Hallmark's The Way Home Season 3: Release Date, Plot, Cast, and Everything to Know

Another installment of Hallmark Channel's The Way Home is almost upon us! Season 3 of the twisty time-travel drama is just around the corner, which means there's no better time to catch up with the Landry women before they embark on more magical pond adventures.

A welcome departure from the typical romantic Hallmark fare, the one-hour series — created by Heather Conkie, Alexandra Clarke, and Marly Reed — continues the story of Landry matriarch Del (Andie MacDowell), her daughter Kat (Chyler Leigh), and granddaughter Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow), as their lives and relationships are forever changed due to the mystical pond on the family property. At the start of the series, Kat is driven by her desperation to find her missing brother, Jacob. Over time, the web of family secrets and revelations has gotten complex as more questions come to light. 

Since The Way Home debuted in January 2023, its characters have been transported back in time to 1814, 1999, and 2007 — and in Season 3, they'll be traveling back to the groovy year of 1974 — adding a unique layer to its unraveling mystery. With Season 3 fast approaching, here is everything to know about its release date, where to watch, the storyline, new cast additions, and much more.

The Way Home Season 3 latest news

After revealing on Nov. 25, 2024 that Season 3 would drop exclusively on the Hallmark+ streaming service in January 2025 before making its linear premiere in the fall on Hallmark Channel, fans were understandably outraged. Viewer criticism of the sudden change in release strategy led Hallmark to reverse its decision less than a month later citing the response from "passionate, loyal fans."

In mid-December, the network announced that Season 3, which consists of 10 episodes, will air every Friday starting Jan. 3, 2025 on Hallmark Channel, and stream the next day on Hallmark+.   

The Way Home Season 3 release date

Season 3 of The Way Home will begin Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 at 9/8c on Hallmark Channel. New episodes will be available to stream the next day on Hallmark+.   

Is there a trailer for The Way Home Season 3?

Hallmark released two teasers for Season 3 to promote the new episodes — one on Nov. 26, 2024 and another on Dec. 17, 2024. The first teaser introduces Kat and Alice to the brightly-hued 1974, the year Del met her late husband Colton. 

The second teaser delves deeper into the brewing love triangle between Kat, Elliot, and her 1814 lover Thomas (more on that later), as well as the shocking revelation that someone else (ahem, Colton) is a time traveler too (more on this later too). In a gut-wrenching moment that will make you grab the Kleenex, an emotional Del implores someone (we're not sure who exactly) to "stop running off and choose us."

The Way Home Season 3 storyline

Cliffhangers may as well be The Way Home's unofficial title. As expected, Season 3 will open with a mountain of questions to answer — thanks to the game-changing Season 2 finale, which dropped bombshell after bombshell after bombshell. There are two significant plot points that will play a big part in how the new season moves forward. Oh, and there's that whole issue of Jacob (Macpherson) returning to the present day too. There's a lot going on.

An unexpected, centuries-spanning love triangle between Kat (Leigh), Elliot (Williams), and Thomas (Holden-Ried), the same mystery man who shot Kat early on in Season 2 when she was pond-jumping to 1814, will likely be front and center in Season 3. A Season 2 finale confession and kiss from Elliot — that he was finally ready to take the metaphoric plunge with Kat — leaves her grappling with where her heart ultimately lies, after she admitted she wasn't ready to "choose" Elliot just yet. Her 19th-century kiss with Thomas and the eventual discovery that he is actually still alive, even though he was long presumed dead following an execution, are the main reasons for her romantic conundrum.

The surprising finale development that someone else is capable of time travel — that person being Colton (Brown) — will have major ramifications for Del, Kat, Alice, and those in their orbit as the ripple effect of this jaw-dropping turn will undoubtedly be huge. After Elliot took his first time-travel trip in 1999 with Alice's assistance in order to have closure with Colton, it was revealed that another Colton had been hiding all along. And that the young boy seen in 1814 at the beginning of Season 2 was not Jacob, but a young Colton, opening up a world of time-travel possibilities when Season 3 kicks off.  

What does this all mean for the new season? Big character shifts and serious consequences. According to Hallmark, Season 3 will pick up where the events of the finale left off, with Kat and Jacob reunited in the present day as they're about to surprise Del with his unannounced arrival. And because the Landry women can't help but pond-jump, Kat and Alice spend mother-daughter time in 1974, the year Del and Colton first met as teenagers. In the present, Kat and Elliot navigate their complicated relationship status, and Del potentially battles grief with Jacob back in action.

"This is the kind of series where you can, literally, go anywhere, anytime," Conkie told TVLine of Season 3, noting that when Kat found Jacob and successfully accomplished her original journey, it only opened the door for a new one. "In our show, when anything really ends, it's really just the beginning of everything else that is to come." 

The Way Home cast

Hallmark has yet to confirm the full cast list for Season 3, but it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out who among the ensemble will be returning for more magic pond action, especially with another portal — this time to 1974 — now in play. 

Because of the introduction of the new era, three actors have officially joined the cast for Season 3, playing teenage versions of Del, Colton, and a new character named Evelyn, who Alice meets in the past but may affect present-day events.

Here are the expected cast members for Season 3:

• Andie MacDowell as as Delilah "Del" Landry
• Chyler Leigh as Katherine "Kat" Landry
• Sadie Laflamme-Snow as Alice "Ali" Dhawan
• Evan Williams as Elliot "El" Augustine
• Jefferson Brown as Colton "Cole" Landry 
• Spencer Macpherson as Jacob Landry
• Kris Holden-Ried as Thomas Coyle
• Julia Tomasone as teenage Del
• Jordan Doww as teenage Colton
• Devin Cecchetto as Evelyn Goodwin

Where can I watch The Way Home?

Not fully caught up on The Way Home yet? Not to worry! Hallmark Mystery has set a two-day marathon on Tuesday, Dec. 31 and Wednesday, Jan. 1 starting at 2/1c. The first day will be dedicated to the entire first season, while Day 2 will run all of Season 2. 

The series is also available on streaming services such as Peacock, Hulu, and Prime Video via a subscription. New episodes of Season 3 are available to stream on Hallmark+ the day after they premiere on Hallmark Channel.