Hallmark is expanding the When Calls the Heart universe with Hope Valley: 1874, and at its center will be a romance between Benjamin Ayres and Bethany Joy Lenz's characters - just don't expect a hot and heavy one. "What's so beautiful about it being a TV series, is it has to be a slow burn," Ayres, who plays rancher Tom Moore, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, March 18. "If they kissed at the end of the first episode. Now, what?" He teased, "You have to find obstacles and conflict for them.