#Could it set record, bring season 9?

As we prepare for the When Calls the Heart season 8 finale on Hallmark Channel this weekend, there are certainly all sorts of things to wonder about. Take, for example, who Elizabeth is going to pick between Lucas and Nathan … and also what the future for the franchise will hold.

We’ve said this time and time again, but it feels inevitable that we are going to see a season 9 renewal for the show at some point. It’s really a question of when that’s going to happen and then if there’s another record-breaking outing for it along the way. In a new post on Twitter, executive producer Brian Bird challenged Hearties to watch the finale in droves, noting that the live+same-day record for a standard episode of the show was the season 7 finale, when 2.672 million viewers watched. We’ve already seen the show get close to that number this season, as episode 10 generated 2.65 million viewers overall. (The numbers for episode 11 were just slightly lower than this.)

If we had to issue some sort of prediction here, we’d go ahead and say that there’s a REALLY good chance the finale sets the record. Think about it like this — When Calls the Heart has been typing up this love-triangle story for ages, and we have to think that a lot of people will be curious in checking the show out. It’s quite remarkable that a series this far into its run continues to break records or at least gets close to them; typically, we see shows decline a little bit more over the course of their run as viewer interest wanes.

For the record, we won’t be shocked at all if a season 9 renewal is announced at some point during the season 8 finale. That just feels like the thing that makes the most logical sense — plus, we’ve seen that be done in the past.

Related – Be sure to get some more news when it comes to When Calls the Heart right now!

Do you think that the When Calls the Heart season 8 finale will set a ratings record?

Be sure to share right away in the comments! Once you do just that, be sure to also stick around for some other updates. (Photo: Hallmark Channel.)