‘The Way Home’ Cast & Creators Tease Major Developments in Season 3

Hallmark "The Way Home"

The showrunners and several cast members from “The Way Home” teased what fans might get to see in season 3 during two panels at the ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas. They spoke about topics ranging from the infamous Coyle’s guitar sticker to family relationships, possible new timelines, and just where the season is going to pick up when it starts back up.

Showrunners Heather Conkie and Alexandra Clarke, co-creator Marly Reed, and cast members Chyler Leigh (Kat), Evan Williams (Elliot), and Sadie Laflamme-Snow (Alice) led a cast and creators panel on June 2, moderated by Emily Longeretta of Variety. Clarke and Conkie also led a limited-attendance micro panel on June 1 that Longeretta moderated. Heavy attended both events and will be sharing a series of articles about what happened.

We’ll Learn the Secret of the Coyle’s Sticker on the Guitar

Ever since Thomas Coyle was introduced in season 2, fans have wondered why there’s a Coyle’s sticker on Colton’s guitar (which is now owned by Alice.) While the cast and creators didn’t want to reveal too many spoilers, they were willing to spill just a little about the Coyle’s sticker.

The moderator asked if viewers will learn in season 3 why Thomas’s last name is on the sticker on the guitar.

“Yeah, I think so,” Conkie admitted.

Reed shared a few more details about the sticker.

“I think what’s cool too is some (Easter eggs) started the writers’ room and some … like the Coyle sticker in particular, we worked that in because our art team often names things after themselves as a joke,” Reed said. “So that sticker, ‘Coyle’s,’ is one of our graphics people, Keeley Coyle. And then we noticed it and said, ‘We should work that into the story.'”

Season 3 Will Begin with a Time Jump Similar to Season 2

Nessa WhelessA moment during the ATX TV Festival panel.

Another question asked during the panel was whether season 3 will begin with Del’s reaction to Jacob coming home or if there will be a time jump.

“We definitely can confirm that we do have to do a time jump, purely because of when you shoot,” Clarke said. “We left them, obviously, in November of 2024, and we’re going to be shooting in August. So yeah, we do have to, that’s just the nature of our show. We do have to jump. But TBD on how much we do cheat things and stay and pick up right where we left off, you know very similarly to how we started season two and then jumped.”

Season 2 started right where season 1 left off, with winter setting in and the pond beginning to freeze over. But after a few quick and intense scenes, the show then jumped ahead seven months.

Things Might Get Tense Between Kat & Del Again

Near the beginning of the panel discussion, Leigh may have dropped a hint about things getting tense between Del and Kat again. The two characters reached a beautiful point of understanding each other for the very first time near the end of season 2. But when Leigh spoke about Kat’s growth on the show, she hinted that things might not be so easy in the future.

“I love seeing how she’s grown,” Leigh said about her character, Kat. “I love seeing the development of the relationships as well. I mean, I have teenage daughters, and so her relationship with Alice, seeing that in season two. And even her relationship with Dell, but, ewww, it’s going to get heavy.”

They May Have Teased One of the New Timelines

In the micro-panel that took place on June 1, the showrunners dropped a possible hint about one of the new timelines the show might visit in season 3. The moderator asked the showrunners about their favorite timelines, and the response was revealing. They first talked about enjoying the 90s timelines and how the 20s would be fun. But they also mentioned another timeline in a slightly different way.

“I think the 50s maybe,” Clarke suggested.

“Yeah, ’50s would be great,” Conkie agreed. “I think it would be very, very interesting.”

“We’re trying to be secretive here and it’s just not working,” she added with a laugh.

Some Big Developments Will Be Well Earned

Williams shared that big developments in season 3 are going to feel earned.

“I’m so excited because so much of the stuff that we have coming up has been earned by two seasons already,” Williams revealed. “And when you have a third season of a show, you ought to have so much story behind you already. So the engine’s already going.”

So where is the show right now in terms of development? The showrunners revealed this during the micro-panel event on June 1.

“We’re pretty close to the end of finalizing the episodes and getting our writers writing,” Clarke said. “And it’s a quick turnaround this year because we really want to take advantage of the weather. We’ve been told from cast and also from various departments that it’s not really great jumping in the pond in November. So we are aiming to start earlier so that we can shoot longer.”

Elliot’s Ex-Wife May Make an Appearance

The moderator asked if Elliot’s ex-wife might show up in season 3.

“Who have you been talking to?” Conkie asked, hinting that this might be a development when the show returns.

They also talked a lot about Elliot’s growth as a character, and how he’s going to be in a much stronger place when the new season kicks off.

“We leave him at the end of season two in such a strong place breaking down that wall that was so much more than a wall,” Clarke said. “And I’m really excited to see the expansion of Elliot from season three.”

Later in the panel, Reed mentioned that there is a lot of Elliot’s story left to tell, so viewers have quite a lot to look forward to.

READ NEXT: Hallmark’s June 2024 Lineup of New Movies