Crown Media Grace on When Hope Calls
If you’re watching “When Hope Calls” season 2, “A Country Christmas,” then you may have noticed one of the main characters, Grace, (played by Jocelyn Hudon) is missing from the first two episodes. What happened to her? Read on to find out. “When Hope Calls,” the spinoff of Hallmark’s “When Calls the Heart,” is airing its second season on GAC Family.
Jocelyn Hudon Couldn’t Return as Grace Because She Had Scheduling Conflicts
Crown MediaChuck and Grace
When season 1 ended, Chuck had confessed that he had real feelings for Grace Bennett. But she was leaving town to help one of the orphans at her orphanage reunite with a long-lost grandparent in England. Grace was going to be gone on a long journey.
In season 2’s premiere, we quickly learn that Grace’s absence comes with a twist and the character might not be returning to the show for a very long time.
In the first scene at the orphanage, Lillian tells the children a story of a “fair maiden” who’s really about Grace. She says the “valiant man” rushed to tell her how he felt. (This is referring to Chuck.) He missed her after she left and wrote her to profess his love. The kids mention something about the valiant man traveling in a boat and marrying the fair maiden. Later, when Lillian is talking to Abigail, she confirms that Grace is married (apparently to Chuck) and living in London now.
Jocelyn Hudon Couldn’t Return as Grace Because She Had Scheduling Conflicts
In real-life, Jocelyn Hudon could not return to film her role of Grace because of scheduling conflicts. Hudon explained this in a series of replies to Instagram questions. It’s not known if Hudon will be part of later episodes from season 2 that are being filmed, or if she won’t be involved in season 2 at all.
When fans asked Hudon on her Instagram account after season 2 was announced if she would be returning to “When Hope Calls” for the new season, Hudon revealed that she would not. The question came after she posted a photo to Instagram on the set of a different production. She shared the photo on the same day that the announcement was made that the series would air on GAC Family.
A fan asked Hudon: “You will be returning to WHC as Grace in S2 wont you???”
Hudon replied twice, writing:
hi! I’m on an action feature film rn :)
nope on an action movie rn :) 💃🏼💃🏼
Hudon explained that because she was busy filming an action movie, her character Grace won’t be able to be part of “When Hope Calls” season 2.
Morgan Kohan is still going to be on the episode as Lillian, however.
When another fan asked for confirmation that her absence was true, Hudon confirmed it.
Hudon gave the same answer to another fan who asked on Instagram, writing: “No I won’t be.”
According to IMDb, Hudon will star in the movie “Riptide,” which is in pre-production. Val Kilmer, Henry Thomas, Jana Kramer, Chace Crawford, and others will be starring. However, it’s not known if that’s the production that Hudon is working on now.
When a fan asked “When will we know what you are working on,” Hudon simply replied: “🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️.”
Grace was in all 10 episodes of “When Hope Calls” in season 1, along with Lillian.
Chuck is also not returning, and you can learn more about that in Heavy’s story here.
Hudon Has Had a Busy Career Since ‘When Hope Calls’
Hudon has had a busy career, both before and after “When Hope Calls.”
She’s starring in “The Fall” as Lacey in 2022, “V for Vengeance” as Emma in 2022, and the “Riptide” movie mentioned earlier in this article. Her other credits include “Criminal Minds,” “Baby It’s Cold Inside,” “Safer at Home,” “911,” “Eat, Drink, and Be Married,” “When Calls the Heart,” “Ransom,” “The Order,” “Ice” (Willow), “From Friend to Fiance,” “The Strain” (Abby), “21 Thunder” (Becka), “Incorporated,” and more.
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