Melissa Gilbert guest stars in season twelve of When Calls the Heart

Melissa Gilbert will guest star in two episodes of season twelve of the long-running series When Calls the Heart. The twelfth season will premiere next year on the Hallmark Channel. The news was shared with fans at the annual Hearties Family Reunion in Vancouver, Canada.



Gilbert (pictured) will play Georgie McGill, who "shares a surprising past with a special resident of Hope Valley," according to the announcement.

The opportunity to join the series came about through executive producer Michael Landon Jr., who connected with the veteran actress during the Little House on the Prairie 50th Anniversary Cast Reunion and Festival earlier this year. The two shared the news during a panel discussion onstage at the Hearties Family Reunion.

“When Calls the Heart has long drawn comparisons to Little House on the Prairie, for its charming and compelling stories of hope, human connection and frontier survival,” said Kelly Garrett, vice president of Hallmark Media programming. “It was only fitting that the first people to hear this special news were the Hearties — devoted fans who have celebrated the show year after year and made it such a success. The energy being here with them to share this news is electric and we cannot wait for them to meet Georgie next year.”

Gilbert is best known as Laura Ingalls on NBC's Emmy-winning family series Little House on the Prairie. The Emmy-nominated actress was also the former president of the Screen Actors Guild, launched the lifestyle brand Modern Prairie and is a New York Times bestselling author.

Her other well-known roles are in the television film The Miracle Worker (for which she received an Emmy nomination), NBC series Sweet Justice and Secrets & Lies (US), an ABC drama series with Ryan Phillippe, Juliette Lewis, Terry O'Quinn and Michael Ealy in the leading roles.

Known as Hallmark's longest-running original series, When Calls the Heart season twelve will consist of twelve episodes releasing in 2025. News of the renewal came at the same time as the release of season eleven, which followed the residents of Hope Valley on their journey through the 1920s.

The plot revolved around schoolteacher Elizabeth Thornton (Erin Krakow), who made a fresh start - with a new romance, new challenges and a new style. She and Mountie Nathan Grant (Kevin McGarry) navigated their growing romantic feelings while also leaning on each other for support as they overcome parenting obstacles. The cast was completed by Chris McNally, Jack Wagner and Pascale Hutton.

Season eleven of the romantic period drama is this year's most-watched entertainment cable series among households, total viewers and women over 18.