Walsh and Mountie Gabriel (Ryan-James “RJ” Hatanaka), new characters are introduced that are seminal to the orphanage and children, the sprawling farms and ranchlands, and to the town of Brookfield who welcome a new Constable from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Mountie Michael (Christopher Russell).
Speaking of these new characters, Nick Bateman plays Wyatt, while Wendy Crewson portrays Tess Stewart
Hanneke Talbot plays Maggie Parsons, and it is fun to see Jesse Hutch and Trevor Donovan (who plays Constable Jim Reynolds) in their cameo roles in this series.
Without giving anything away, this season of “When Hope Calls” has an ending that one will not want to miss.
Cindy Busby is superb as Nora, while Christopher Russell is charming and the voice of reason as Mountie Michael. Their characters’ affecting rapport allows for more resonance.
Morgan Kohan and Ryan-James “RJ” Hatanaka are a triumph as Lillian and Gabriel respectively.
Jon McLaren is remarkable as Sam Tremblay in this season, and he is able to make this role his own.
Nick Bateman is convincing as the nefarious Wyatt, a former rodeo star turned rancher, and it is neat to see a different side of his artistry (as an actor) in this role and series.
Wendy Crewson is a revelation as Tess, while Sarah Fisher is also memorable as Hannah.
In fact, everybody in the cast brings something unique to the table. This second season of “When Hope Calls” really pushes the envelope, and hopefully, everyone else will enjoy it as much as this journalist has.
The Verdict
“When Hope Calls” Season 2 is heart-warming, engaging, and thought-provoking. The character development for each of the new characters is impressive to watch (as they unveil in each episode). This is a series that deserves to have additional seasons. Season 2 of “When Hope Calls” garners two giant thumbs up.
“When Hope Calls” is available to stream on Pure Flix and Sunday nights at 8 p.m. EST only on Great American Family.
