Melissa Gilbert Reveals Whether She’ll Return to ‘When Calls The Heart’

As the crew of Hallmark’s hit series “When Calls the Heart” busily prepares for the show’s stars to begin filming season 13 in July 2025, fans are pining for answers to some of the cliffhangers they were left with in April’s season 12 finale.

Among them, Hearties have been eager to learn whether Melissa Gilbert will return to the show after guest-starring as inspector Georgie McGill on two episodes in season 12. Her character’s story arc included rekindling a decades-old romance with Jack Wagner’s character, Bill Avery.

When Hallmark’s social media team asked fans in April whether they wanted to see Bill and Georgie’s love story continue in season 13, the answer was a resounding yes. Hearties are in luck, because Gilbert just confirmed on the “Hey Dude…The ’90s Called” podcast that she will be back — and she couldn’t be happier about it.

Melissa Gilbert Explains Why She Feels at Home on the Set of ‘When Calls The Heart’

During her interview with podcast hosts Christine Taylor and David Lascher, Gilbert said she has loved becoming part of the “When Calls The Heart” cast and that she’ll be going back and forth to Vancouver “a bit more this year.”

But after rising to fame as a child actor, playing Laura Ingalls Wilder on the hit series “Little House on the Prairie,” Gilbert acknowledged that she feels right at home working on another show set a century ago.

Gilbert explained, “When I go to Vancouver to the set, I walk in and it’s this old town, you know? It feels crazy, there I am.”

Noting that she’s back to wearing period costumes, she said, “I made the decision to put my character in a corset for a myriad of reasons, none of which were smart, but it looks good. And the lace-up shoes, and just the whole vibe that I have going on there. And with my hair up, you know, carrying a little bit of the late 1800s into the early 1900s.”

“It’s just like going home, it’s this strange and wonderful feeling, and I’m very excited to go back,” Gilbert continued, “and I’ll be back and forth to Vancouver a bit more, I think, this year.”

Melissa Gilbert is in Awe of How ‘When Calls The Heart’ Cast Gets Along

Hearties were thrilled when Gilbert was announced as a guest star in September, ahead of season 12, and appeared at the annual Hearties Family Reunion with the show’s cast. Executive producer Michael Landon Jr. introduced Gilbert to the crowd, which was special because his dad — actor Michael Landon — played her dad on “Little House on the Prairie.”

She told Taylor and Lascher on their podcast that Landon Jr. has been tickled by her calling him “boss” on set, since they’ve known each other most of their lives and even went to prom together.

“I texted him yesterday with a ‘When Calls The Heart’ question and every time I text him, I say, ‘Hey Boss,'” she told them. “We’ve been friends for over 50 years and he wrote me back, and he answered the question, and then the next text came in and said, ‘You know, someday when the show ends, I hope you’ll still call me boss because it makes me laugh every time.’ It’s great!”

Calling “When Calls The Heart” a “lovely, lovely show,” Gilbert told Taylor and Lascher that she has also loved witnessing how well the cast gets along after so many years of working together.

“It reminds me so much of the ‘Little House’ cast because everybody loves each other so much, they actually hang out together when they’re not shooting,” Gilbert told Taylor and Lascher. “They’ve been together for 13 years, you’d think they’d be sick of each other! But no, they do things — they go to each other’s weddings … they support each other, they have dinners. It’s really, it’s a nice job.”