Jack Thornton met his tragic demise in the Season 5 finale of Hallmark Channel’s hit drama “When Calls the Heart” in a sudden offscreen death that occurred shortly after his fairy-tale wedding to Elizabeth Thatcher. Hearties across the globe were crushed and left wondering why the dashing Canadian Mountie was written off so abruptly. Immediately following the Season 5 finale, Daniel Lissing — who played Jack from the series’ debut in 2014 through Season 5 in 2018 — joined “When Calls the Heart” costars Erin Krakow (Elizabeth) and Lori Loughlin (Abigail) for a Facebook Live aftershow to clear the air about his departure.
“Circumstances arose for me where I needed to leave ‘When Calls the Heart’ for reasons that are very personal to me,” Lissing revealed during the broadcast, as reported by Entertainment Tonight. He emphasized that there was no behind-the-scenes feud, sharing, “I went to Hallmark and they were nothing but supportive of me. I went to the girls and they were nothing but supportive of me.”
With Lissing bowing out of the show, the creative team juggled a variety of ideas on how they could move on without him and what to do about the now widowed Elizabeth. Ultimately, the decision was made to kill off Jack, who perished off-screen in a landslide while away on a training mission at Fort Clay. During the same 2018 aftershow, Loughlin explained the “tricky decision” writers explored when deciding how to handle the Mountie’s exit.
During a 2020 interview, Daniel Lissing said he had no regrets leaving When Calls the Heart
Lori Loughlin revealed that recasting was immediately ruled out because of Daniel Lissing’s undeniable chemistry with Erin Krakow. Another option was the divorce route, which would’ve seen Jack relocated to the Northern Territories and asking Elizabeth to move on without him. “We talked about it and then we talked about it again,” Loughlin recalled, noting that having Jack abandon Elizabeth felt totally out of character. Eventually, the team concluded “the only way he would leave her is in death.”
Two years later, in an exclusive with Entertainment Tonight, Lissing confirmed he had “no regrets” about walking away, revealing how stepping away from the series ultimately led him directly to his then-fiancée, Nadia. “It’s funny the way the world works. If I had stayed on the show, and been there during Season 6… then I wouldn’t have met Nadia,” Lissing told the outlet. “How can I look at my future wife and say, ‘Oh, I should’ve stayed on this job?’ She’s my life, you know? That’s my personal life and that’s exponentially more important to me than a job.”
While the star of Hallmark’s “Christmas Under Construction” is certainly enjoying his life after “When Calls the Heart,” he still misses the show and all the great people he worked with. “Sometimes, I really miss living in Vancouver, getting picked up by my driver, Uncle Gary,” he revealed. “It is a family, and that aspect of things I really miss. I love all the cast and the people at Hallmark. My time with Hallmark was nothing but positive and I’m truly grateful to be a part of it.”