Melissa Gilbert Says Working with Michael Landon Jr. onWhen Calls the HeartIs 'Like Going Home' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Melissa Gilbert (left), Michael Landon Jr.Photo:Pascal Le Segretain/Getty; Rodrigo Vaz/FilmMagic

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty; Rodrigo Vaz/FilmMagic

Melissa Gilbertis enjoying a special opportunity to reconnect with an old friend.

Gilbert, who is currently starring in the Off-Broadway playStill, also has a guest-starring role as Georgie McGill on Hallmark’sWhen Calls the Heart. McGill appears in Hope Valley and residents quickly discover she has history with one of its residents, Bill Avery (Jack Wagner).

“It’s like going home. Working with Mike Jr. is like going home,” Gilbert, 60, tells PEOPLE.

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“I know that whatever he has me doing and saying I can trust is going to be wonderful and exciting and interesting. We’ve been friends for 50-some-odd years, and I adore him, I adore his family. I think his wife is just the greatest,” she raves. “It’s just so nice to be back in an environment where I feel completely protected, appreciated, and loved.”

Another environment where Gilbert feels safe, respected and appreciated is withModern Prairie, the brand she co-founded that’s also developed it’s own online community.

“We’re growing in leaps and bounds and growing in ways that we both anticipated and didn’t anticipate, which is all great … The app itself keeps growing and the community keeps growing, and the thing that really moves me is the way the women on this app communicate with one another,” the actress says.

Longtime friends Michael Landon Jr. and Melissa Gilbert in 1981.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

“It’s so different from any other social media platform because there’s no backbiting, there’s no anger, there’s no politics, there’s no bitterness, there’s nothing but love and understanding and support for one another no matter what we’re going through,” Gilbert continues.

“And I wish there was more of that out there. I am so incredibly proud of this community that is now building itself. The fact that my partner Nicole and I gave them this platform is great, but what they’ve done with it is truly remarkable. I have so much respect for the Prairians. They’re a wonderful group of friends to have.”

source: people.com