Since I was a teenager, I have loved Bethany Joy Lenz. I was and will always be a fan of One Tree Hill. Before I sat down to interview Lenz and her 1874 co-star, Benjamin Ayres, I danced around my room to Halo. As I do with all Hallmark interviews, I tossed on my Romance University sweatshirt. It is my armor and my comfort. Entering the zoom, knowing was going to talk to someone I have idolized my entire life.
I was more nervous than I had been in a long time. I was thrown off, but also still so excited to be there, because I was talking to people I admire.
1874 is a show I love and I found myself wanting to gush no matter what I wanted to ask. In 1874, “Rebecca Clarke, who travels from Chicago to the Western Canadian frontier with her 11-year-old daughter but must accept help from local rancher Tom Moore when her wagon breaks down.”
If you sat down to watch 1874, you made good choices. Rebecca is played by Lenz – a strong willed, devoted, and caring mother who would do anything to protect her child. She’s fearless, not afraid to to take on any challenge, and loves her daughter more than anything. Ayres plays Tom Moore, who if we’re being honest scared me. He can literally kick anyones backside and isn’t afraid of anything. He’s like that silent but deadly type. He’s a respected rancher and he’s respects those around him.
Rebecca Clarke is a single mother. She’s one that from the get go you can see doesn’t back down. She’s got this presence that tells you – I will protect my child with everything that I am. Whatever happens, she will find a way to overcome it and work through it.
I asked why they wanted to be involved in the show, mostly because their characters felt so different than anything I had seen them ever play.
“I was excited to do a period piece. And I understood who this woman was, a single mother who’s trying to keep her daughter safe. And who is capable of doing, completing all sorts of feats because of the need to keep her child safe. That resonates with me. And it just seemed like a lot of fun. I get to be around horses all day.” Lenz responded.
Ayres said, “Everybody’s dream, play cowboy. So I was pretty excited to get to play cowboy in 1874. And the biggest reason I wanted to do it was because I was told Bethany Joy Lenz was doing it. So I had to.”
The way he smiled looking at Lenz made me smile. The two have a particular chemistry – one that you can see evolving over time. I also knew that I had only seen the first two episodes walking into this interview, but their characters – Tom and Rebecca – I found myself shipping.
You don’t chose the ship, the ship chooses you.
Now, Tom Moore scares me – because he seems to be fearless. I think I have watched one too many westerns, because in them I have seen those type of men be the ones that you had to watch out for. For a second, I forgot that I was talking about a show on Hallmark, because Hope Vallley: 1874 didn’t feel like that. What it felt like was a modern day western.
At least the beginning of one.
In the show, Rebecca and her daughter have some issues, because their wheel needs fixed. It’s a different time and they need a blacksmith. Luckily Tom has one on his ranch and offers to help. Now, I half expected him to throw her over his shoulder and make her come inside. Again though, I need to remember it is Hallmark.
“He’s very respectful. He’s very respectful and protective. So it’s like, you know, he respects that she made it all the way across the frontier to where they are now, but is also protective of the fact that, you know, she’s there with her daughter and wants to provide comfort, you know, if he can. And also just deeply does respect that Rebecca wants to do it on her own and doesn’t need help because she doesn’t need the help. But he, his provider nature wants to help.” Ayres said in regards to Tom honoring Rebecca’s choices.
As viewers we have an idea for the characters based of what we see. What we sometimes take for granted is that the actor has a full look at the character arc, and we need to respect that they know more than we do. When they are being vague or even not being vague – they are doing their jobs. It’s up to us, as the viewer to decide what we get out of that.
We talked a little about When Calls The Heart and how when I spoke to Erin Krakow I had to rewatch the entire series in a short amount of time. It was intense. But I wanted to know, as When Calls The Heart has cemented what it is, what do these two hope that Hope Valley: 1874 becomes.
Lenz said, “I hope we build a legacy in the same way. I hope that we’re able to create a world that people fall in love with and that it also sends them off into rewatching when calls the heart from a new perspective. Yeah.”
Ayres smiled at her and she smiled at him. He said, “I hope it honors the Hearties that love when calls the heart and they can come watch it, find the Easter eggs and be invested. But also, you know, we can bring in a new audience that doesn’t necessarily need to have watched when calls the heart. And then it’s like a springboard into when calls the heart. So I think, you know, any way to expand the universe is a good thing. You know, and it just it’s a real testament to the fans that A, 13 seasons and B, we can now do a prequel to the whole thing and that they’re hungry for it.”
He then continued, “And that, Hallmark also allowed us to sort of do something a little bit different. You know, I think it’s the same but not, you know, as you’ve now witnessed.”
Ayres changed the tables on me and asked me about when I watched this and When Calls The Heart did I see any through lines in it?
Well the truth is I hadn’t thought about it. I felt nervous when he asked, because it felt like I didn’t pay attention to the right things. Should I have? I didn’t because as much as I knew that it was a part of the When Calls The Heart world, I didn’t think about it when watching it.
Ayres said, “Well, are you saying are you saying you watched it more as a show that just exists on its own and not as within the universe of when calls?”
I felt bad saying this, but he hit the nail on the head. I said, “I did. And I did that because I felt like it deserves to be on its own versus like it. It’s a part of the world, but it deserves to be on its own. Not everybody is going to watch all 13 seasons of When Calls the Heart, but this is an opportunity for people to fall in love with a brand new world. And I wanted to go into it with that perspective.”
Ayres said, “I think that is a good way to go in because I think it’s different if it was a sequel or it was just coming off of, you know, it was like a splinter of the show. But because it’s a prequel, we’re going back so far.”
And he has a point.
I know that some may be hesitant to start the show – maybe because they can’t afford another streaming service or there is a fear of it getting cancelled. The truth is – I can understand that. But it is worth your time.
Hope Valley: 1874 is streaming now on Hallmark+.
Our review of episode one here!
