Get ready for a double dose of Natasha Burnett and Viv Leacock on Hallmark. When Calls the Heart is finally back for Season 11, and Burnett’s teaming up with Leacock in the brand-new Hallmark movie Legend of the Lost Locket.
Antiques expert Amelia (played by Burnett) begins working alongside Marcus (played by Leacock), the town sheriff, to search for a lost locket that grants the wearer true love. Amelia and Marcus have a “completely different” dynamic than Burnett and Leacock’s When Calls the Heart characters, Minnie and Joseph Canfield.
Below, Burnett opens up about a potential Legend of the Lost Locket sequel, a key scene Hearties need to watch out for, and more.
How did Legend of the Lost Locket come about?
Natasha Burnett: The idea was mine and Viv’s. We had the initial idea. I really wanted to be able to play a British character, naturally. He really enjoys playing sort of the sheriff detective kind of roles. He was a huge fan of Beverly Hills Cop and all of that, so it was just trying to find a concept that works with both of us. The antique dealer, it’s so British. Everybody loves Antiques Roadshow, so it was a great concept to have a character like that.
When you two were working on When Calls the Heart, when did you decide you needed to make this movie happen?
When we realized that the Canfield family was a popular family to the Hearties as well, we thought, I think we have a place here that we can maybe slip in something of our own and see how it goes down. It’s like a modern-day Canfield movie.
David Dolsen / Hallmark Channel / Everett Collection
How did it feel playing such different characters than Joseph and Minnie?
It’s completely different. But of course, it’s more like our relationship is off-screen. We’re such good friends, and we were able to play more because we had a scope to play more. And we did. Actually, there are a lot of lines that were improv, based on how we just bounce off each other and banter with each other, and they just ended up staying in the movie. That was great.
How does Amelia and Marcus’ relationship differ from Joseph and Minnie?
Joseph and Minnie, they have two children. They’ve been married for a long time, whereas Amelia and Marcus are starting from scratch. Amelia is focused on her journey to finish this job in her mother’s honor to find the locket. So for her, it’s not about finding love. It’s finding what she needs to complete the locket. What I actually really loved about the movie was because her journey is more focused on getting the locket, then it’s a natural chemistry that develops between Amelia and Marcus. It starts off quite rocky, but I think she realizes that he can actually be helpful to her and she actually does enjoy his company.
Are there any nods to When Calls the Heart in the film?
Yes, there has to be. We have Hrothgar Mathews, who plays Ned, he is one of our characters in there. And then we have a special location that the Hearties will absolutely recognize the minute they see it. I loved that we could add that in there.
Would you consider a Legend of the Lost Locket sequel? I feel like Amelia and Marcus could go on countless adventures.
I agree with you. I absolutely feel like they could. Antiques have so much history. Any antique has so much history, which means the stories can take you anywhere. That’s what I think could be fun about it. It doesn’t have to be just a search. It could be any type of mystery or love story or anything like that, which I think could be interesting.
Have you and Viv started thinking about what your next project could be together? You could create a Viv and Natasha Cinematic Universe.
We’re trying to make it. But yes, definitely. We’ve thought about other ideas that could work with the two characters because there’s so much more that the characters can be and do now that at the end of the movie they obviously know each other.
How did Legend of the Lost Locket strengthen your friendship with Viv?
I think that we’ve seen each other work in a different way. Because in the movie, of course, we were there together every day, all the time. We really had to work together and share ideas. We always tried to go with the united front if we had something we wanted to discuss or share. In that sense, it definitely did strengthen our friendship so much.
What’s on the horizon for Joseph and Minnie in When Calls the Heart Season 11?
This season delves into the past for Joseph and Minnie. We see a little bit of Joseph’s past and how Minnie has been part of that. There were some struggles that Joseph had with family members. I think you see just a different side of Joseph for a change and Minnie really trying to help heal past wounds.
Is there any story you’d like to tell with Minnie that you haven’t gotten the chance to yet?
I definitely feel like it would be nice to see her backstory as well, just like the family members that she had. I mean, definitely this season I feel like her character has spent a lot more time with some of the other cast members. It would be really nice to expand on that a bit more. It’d be nice to actually see some more of them in their home environment just doing something together on their own.
Legend of the Lost Locket, Movie Premiere, April 13, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel
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