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Hallmark Channel stars Cindy Busby and Christopher Russell are reuniting for another onscreen romance!
The actors spoke to fans at Christmas Con 2024 in Edison, N.J., earlier in December. During a panel discussion, the pair — who have previously worked together on several projects — dished on joining the second season of the historical romance series When Hope Calls, which premieres in January on the Great American Family network.
“There’s gonna be a little bit of family-oriented fun, there’s gonna be a lot of heart, and let me tell you, there’s gonna be some romance,’ Russell, 41, teased of the upcoming season. “Some people are gonna fall in love, they might even kiss, I don’t know.”
And while Busby, 41 — who plays the character of Nora in the new season — said she was thrilled to reunite with her former costar Russell, she revealed that they “did not know that this was gonna be a thing.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if any of you were aware that Cindy and I have worked together before,” Russell added with a laugh. “We’ve done four movies together. And then when — I’ll just tell my side of it — when I was offered the role of the new Mountie in town [in When Hope Calls season 2], I think I was accidentally BCC’d on an email chain and shouldn’t have been. And I saw that Cindy Busby was also going to be a part of the show. And that was it. I was like, ‘You’d better get me on that.’ “
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“It worked out for us,” Busby chimed in, adding that the two had been “manifesting” working on a series together.
As for whether Russell will have a shirtless scene this season?
“Listen, I fought and fought,” Busby jokingly told the audience. “I fought for it. I’m on your side, everyone. Okay? You’ll have [to] tune in to find out, but let me tell you, that Mountie jacket is tight. It’s tight. You don’t need him to take it off. You can see it all with the jacket.”
Busby also praised everyone involved in the upcoming project, saying, “We just wrapped the day before Thanksgiving, so yeah, we’re wrapped on season 2, and the premiere will be in 2025. And I’ve gotta say, it was such a dream getting to shoot that show and to be part of a period piece. Genuinely, every single person in the cast and the crew was unbelievably talented and just gave it their all and their hearts.”
From the sounds of it, fans will be well entertained this season. “And the stories are amazing, and there’s action, and there’s heart and getting to work with this guy again,” Busby continued, motioning to Russell.
When Hope Calls — a spinoff series to the Hallmark show When Calls the Heart — originally premiered in 2019 and starred Lori Loughlin, Morgan Kohan and Jocelyn Hudon. The show then released two holiday-themed episodes on GAF in 2021, and it was announced in September that more episodes would be released on GAF in 2025 with a largely new cast. In addition to Busby and Russell, season 2 is set to star Kohan, Nick Bateman, Wendy Crewson and Hanneke Talbot.
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Busby and Russell most notably worked together in the 2021 Hallmark Channel movie Chasing Waterfalls, which features Busby as an ambitious nature photographer who falls in love with her gentle and even-keeled nature guide, played by Russell.
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Season 2 of When Hope Calls is set to premiere on GAF in January 2025.