:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(748x176:750x178)/Melissa-Gilbert-when-calls-heart-091424-9eecc89a33fc4f5c9b8462f526b761a6.jpg "Melissa Gilbert Will Make Guest Appearance in ‘When Calls the Heart’ Season 12")
When Calls the Heart fans can look forward to a mini Little House on the Prairie reunion next year!
On Saturday, Sept. 14, during the annual Hearties Family Reunion in Vancouver, British Columbia, Hallmark announced that Melissa Gilbert will appear in When Calls the Heart‘s 12th season.
According to a press release, Gilbert, 60, will guest star in a two-episode arc in the upcoming season, which is slated to premiere in 2025. Her character, Georgie McGill, will share “a surprising past with one special Hope Valley resident.”
The actress’ upcoming cameo has a special connection to Little House on the Prairie. When Calls the Heart‘s executive producer is Michael Landon Jr., whose father, Michael Landon, portrayed the beloved Pa (Charles Ingalls) on the family series, which aired from 1974 to 1983.
Gilbert — who portrayed Laura Ingalls Wilder in the show — and Landon Jr., 60, reunited back in March at the Little House on the Prairie 50th Anniversary Cast Reunion and Festival, where the idea for her Hallmark cameo came about. Fans may recall that Landon Jr. himself appeared in two Little House on the Prairie episodes in 1977, making Gilbert’s upcoming guest role all the more exciting.
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Kelly Garrett, vice president of programming at Hallmark Media, pointed out the similarities between When Calls the Heart and Little House on the Prairie in a statement. Both shows have “charming and compelling stories of hope, human connection and frontier survival,” she said.
“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,” Garrett continued. “The energy being here with them to share this news is electric, and we cannot wait for them to meet Georgie next year.”
Gilbert recently reflected on the impact that Michael Landon — who died in 1991 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer — had on the Little House on the Prairie set. “Michael was the quarterback, right? So he set the tone of what we were doing,” she told PEOPLE earlier this month.
She also recalled being close with him, saying she “was the only cast member who regularly socialized with him and his family.”
“We all vacationed together during spring break to Hawaii — the same hotel every year,” she added. “Mike’s kids went to the same school I went to. I slept over at their house all the time. They slept over at my house.”
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When Calls the Heart is available to stream on Hallmark+. Little House on the Prairie is available on Amazon Prime.
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