Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel film succeeded in re-popularizing Megan Follows and Colleen Dewhurst in their original roles. Sullivan also cast British veteran actress and Oscar winner, Wendy Hiller, in the role of the impossible Mrs. Harris, a character Sullivan specifically invented for the storyline, based on a composite of several matriarchs found in the series of novels. In Canada, the film became the highest rated drama to air on network television in Canadian broadcasting history. This Sequel became known as "Anne of Green Gables - The Sequel" when shown around the world and as "Anne of Avonlea - the Continuing Story of Anne of
L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables broadcasting it on November 24, 2016 (Thanksgiving Day). The network claims the television run was seen by more than 3.2 million viewers, with an additional 230,000 watching online. The movie has also seen a release in Germany, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. In Japan, it was released theatrically on May 6, 2017 and later home video, by Happinet Corporation and Synergy Entertainment. On September 19, 2016, YTV's parent company, Corus Entertainment announced that they had given the greenlight to two sequels; "Anne of Green Gables: The Good Stars" for broadcast in 2017, and "Anne of Green Gables: Fire &