Lori Loughlin could return to Hallmark's "When Calls the Heart," post-college admissions scandal

The co-creator of "When Calls the Heart" hinted at good news for fans of the disgraced former "Full House" star

By Nardos Haile

Staff Writer

Published October 31, 2023 4:40PM (EDT)

Lori Loughlin attends the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony for Holly Robinson Peete on June 21, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Lori Loughlin attends the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony for Holly Robinson Peete on June 21, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

College admissions scandal figurehead Lori Loughlin could be making her return to television after a short two-month prison sentence in 2020 for her involvement in paying bribes to get her daughters into the University of Southern California.

The disgraced former "Full House" actress best known as Aunt Becky, starred in "When Calls the Heart" on the Hallmark channel before she was exposed in the scandal. The show's co-creator Brain Bird said that there have been "good conversations" about Loughlin's return to her role as Abigail Stanton. She hasn't been on the show since the scandal rocked the country in 2019.

"We can't guarantee anything, but there are good conversations happening around this topic," Bird said.

He also said that Loughlin "assured us that she has found some peace and she's made it through . . . her and her husband's ordeal, and she's in a much better place than she was."

The actress was released from a short prison stint after pleading guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud for paying $500,000 for the college admissions of her two daughters. The actress was fired from her acting jobs, her daughters were forced to drop out of USC, and her family's involvement in the scandal opened the doors into the systems of privilege and inequity in American higher education. 

Another actress caught in the scandal, Felicity Huffman, who served 11 days in jail for her involvement is also set to for a comeback as the lead in ABC's "The Good Lawyer," a spinoff of "The Good Doctor."

 


MORE FROM Nardos Haile