Lori Loughlin‘s big return! Following nearly two years out of the spotlight due to her part in the nationwide college admissions scandal, the actress is officially heading back to work.
The Full House alum, 57, will reprise her role as When Calls the Heart’s Abigail Stanton in When Hope Calls: A Country Christmas, set to premiere in December on GAC Family. Loughlin starred on the original Hallmark Channel series for six seasons before being cut out in 2019.
“We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations,” Crown Media Family Networks announced in a statement at the time. “We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin including Garage Sale Mysteries, an independent third-party production.”
Daniel Lissing, who played Jack Thornton on the first five seasons of the original show, will also star in season 2 of When Hope Calls.
“I’m excited to be invited to participate in the season 2 premiere of When Hope Calls,” the Australia native, 40, told Entertainment Tonight in October. “I’m also very much looking forward to meeting the When Hope Calls team and to be working with my friend Lori again.”
The people on set are “very excited to have Lori back,” an insider exclusively told Us Weekly the same month. “The crew is aware of the scandal she went through but strongly believes she deserves a second chance.”
The former Fuller House star has been “such a pleasure to be around,” the source added. “On meetings and calls, she’s been so sweet to everyone and always has been respectful so it’s exciting for everyone involved. There have already been conversations about future projects with her down the line.”
Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were arrested in March 2019 and accused of paying bribes to ensure daughters Bella Giannulli and Olivia Jade Giannulli would be admitted into the University of Southern California as part of the crew team, despite never playing the sport. After eventually pleading guilty in May 2020, the actress and the designer, 58, served two-month and five-month stints in jail, respectively, and paid a combined $400,000 in fines.
“Lori can’t wait to get back to work, she has been waiting a long time to get back on set,” a separate source exclusively told Us in September. “Lori is looking forward to the future.”
Scroll through the gallery below for everything to know about Loughlin’s return to TV:
