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Lori Loughlin TV return confirmed after college admissions scandal

Photo credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic - Getty Images
Photo credit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic - Getty Images

Family Matters star Lori Loughlin is returning to the small screen in her first TV appearance since the college admissions scandal of 2019.

The actress last appeared in the Hallmark Channel's When Calls the Heart in its sixth season, and is coming back to reprise her role as Abigail in the spin-off, When Hope Calls.

Loughlin was let go from the original series following the scandal and didn't star in the first season of When Hope Calls, rebooted on GAC Family. She will star in the two-part season premiere for the second season, When Hope Calls: A Country Christmas, premiering on December 18.

Photo credit: JOSEPH PREZIOSO - Getty Images
Photo credit: JOSEPH PREZIOSO - Getty Images

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The 90210 actress was one of several high-profile parents implicated in Operation Varsity Blues, a conspiracy that attempted – and in some cases succeeded – to influence US college admissions processes.

Loughlin is currently on supervised release, having served a two-month prison sentence at the end of 2020. She pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud in the wake of the scandal.

William Singer, who was indicted for masterminding the operation, said he facilitated college admission for over 750 families by manipulating entrance exam scores and bribing college employees.

A Netflix documentary released in March told the story of the scandal, titled Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal.

Photo credit: Boston Globe - Getty Images
Photo credit: Boston Globe - Getty Images

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Among the parents sentenced in relation to the scandal were Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, author of The Modern Girl's Guide to Life Jane Buckingham, and Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman.

Loughlin and Giannulli's daughter Olivia Jade is a YouTuber and Instagram influencer, who was enrolled in the University of Southern California until the bribery scandal came to light. She is currently starring in ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

A Mercury News report last week revealed Loughlin had been given permission to travel to Canada for "a filming production project" for a week by a deferral judge.

Photo credit: NBC - Getty Images
Photo credit: NBC - Getty Images

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When Hope Calls follows two characters from the original, sisters Lillian and Grace, who were separated during childhood. The spin-off sees them reunite in adulthood in 1916 in western Canada.

When Hope Calls stars Room actress Wendy Crewson, Glee's Marshall Williams and Schitt's Creek star Kim Roberts.

When Hope Calls: A Country Christmas premieres in the US on December 18.

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