Ten years after she last played Charlotte Thornton on “When Calls The Heart,” actress Brooke Shields will return to the Hallmark Channel series when season 13 premieres in 2026.
Shields, 60, announced her surprise return on October 2, 2025, with a brief video posted to social media from the show’s Vancouver set, telling fans, “Charlotte Thornton is back! I am so happy to return to ‘When Calls The Heart’ this all-new season.”
Erin Krakow Says She’s Been Campaigning for Brooke Shields to Come Back to ‘When Calls The Heart’
Shields first appeared on “When Calls The Heart” as a guest star in 2016, playing the mother of Daniel Lissing’s character, Mountie Jack Thornton. She arrived in Hope Valley on horseback to check on her son, who went on to marry the show’s lead character Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow), and father “little Jack” (Hyland Goodrich). But in the season five finale, Jack died in a landslide during a training mission with other Mounties.
As Charlotte returns to Hope Valley in 1922, much has changed — Elizabeth is in a serious relationship with another Mountie, Nathan Grant (Kevin McGarry), and she’s desperate to access treatment for little Jack, who was diagnosed with diabetes in season 12. In fact, the season ended with them heading to stay at Charlotte’s boarding house.
According to Variety, season 13 will include “a heartwarming connection between Charlotte and her grandson, Little Jack, as she helps him reconnect with memories of his father.”
“What’s been difficult is just adapting to 1922 from where I was because the jump is just so extreme,” Shields told People. “But we’re also seeing Charlotte evolve, which has been interesting. We create a path for her to modernize.”
Krakow told the outlet that she’s thrilled to have Shields back for a three-episode arc, revealing, “I have been crazily wanting to get Brooke back on ‘When Calls the Heart’ for years. I am so excited we were able to make the timing work. She is a dream to work with.”
Hallmark programming head Michelle Vicary, who returned to the network over the summer, said in a statement, “We’re thrilled to welcome back Brooke Shields to the ‘When Calls the Heart’ family. Her first appearance on the series was memorable for our fans and we know the Hearties will be delighted to see Charlotte’s emotional and heartwarming reunion.”
Brooke Shields Revealed Why She Left Hallmark in Her 2025 Book
HallmarkShields’ return to Hallmark is a bit of a surprise, given what she wrote about her experience on the network in her book, “Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman,” released in January.
According to Us Weekly, Shields signed a major deal with Hallmark in 2016, with plans for her to star in 16 movies. But after her WCTH appearance and three “Flower Shop Mystery” movies co-starring Brennan Elliott, she walked away from the deal.
In her book, she wrote, “I’d completed only three [movies] when I realized I had to renegotiate. I’d been hired, I was told, to help change the face of the network. They wanted me to be funny and bring more comedy to their offerings.”
Brooks continued, “But as filming progressed on each of the ‘Flower Shop Mysteries’ — the franchise I was hired to headline — all the humor had evaporated.”
But Brooks also wrote, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Hallmark Channel — God knows it has a huge fan base — but it was not the future I wanted for my career … Not everything is for everyone.”
Hearties Are Pumped About Brook Shields’ Return to Hope Valley
Now that she’s back, fans have flooded social media with excitement about her impending return, and how Charlotte showing up will impact the WCTH storyline.
One Heartie wrote, “yay!!!! loved her as Jack’s mom! cant wait!!” and another exclaimed, “This is OUTSTANDING 👏👏👏”
“Glad she’s back, still hoping for a wedding,” another wrote. “Hoping she is nice to Nathan too. We’ve had enough roadblocks…”
Season 13 of WCTH is still filming, but is expected to premiere on Hallmark Channel and Hallmark+ in early 2026.
