Set up on a farm near Langley, BC, Hope Valley is a place that feels about as real as it can get for not actually being a frontier settlement. Outbuildings stay up year round and sets can be swapped to fit a lot of different types of business, homesteads and more. Stepping foot on set is a charming and austere experience, and beautiful, too, given its backdrop of mossy trees and mountains, but for the cast of the new When Calls The Heart spinoff, Hope Valley: 1874, the experience was so much more than that.
While WCTH films during the most prime of West Coast months, 1874 is darker, grittier, and for the actors, very cold. The spinoff kicked off in the heart of winter in British Columbia. The skies were grey. The set was muddy. It was often very wet. You wouldn't necessarily know it from the first looks we've seen of Hope Valley: 1874, but for new series lead Benjamin Ayres, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
‘I Want The Fog And Mud.’
Hope Valley: 1874 has two Hallmark favorites at the forefront: Ayres and his co-star Bethany Joy Lenz. The upcoming Hallmark+ project came together “quickly” over a number of weeks, and suddenly the two actors were tasked with telling a story about making a new life and forging new relationships in an untamed place. For Ayres, just the process of everything coming together has been “chaotic,” but it has more to do with the weather than his brand new co-stars.
Article continues belowOnce we got here it was so chaotic. It was raining, it was cold, it was muddy. The horses! It was just so intense. And you just kind of don’t fully know who your character is. …It’s been such a [tough haul], you know? I’ve loved all the promos and I mean, I love the show. But beautiful blue colorful skies? That’s not been our experience. It’s been wet, and cold and intense.
Part of this was practical. When Calls The Heart and Hope Valley: 1874 can’t film at the same time. This isn’t just from a set dressing standpoint; a lot of the crew members also work both shows. So, with WCTH filming from July to October this past year, there was a thoughtful reason the spinoff shot in winter.
Still, in an exclusive interview with CinemaBlend, Mr. Ayres tells me it also made more sense for the vibe of the new series as a whole.
It feels like the show feels heavier. I don’t know how it translates yet in my brain. I need to finish it, and then like get home for two weeks. I’m happy we shot it [in winter]. They’ve talked about, ‘Maybe we should shoot it in the spring, summer?’ But I’m actually like, ‘I like it in the winter.’ I want like fog and mud. ‘Cause it was hard. You really do appreciate what they had to go through in the elements like this. Especially Canadian, West Coast winter.
I can confirm it was grey, wet and muddy on set, but the results make for a very different feeling series. Plus, everyone seemed in high spirits, with Lachlan Quarmby, who plays the new Mountie on the series, Alexander Vaughn, also noting the weather is almost a character on the show.
Think of Alexander as an 1874 version of Nathan Grant or Jack Thornton, but with far more lawlessness to deal with and territory to cover. Though he says the going gets tougher the more the new series is trying to make it seem not wet, cold, or rainy.
That combined with horses and carriages and trying to film things and make them seem like they are not wet and raining has sometimes been a challenge, but it’s all adding to that sort of frontier, the harshness and the struggle of that time, so it works.
It’s always fun to be on a practical TV set, even when the weather is not cooperating, and it turns out there's a secret weapon behind the cast's positivity, despite the damp.
How The Cast Keeps Warm Even When It’s Cool
Major props go to the show’s costume designer. Unprompted, the cast credited costume designer Barbara Gregusova for the work she's put in to keep people looking period perfect, but also warm in the winter months leading up to the show's official 2026 TV release.
Former Firefly Lane actress Roan Curtis is jumping into a new time period with 1874, but says the costumes were smartly created to keep her comfortable when she steps into the role of dreamer and storekeeper Olivia Quinn.
Honestly, I think because I have so many layers I’m not so cold. I've got so many layers. Petticoats, a corset, sometimes waterproof socks if we’re outside in the rain. Then, I’ve got my overskirt, my overshirt, sometimes a jacket, and sometimes an apron or a shawl. So there’s like a lot going on. Unlike modern costuming where you’ve got nowhere I could possibly put a heat pack right now, this actually is pretty [great]. And I’ve got pockets. What more could a girl ask for?
Lachlan Quarmby spends plenty of time with Curtis on set. They're part of a love triangle on the series, because of course a WCTH spinoff must have a love triangle. He seems less jealous of her other onscreen intrigue than of her pockets honestly, and wouldn't mind some himself. (Let the record show he still credits Barbara for keeping him warm via some Mountie costume tricks.)
It is pretty warm! I’m a big fan of the Long John’s. I’ve always got my thermals on underneath to break the evolution of costume a little bit. But no, the serge is this nice, thick woolen-type thing. It does keep me quite warm. I’m in four layers all times. But there is not a single pocket on this whole outfit, which is crazy to me. I need some sort of secret pocket. Maybe in the hat.
And Jill Hennessy, who plays Olivia’s mother, a no-nonsense frontierswoman with a practical outlook , told me Barbara is literally their secret weapon. So, a lot of credit goes to the craft team for all the little details, from long underwear to hand warmers.
What’s been interesting to me because I’m always cold, but what’s been great about this wardrobe — and our wardrobe supervisor’s been incredible, Barbara — she puts these outfits together and they’re all incredibly authentic to the period. She puts them together so quickly and for so many cast members, including background. This woman deserves an award. We have so many background actors on set, so it really does build a sense of community.
Hope Valley: 1874 will be very different from its Hallmark Channel sister series. It’s not just the weather, the cast, or the entire different time period the team is keen on exploring. The show itself is an experiment, made for the network’s popular streaming service: Hallmark+. The first episode airs exclusively on Hallmark+ on March 21st, with subsequent episodes hitting the streamer on Thursdays. Hopefully, like its popular counterpart, there will be many more seasons to come.
If you are a Heartie, this is one to tune in for. Beyond some fun Easter eggs I don’t want to spoil you on, you may spot cool connective details, like how the school in When Calls The Heart doubles as the ranch house in Hope Valley: 1874. Everything is different decades earlier, but there’s still a lot of the same appeal. Just, maybe fewer sunny days.
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