Tag Archives: Heather Conkie

CBC’s Heartland kicks off Season 17 production with its 250th episode

From a media release:

CBC’s original family drama HEARTLAND starts production on its 17th season this week in Alberta. Season 17 features 10 one-hour episodes, the first of which will be the 250th episode of the series that started in 2007. Produced by Dynamo Films and SEVEN24 Films, Season 17 will premiere exclusively in Canada on CBC and CBC Gem this fall. 

HEARTLAND is the longest-running one-hour drama in Canadian television history. The series was nominated for the Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards and has made its way into the hearts of viewers in more than 120 countries. In 2022, HEARTLAND fans watched 18 billion minutes to make it one of the most-streamed series in the United States. HEARTLAND is the only Canadian-made series to make the overall top-15 series watched by Americans across all streaming platforms. (Source: Nielsen 2023)

In Season 17, Amy (Amber Marshall) and the rest of the Heartland family know better than most that while dreams can sometimes come true, more often life takes us in unexpected directions. The new season is all about embracing the unexpected. It’s about new experiences and taking the path less traveled. In Season 17 the Bartlett-Fleming family will find themselves excited for the future and ready to embrace new adventures, challenges, and relationships. But no matter how much things may change, Amy, Lou (Michelle Morgan), Jack (Shaun Johnston), and Tim (Chris Potter) will continue to fight for what they believe in while staying rooted in the land that has been in the Bartlett-Fleming family for generations.

Amber Marshall shares, “It is hard to believe I have been part of 250 HEARTLAND episodes. When I look back and do the math, I’ve spent over 1700 days on set which is roughly 20,400 hours. I really can’t imagine a better group of people to create something so special. We are all so proud of this show.”

Michelle Morgan adds, “HEARTLAND entering the 17th season in an industry where a series is lucky to get a second or a third season is hard to wrap your head around. I attribute the longevity of HEARTLAND to a perfect alchemy of all the most important elements in television. We have a good story engine and great chemistry between the different actors on the set. We have a stunning and unique setting, a little piece of southern Alberta known as the Foothills. We have many knowledgeable local cowboys and cowgirls to guide the show and keep it authentically grounded in the western world. But the most important element is that it is a multi-generational show that anyone in the family can watch and enjoy.”

Shaun Johnston continues, “250 episodes of HEARTLAND! That sure is a beautiful thing. Working on HEARTLAND has been the greatest gift in a professional lifetime for me. And having been in the HEARTLAND family since the very first day of production all those many years back makes me proud to say that I am honoured, humbled, and privileged to be Jack Bartlett. Thank you CBC. And thank you, fans of HEARTLAND.”

Chris Potter finishes off by saying, “In 2007, HEARTLAND presented an opportunity of great promise. Over the course of its seasons, the promise realized, HEARTLAND has become a dream. A way of life for many of us involved in its ongoing creation. As we celebrate our 250th episode milestone it is with admiration for, and congratulations to, every person involved in making the show throughout the seasons. For me the dream goes on until I ride my horse into the HEARTLAND sunset. What a ride it’s been so far!”

Filming locations for Season 17 include Calgary, High River, Millarville, and Longview in Alberta, Canada.

HEARTLAND is based on the bestselling series of books by Lauren Brooke. The executive producers are Michael Weinberg, Tom Cox, Jordy Randall, and Mark Haroun along with co-executive producer Dean Bennett. The series is produced by Jess Maldaner. The series writers are Mark Haroun, Ken Craw, Caitlin Fryers, Heather Conkie, Alexandra Clarke, and Adam Hussein.

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Heartland’s Heather Conkie teases Season 11 ahead of Sunday’s return

To borrow a horse saying—appropriate in this case—we’ve been champing at the bit for Season 11 of Heartland to return to CBC. This Sunday can’t come quickly enough thanks to last season’s final episodes. For those who need a refresher, Ty (Graham Wardle) returned from Mongolia in time to meet his new baby after Amy (Amber Marshall) gave birth. Mitch (Kevin McGarry) and Lou (Michelle Morgan) were on the outs after he saw her holding hands with Peter (Gabriel Hogan) and Georgie (Alisha Newton) and Adam (Kataem O’Connor) were rebuilding their friendship. Throw in Caleb (Kerry James) and Cassandra (Kaitlyn Leeb) tying the knot … let’s just say there is a lot of follow up on starting this Sunday.

Thankfully, Heather Conkie, Heartland‘s showrunner, was available to talk about last season and give us a sneak peek into a Season 11 that will see a refresh of the series and some new additions.

Before we get into some Season 11 tidbits, let’s do a post-mortem on Season 10. Perhaps the biggest story was Amy and Ty welcoming a baby into the world. That was the natural next step for this young couple but were you nervous or excited about adding a baby into the mix?
Heather Conkie: I think it was a mixture of both. We knew we might be painting ourselves into a corner, but it was the absolute natural next step. It felt right and we wanted their marriage to have other things to explore, so parenthood is a big theme this season. It also was connected with a little bit of experience. My own daughter was pregnant and I was going through that with her, so writing Amy’s pregnancy was very much a reflection of what I was going through in my own life. That helped us and continues to because my grandson is now a year old and I’m seeing what she’s going through as a mother. It’s really helped that perspective. We’re filming Episode 11 and 12 and the one wonderful thing about the pregnancy being over is that Amy can ride! We really missed writing that for her last year. Most riders ride into their pregnancy but we didn’t want to invite controversy because there are so many people who believe that it is dangerous. We had to go a whole year without being able to do the things that Amy does. This year is so great because we can have the Amy as we know her back. She can ride and she’s building her client base back up; her reputation as the miracle girl was missing in action.

I never realized how much the pregnancy would affect the storylines.
Usually the episodes centre around her and a horse story. We transferred a lot of that over to Georgie and had Amy working with horses because she could still do that. We had some wonderful scenes of Amy doing liberty work with horses. We also used dreams a lot and riding in dreams! [Laughs.]

The benefit of not being able to have Amy work with horses was that you were able to expand Georgie’s story a lot last season.
It really did allow us to explore trick riding more and all of the things Georgie came up to the plate to do.

Now, you didn’t make it easy on Amy and Ty. First, Ty was away in Mongolia for much of the season and then when he did come back, he was very sick. Were you surprised by the negative feedback you got having Ty gone for so long?
[Laughs.] We do like to put people through the wringer a little bit. No, we knew there would be a pushback but it also gave us the opportunity to go outside the box as well. The Mongolia footage and his storyline gave him an aura of a more romantic hero. When he came back he was grown up; it changed the character. And, quite honestly, when you have actors on a show for 10 seasons they need a break. Graham really wanted a break and we weren’t about to do anything drastic with the character. We love Graham Wardle and so do the fans, so it was a compromise to go a little outside the box a little bit and give him a break in the most creative way we could without getting rid of the character, which I never want to do. This is a family people have grown up with and losing a member of the family would be as harsh as if it was really happening to a member of someone’s family. People do need change and the character needed change. As a result of that, we’re writing a much more grown-up Ty.

We’re facing challenges most shows don’t get to. It requires a freshness and even if Graham had said he wanted to do all 18 episodes last year it still needed a freshness and we would have done something. In fact, this year, people are saying that the show feels completely fresh. I’m so pleased to hear that because we’re so close to it. There is a wonderful atmosphere on set. Everybody is thrilled to be back and because of the parenthood theme, it’s changed the dynamic, which is great.

When we pick up this Sunday, where are we at with Ty, Amy and the baby?
It’s fun because they’re in the loft right off the bat and are really squashed in there. [Laughs.] Ty is very protective and it’s a totally different side to him. He’s almost protective to a fault. It’s funny, actually.

Speaking of protective, we can’t forget Lou, who is never afraid to share her opinions about anything. 
She does. It’s a very good family dynamic. The twins that play the baby are adorable and it’s added a flavour before that we had with Katie as an infant. I had kind of forgotten the neat stuff that you can do.

Do we have a baby name yet?
We reveal it in the first five minutes of the first episode. We had a contest to name the baby and it’s incredible that the winner was the name I’ve been toying with for a long time.


There is a wonderful atmosphere on set. Everybody is thrilled to be back and because of the parenthood theme, it’s changed the dynamic, which is great.


Let’s talk about a rocky relationship: the trio of Lou, Mitch and Peter. What can you say about these three in Season 11?
Last season, Mitch read the wrong signal and up and left when he saw Lou holding hands with her ex. So, this year … let’s just say it’s reignited but it’s something that’s going to go on for a long time. It’s timing with these two. Anyone who has been through this knows it’s all about the timing between the ex and the new person. Plus, she’s got this crazy offshoot of Maggie’s in New York … they are in two separate worlds. There is a definite chemisty between the characters.

Peter plays a big role this year. Episode 2 is quite astounding. Gabriel Hogan gives a performance that I’ve never seen before because a ghost from Georgie’s past comes back and he has to help her deal with it. It’s just the most moving episode I’ve ever seen. And Alisha is incredible. She astounded everyone.

Speaking of performances, Shaun Johnston continues to knock it out of the park as Jack. There were some killer performances from him in Season 10.
Everybody forgets that he’s one of the characters who really is acting. He’s not that age, he doesn’t walk like that, he doesn’t talk like that … you just sink into the character and totally forget that it’s Shaun. He has some incredible scenes with Ty this year. Jack is a big father figure for Ty and has been. Last year, the scene between Jack and Ty before he went away to Mongolia … it was one of the most beautiful scenes ever because he was acting like Ty was going off to war. It was just beautiful and Shaun had a hand in writing some of the lines as well because he has such insight into the character.

Where are we at with Georgie and Adam’s relationship this year?
It’s a very strong friendship between them. He is still with Olivia. She’ll be 17 in storyland so she’s going through some complicated relationships this year. There is a fellow named Wyatt [Dempsey Bryk] who was only in one episode last season and he plays a larger part throughout the entire season. And we throw a new face into the mix halfway through, so lots going on in a very complicated love life! Georgie grows up a lot, and most of it is due to Episode 2.

Wow, a lot happening in the first two episodes!
Yeah, the first two episodes are key. Last season, Tim offered Caleb the job at the rodeo so he’s a partner. Caleb and Cass are very much involved this year as godparents.

What else can you say about this season?
There is a very wealthy family that becomes part of Georgie’s world. We’re taking her back to her roots as well as with Amy. Georgie gets a chance to be very involved with this very high-end show jumping horse right off the top in Episode 1, which has Olympic dreams. That’s the road we’re taking Georgie down, the equestrian show jumping world. She wanted to do it, and it’s such an interesting world. Georgie is on social media, and there are hate sites devoted to taking down people in this very competitive world and she becomes involved in that and dealing with people making up stories. We found this beautiful area that just begged us to use it, so we’re using it for this family. It’s a nice contrast to life at Heartland.

What about the new family? I know Kate Drummond is guest-starring this season; is she part of the family?
The family has their own private, cross-country jumping course. We do cross-country jumping and a fox hunt this season. This family has it all, including a very good-looking nephew who takes an interest in Georgie. Kate Drummond plays the mom and she appears in Episode 8.

Anything else you can tease about Season 11?
It’s a huge season for Tim. He starts looking to the future, some uncertainty and regrets of the past. He goes on quite the journey this year. I don’t want to say too much, but he’s doing an incredible job. We’ve given him a lot to do this year because he’s just so good. You’ll see a different side to Tim for sure.

Are you looking forward to Amy and Ty as parents? What are you hoping to see in Season 11? Let me know in the comments below!

Heartland returns Sunday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. on CBC.

 

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Link: Heather Conkie, executive producer of Heartland

From Star Crossed Horses:

Link: Heather Conkie, executive producer of Heartland
“I love writing, but the real thrill for me is to see all the Writers’ scripts take life through the incredibly collaborative process from start to finish. The talented directors, our fantastic cast, the crew, the editors, our composer and all the people involved in the production contribute so much to what that finished product is. When it all comes together and it’s beyond our expectations – thatʼs the thrill.” Continue reading.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Review: Heartland’s beary scary situation

There was a bear in the woods—and an elephant in the room—when Heartland returned for its first episode of Season 9. “Brave New World,” written by Heather Conkie and directed by Bruce McDonald, was a big change from the Season 8 finale. In those final moments, Ty and Amy finally tied the knot in front of family and friends.

This Sunday certainly found the wedded couple stronger than ever relationship-wise, but Lou and Peter are falling apart. Things looked too good to be true when the pair were sharing a coffee as they watched Georgie ride Trouble and Phoenix Roman-style; by episode end Lou had filled out a separation agreement. The document was secreted away by Georgie—putting off the inevitable for the time being—but the couple isn’t coming back from this precipice. Kudos to Michelle Morgan for portraying the pain Lou’s feeling and for the fierce mama bear instinct she’s got when it comes to her kids. Peter may think everything will be hunky-dory, but Lou knows that’s not true.

Speaking of bears, I’m glad Sunday’s furry co-star didn’t stick around for long. The fatalist in me pictured the beast going on a rampage at Heartland; that didn’t happen, but the injured horse did help Georgie and Amy understand what happens when you let something free. Not only did Bear direct them to an abandoned horse suffering from rain rot, but showed the girls (and viewers) what friendship, support and trust will bring when you show a little faith.

With such a heavy main story, it was nice to have lighter moments when Jack showed up to kick Tim’s butt into gear on the loft renovations. Tim was indeed in over his head with the school, Casey and life in general; good on Jack for calling him out and then taking control of the situation. With him in charge, Ty and Amy may be moved in by Christmas.

What did you think of Sunday’s return? Do you think Lou and Peter will get back together?

Heartland airs Sundays at 7 p.m. on CBC.

Added bonus: Sunday’s closing music, “Carry On,” was performed by Fortunate Ones

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