Aren Buchholz is well-known to audiences as Jesse Flynn on When Calls the Heart, a Hallmark series set in the early 20th century in a small Canadian mining town.
But Buchholz is getting ready to take on a completely different role in Reginald the Vampire, a modern-day dramedy currently in production for SyFy.
Based on the Fat Vampire books by Johnny B. Truant, the series follows a young man who finds out he is a vampire. In his world, being a vampire isn’t that unusual. However, most of the undead are fit and good-looking. Reginald is overweight and unattractive.
Bucholz has been cast in the series as Todd, the obnoxious manager at the Slushy Shack where Reginald works.
The actor shared the news on his Instagram page, sharing a trailer for the series that shows lead Jacob Batalon figuring out that he is a vampire.
From Hallmark to SyFy
Buchholz joined the cast of Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart during Season 3. His character was supposed to appear in only a few episodes, but writers decided to keep him on the show. They paired him up with Clara (played by Eva Bourne), a teenage widow who came to live with her mother-in-law (played by Lori Loughlin) in what was then called Coal Valley.
“I think the producers’ original intention was for him to be this misguided kid who, with the help of Pastor Frank and the rest of the town, turns over a new leaf,” Buchholz said in an interview with Parade. “But as we all know, the biggest influence in his life was actually a pretty young girl named Clara, and the rest is history.”
Jesse and Clara quickly began courting. They were married during Season 7. Their relationship has been a major storyline ever since.
During Season 8, the pair faced their share of arguments, especially after Jesse lost their savings to a scam artist. But when Jesse went missing during a storm and was brought safely home by Nathan, the two had a happy reunion.
Though Buchholz and Bourne are still listed as cast members on Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart page, a preview for Season 9 suggested they won’t be in the first few episodes.
In a trailer titled “Bill gets a letter from Jesse and Clara,” Bill Avery (played by Jack Wagner) reads aloud a letter he received from Jesse and Clara. When Angela (Vienna Leacock) asks where they went, her father (Viv Leacock) replies, “Homesteading in Montana.”
Hallmark has not commented on whether the couple will return to what is now called Hope Valley. Neither Buchholz nor Bourne has shared any news about whether the move is permanent.
In addition to playing Jesse on When Calls the Heart, Buchholz has appeared on the CW series Supernatural and the SyFy series Lost Girl.
Reginald the Vampire is currently in production. It will be released sometime in 2022.
Season 9 of When Calls the Heart will premiere on Hallmark Channel on Sunday, March 6 at 8/7c.