Getty Jesse Metcalfe
A major character is leaving Chesapeake Shores permanently during the upcoming fifth season. Jesse Metcalfe just announced that he will no longer be part of the Hallmark series and his character, Trace Riley, will be leaving early in Season 5.
Metcalfe Made the Decision to Leave, But He Will Continue with the ‘Martha’s Vineyard’ Series
Deadline reported that it was Metcalfe’s decision to leave the show, not Hallmark’s. Trace Riley’s storyline won’t make it through the entire season. Instead, his story will end in the early part of the new season. In a statement to Deadline, The Hallmark Channel said:
A new season of Hallmark Channel’s highly popular scripted series, Chesapeake Shores, is returning this summer. Jesse Metcalfe, who plays Trace Riley, has decided to leave the show. His character’s storyline will wrap up early in Season Five. Jesse is a valued member of the Crown Media family; we look forward to continuing to work with him on projects, including original movies on Hallmark Channel, as well as his Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ movie series, Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries, the next installment of which premieres on May 16. In addition, we are currently in development on another movie in the series.
Season 5 will have 10 episodes.
Metcalfe Wrote About the Decision Briefly on Instagram
While Metcalfe has been silent on Twitter, he did write about the decision briefly on his Instagram Story posts.
He shared a screenshot of a story from Yahoo! Entertainment and wrote: “Well, I guess the cats out of the bag! It’s with a heavy heart that me and Trace will be saying goodbye to Chesapeake Shores. I’m sorry to all the #chessies #Trabby & Trace Riley fans out there, you guys have been absolutely AMAZING! And what an incredible journey the last 5 years have been!”
He also shared a post from Kirsten Hansen, co-executive producer for Chesapeake Shores which read “I will always be #TraceRileyBandForever!”
Just a week before the announcement, he had shared a video of Trace and Riley and asked fans where they wanted to see the couple go in Season 5.
In an interview with Heavy in early March, Metcalfe shared how thankful he was to be in the series.
He said: “I’m actually leaving at the end of this month to shoot season 5 of Chesapeake Shores, which is a series I’m on for the Hallmark Channel. It’s a great family drama where I play a country music singer and songwriter. So, I can to sing on the show, which is something I find incredibly gratifying. It’s always nice to be on season 5 of a successful series.”
‘Chesapeake Shores’ Season 5 Is Premiering in Early August
Sherryl Woods, who wrote the books upon which Chesapeake Shores is based, shared in an Instagram post that the new season will begin filming on April 12, and it could premiere on Hallmark as soon as August 1. Woods wrote:
Hang tight, @Chessies! #ChesapeakeShores will be back in front of the cameras on April 12 on Vancouver Island. Season 5 is expected to launch – FINALLY – on Hallmark Channel on August 1 if Covid cooperates. Expect lots of twists and turns with all your favorites!
In July 2020, The Hallmark Channel finally announced that it was ordering a fifth season, ET Online reported, with the expectation that it would premiere sometime in the summer of 2021.