'When Calls the Heart' producer thanks fans for support

April 10 (UPI) -- Brian Bird, an executive producer on When Calls the Heart, thanked fans for their support in the wake of Lori Loughlin's college admissions scandal. 

"Hearties, thanks for sticking with us through this challenging time. As you now know... the show not only must go on, but will go on, starting Sunday night, May 5th and Monday night, May 6th, and then in our regular Sunday night time slot after that through the remainder of Season 6," Bird wrote on Instagram Wednesday.

"Life throws all of us painful curveballs, and the only way to survive is to walk right through them with courage, grace, a forgiving spirit, and most of all, hope."

The Hallmark Channel drama co-stars Erin Krakow and Daniel Lissing.

Loughlin is facing up to 20 years in prison if she is convicted of money laundering and other charges in connection with a scheme to get her daughters into prestigious universities.  

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts named Loughlin and 15 other parents in a new superseding indictment also charging them with conspiracy to commit fraud. The actor was already out on $1 million bail on conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud.