We’ve known for some time that Lori Loughlin’s character on the Hallmark Channel’s hit show When Calls the Heart was not only going to be removed, but was going to be removed ASAP. The drama even went on hold, mid-season, in early March so that the remaining episodes could be “re-tooled,” i.e., to jettison Aunt Becky. Well, the first non-Loughlin episode has aired, as per EW, letting us see the clever way she got the can.
No, Loughlin’s character — i.e., Abigail Stanton the mayor of a small Western Canadian coal mining town in the early 20th century — didn’t return to her home planet. Instead, she simply returned to her home town.
The news was delivered tastefully, i.e., over voiceover narration of one character writing a letter to another. “It’s been a week since Abigail got word that her mother had taken ill back East,” the letter read. “True to her nature, Abigail wasted no time in rushing off to care for her.” And so, as they say, that’s (literally) all she wrote.
Abigail has long been a major and beloved character on When Calls the Heart, now in its sixth season, with a seventh already ordered. As such, removing her was likely not easy. True, only four episodes remained in the season, of only seven total. But the producers had to both cut her out and do hasty re-shoots, ensuring her erasure didn’t throw anything too out of whack.
Of course, Loughlin’s hasty removal was due to her alleged participation in “Operation Varsity Blues,” in which several people, including Felicity Huffman, are charged with bribing their children into elite colleges. When last we heard of Loughlin’s ongoing escapades, Loughlin still appeared to be in denial over the likelihood that she may be heading for prison. But at least there’s one bit of closure to be had.
(Via EW)
