The 12th season finale of Hallmark Channel’s “When Calls the Heart” on Sunday, March 23 has emerged to become the most-watched program on entertainment cable year to date among Households, Adults 18+ and Total Viewers, according to recently released Nielsen Live+3 ratings data.
The episode was the most-watched program on the same night it aired in each of the key categories and was the most watched program overall for the week of March 17-23, 2025 among Households and Women 18+ helping elevate the network to rank first over that weekend among Total Day Women 18+, excluding news and sports programming.
For the season, the period drama reached 6.1 million Total Unduplicated Viewers throughout its 12-episode run.
“At Hallmark Channel, we’re proud of the longstanding fandom and excitement surrounding Hope Valley. ‘When Calls the Heart’ delivers the charm, warmth, and community of Hallmark’s signature storytelling, and we’re pleased that the series continues to drive stellar ratings after 12 seasons and counting,” said Hallmark Media’s Senior Vice President of Programming, Samantha DiPippo, of the program’s success.
The same night the show wrapped up its 12th season, Hallmark announced it had been renewed for a record 13th season, set to release in 2026.
Based on the novel of the same name by Janette Oke, the series stars Erin Krakow (“Santa Tell Me”), Pascale Hutton (“Fourth Down and Love”), Jack Wagner (“General Hospital,” “Melrose Place”), Chris McNally (“Holiday Crashers”), Kevin McGarry (“The Wedding Veil”) and Kavan Smith (“Big Sky River: The Bridal Path”).
In Season 12, love flourishes for schoolteacher Elizabeth Thornton (Krakow) and Mountie Nathan Grant (McGarry) as they embrace the joy of a new romance. Reporter Rosemary Coulter (Hutton) and retired Mountie Bill Avery (Wagner) team up once again to investigate a train robbery, while Governor Lucas Bouchard (McNally) and Mayor Lee Coulter (Smith) quite literally find common ground. The community comes together to celebrate and support each other through a season of discovering passions, taking leaps of faith, and a whole lot of dancing.