Exclusive: WCTH’s Erin Krakow and Kevin McGarry Talk Nathan and Elizabeth’s Future, Who They’d Love to See Return and the Scene Three Seasons In the Making
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When Calls the Heart stars Erin Krakow and Kevin McGarry are thrilled that their characters finally got together in Season 11 after what was perhaps the series’ slowest burn romance.
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Krakow, who’s played Elizabeth Thatcher since the show’s 2014 premiere, felt for all the Team Lucas fans after Elizabeth ended her engagement with now-governor Lucas Bouchard (Chris McNally) the season prior, but she’s also rooting for Elizabeth and Nathan.
“They have this relationship that is built on a long history of friendship and shared experiences,” she tells Soaps.com.
The two characters have been on quite the journey since Mountie Nathan (McGarry) arrived in Hope Valley during Season 6 and took up post as the town’s new Constable — the position once held by Elizabeth’s late husband Jack (Daniel Lissing).
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When Nathan professed his love for Elizabeth in Season 8, Hearties rejoiced. However, Elizabeth could not reciprocate the feelings, as she was scared of losing him like she lost Jack.
Their romance was reignited in Season 11, which kicked off in April 2024, but the pair took things incredibly slow. Elizabeth also found herself in the role of pursuer this time around, prompting McGarry to joke: “As she should be! Nathan really gave it his all in Season 8.”
After a heartfelt confession from the school teacher about her true feelings in Episode 10, Elizabeth and Nathan finally had their first kiss — and it was well worth the wait.
But of course, a When Calls the Heart season finale wouldn’t be complete without a major cliffhanger. This one involves a returning character, Superintendent Hargraves (David James Lewis), who sought Elizabeth out in the final few minutes of the episode to discuss an urgent matter regarding her late husband.
Credits rolled before viewers could learn what the officer had to tell her, but Krakow promised that it’ll be addressed early on in season 12. “We’re not just going to pretend like that conversation at the end didn’t happen, so we will address it,” she tells us. “Where it goes from there, you gotta tune in to find out.”
In our discussion below, Erin Krakow and Kevin McGarry reveal what viewers can expect when the beloved Hallmark show returns for Season 12 and which former cast members they want to see back.
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Soaps.com: We’ve seen Elizabeth navigate this kind of love triangle between Nathan and Lucas this season. Erin, I’m curious how you feel about her choice to break up with Lucas and pursue Nathan? Where does she stand with Lucas now?
Erin Krakow: I felt very sad for both Elizabeth and Lucas because breakups are hard and they were obviously two people who had a lot of love and respect for each other. It was a really emotional dissolution of that relationship and I feel for all of the fans who were rooting for them as a couple. But on the other hand, I’m really excited about the relationship Elizabeth and Nathan have … It’s a really exciting chapter in both of their lives. I personally care a lot about Elizabeth and Nathan as characters and I’m really happy that they’re both going to be happy.
Soaps.com Is there an awkward dynamic between Nathan or Lucas now? Where do they stand?
Kevin McGarry: I mean, I think there will always be a bit of awkward dynamic between the two of them, even before Elizabeth was in the picture. I think they are just very different men and have different ideals, but they are also in the best place I think they have been. They have an understanding. They both care about Hope Valley and the town and the people in it, they just kind of go about it in different ways. So, you know, I think there will always be a bit of friction between the two of them, but they’re in a good spot. And Lucas gave Nathan his blessing to kind of move forward and let this happen, even though Elizabeth’s pursuing Nathan.
Krakow: I think that Nathan and Lucas have both proved themselves to be such great guys. I mean, Nathan basically gave his blessing to Lucas. Lucas basically gave his blessing to Nathan. But it’s true. I think that there will always be a bit of an edge there between these guys, even if they turn out to be good pals, like they care about each other. But it’s more fun that way.
Soaps.com: It was obviously a season of change for Elizabeth and one of those changes was her new haircut. How did that haircut play into some of the changes she was experiencing and what went into that decision?
Krakow: Well, as you can imagine, there was a lot of chatter about it. We were just thinking about how Elizabeth had gone through this breakup. It was a big change, sort of flirting with the idea of a new relationship. We’re also really embracing the 1920s when bobs were kind of the thing. It felt like a very visual way to shake things up for Elizabeth and something that might be fun for the viewers to see as well.
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Soaps.com: Season 11 also focused a lot on Nathan and Allie’s relationship, with Allie wanting to learn more about her biological father. Kevin, what can you tell us about their dynamic and where they’re going to go from here?
McGarry: It strengthens their bond as father and daughter. You know, it’s a story of how much do I tell my child? I’m afraid, if they know too much, they’re going to get hurt, and she does. I just think going through an experience like that only strengthens the bond and brings us closer together. I haven’t really gotten too many scripts for what’s happening for season 12 with the two of them, but I know there will be problems that they have to work together to figure out and they’ll only be stronger for it. And I’ll just say, Jaeda [Lily Miller] absolutely nailed that scene. She killed that. She really gave a powerhouse performance for those two episodes, so she should be recognized for that.
Krakow: She really did … It’s been so beautiful to see. I mean, all of our child actors grow up on the show, but especially Jaeda. She started as a kid in Season 6 and now she’s got such a mature, emotional storyline this season. She absolutely blew it out of the water.
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Soaps.com: There was a very heartfelt moment between Nathan and Elizabeth in the season finale, in which Elizabeth opened up about her fears of having a new Mountie in town and Nathan talked about feeling responsible for Jack’s death. What went into that scene and how big of a step was it for their relationship?
McGarry: That conversation’s kind of been building since Season 8, when Elizabeth found out that there was a bit of a connection between Nathan and Jack. So that conversation was loaded. There was a lot of history within it and it was heartfelt. On the day, we were surprised by just how much the director was stopping us and saying: ‘This is a really great scene.’ Erin did a great job. The work was kind of already done in past seasons, but that conversation was earned and it was something that they needed to do. They needed to kind of clear the air and talk about that. So, I’m happy it made it in and that the writers addressed it.
Krakow: Me too. I think that Elizabeth and Nathan have had many vulnerable conversations over the years … it’s kind of their speciality. But this was one of the first times we got to see them explore a vulnerable conversation as a couple and see how that is different for them? It was a really beautiful scene. Not to toot our own horns, but it was a really great scene. Kevin gave a great performance.
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Soaps.com: Fiona also returns in the season finale. What can you tell us about that? Do you see her coming back permanently in the future?
Krakow: Well, we were thrilled to get television star Kayla Wallace back on When Calls the Heart. We’ve really missed the character Fiona in season 11, and of course, we miss Kayla [Wallace], who’s just like a lovely breath of fresh air in Hope Valley. So it was nice to get some closure for that character. And obviously her presence at the wedding was really important, especially
McGarry: Especially for the relationship she has with Ben’s [Rosenbaum] character, Mike Hickam.
Krakow: It was so special to have her back. As for whether or not she’ll return in season 12 … She’s a busy lady. She’s got a great job that’s happening now and so we’ll have to see if she’s even available. But all of us at When Calls the Heart love Fiona and love Kayla. We’re just rooting for her.
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Soaps.com: What about Abigail [Lori Loughlin]? Is there a world in which you see her come back to Hope Valley?
Krakow: Oh my gosh. We would love it. And I think the Hearties everywhere would love that as well. I mean, Abigail was a big part of what made When Calls the Heart a success, and she’s obviously a big part of the heart of the show.
McGarry: Her character and her presence is still felt throughout the show. She’s still talked about, she’s featured on mailboxes.
Krakow: She’s a dear friend of mine and I’d love to see her back. But I think especially for Henry Gowan [Martin Cummins], it would be so cool to see where their story would go together. That’s my take.
Soaps.com: Are there any other characters that you’d want to see back?
Krakow: Personally, I love it when we bring the kids back. People we had on earlier and kind of see how they’ve grown up. So that would be on my list.
McGarry: I would love to see RJ [Ryan-James Hatanaka], the other Mountie from When Hope Calls. A little crossover action with the spin-off. He played a Mountie named Gabe on that. I think he could maybe do a little crossover. You can never have enough Mountie.
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Soaps.com: How many more seasons do you foresee the show having? Is this something you both want to do forever or is there a stopping point that you have in mind?
Krakow: I mean look, if we haven’t made it abundantly clear at this point, we really love our jobs and we love getting to tell these stories. We love getting to work together. So hopefully it goes on and on and on.
Soaps.com: Erin, I know you recently reunited with Daniel Lissing for a Christmas movie coming out later this year. How was that experience?
Krakow: I’m very excited. It’s such a fantastic script. It’s so fun. There’s a lot of magical elements and reuniting with Dan was great. We hadn’t worked together in, obviously, many years, and that was just so lovely. I’m excited to get to share it with the fans.
Soaps.com: You guys obviously both met your partners on the set of the show. So, what is it about When Calls the Heart that fosters these off-screen relationships?
McGarry: It happens a lot actually, in the Hallmark world. There’s a lot of couples that have been brought together by the movies or the TV shows that they’ve done. I don’t know, something is in the air.
Krakow: Hallmark just does a great job of bringing good, kind people onto their sets. We all just really get along. It’s a great community.
When Calls the Heart is available to stream on Peacock.
Watch ‘When Calls the Heart’ on Peacock
For more on When Calls the Heart, check out this gallery on the cast’s real-life partners.
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