Crown Media Bruce Dawson, Yannick Bisson, Marilu Henner
Bruce Dawson’s character on Hallmark’s Aurora Teagarden Mysteries was once a key figure in every movie. John Queensland appeared consistently in six different movies, and then he wasn’t seen in the series again. What happened? Why did he leave?
The Character John Queensland Moved Away to Be Near His Grandchildren
Crown MediaMarilu Henner, Bruce Dawson
According to IMDb, John Queensland was in these six Aurora Teagarden movies:
- A Bundle of Trouble (2017)
- Dead Over Heels (2017)
- The Julius House (2016)
- Three Bedrooms, One Corpse (2016)
- Real Murders (2015)
- A Bone to Pick (2015)
The character hasn’t been in an Aurora Teagarden movie since 2017. John was a member of the Real Murders Club and even dated Aida Teagarden, Aurora’s mother, at one point.
The series glossed over the character’s departure, but did briefly offer an explanation. The explanation was given near the beginning of the 2018 movie, Last Scene Alive. The character left to be near his grandkids and Aida commented that she couldn’t see herself marrying John anyway, so it was OK that he left.
One viewer wrote: “I was personally disappointed to hear this dialogue, because I like John’s character, portrayed by actor Bruce Dawson, very much in the Aurora series. He’s always been such a big help to Aurora with solving cases, along with Sally, albeit not always as enthusiastic as her uncle, but still… she’s Aurora’s bestie, which is what every crime solving girl needs!”
In an article about Aurora Teagarden on TV Goodness, viewer Cheron SD wrote about his departure: “My fav character in this series is John Queensland (actor Bruce Dawson). Where is he? Saying he moved away to be near is grandchildren is lame at best. He was/is an integral part of this series, supporting Roe’s sleuthing and being a member of the Real Murders Club. It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t marry Aida…”
Fans still talk about his character on Twitter too.
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries is not the same without @yannick_bisson and Bruce Dawson. Disappointing now. @candacecbure #Aurora&Martinforever 💚John even miss the grouchy Lynne lol
Candace Cameron Bure Said About His Absence: ‘Sometimes Actors Want to Move On’
When asked about John’s absence, followed by Martin’s and then Perry’s, Candace Cameron Bure said on Twitter that sometimes actors just want to move on and their absence was not the decision of the show.
She wrote: “Awww- we miss them too. We didn’t get rid of them. Sometimes actors want to move on. #ourloss”
She responded to another tweet about Dawson being gone and wrote: “Yes, it’s disappointing. But there is always more to these situations than just casting. I hope you’ll still tune in for 4 new Auroras next year!”
@sadsmom24 @yannick_bisson Yes, it’s disappointing. But there is always more to these situations than just casting. I hope you’ll still tune in for 4 new Auroras next year! @hallmarkmovie
John Queensland isn’t the only character to leave Aurora Teagarden Mysteries. Yannick Bisson, who played Martin, left because he was simply too busy in real life to continue with the series.
He told TV Goodness that he loved the series, but it was really just about his schedule.
“I really enjoyed doing those. Candace [Cameron Bure] is one of my favorite people,” he said. “The subject matter is a lot of fun. It’s nothing too serious and I loved going to BC to shoot it. It really became a scheduling thing. And when you start getting into not being able to have a vacation of any sort for three years running, something’s got to go. [Were that not the case], I would have happily kept going, but I think they wanted somebody that had more flexibility.”
Bruce Dawson Is Still Involved in Hallmark Productions & Is Even Joining Another Hallmark Mystery Series Soon
Although John Queensland is gone from Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, actor Bruce Dawson isn’t gone from Hallmark. He’s still been involved in many Hallmark productions since leaving the series. Just this last Christmas, he played Gene Park in Christmas by Starlight.
Jumping in this morning with both feet!! ❤️🎄✨ #Hallmark #ChristmasMovie
In 2019, he was Grant McClellan in Hailey Dean Mystery and in 2019 he starred with Pascale Hutton in My One & Only. He was in Wedding March 4 in 2018, Runaway Christmas Bride in 2017, A Bramble House Christmas in 2017, and more. Before joining Aurora Teagarden, he was David in Hallmark’s series Cedar Cove.
This year, he’s going to be in the upcoming Crossword Mysteries moving premiering this April called Riddle Me Dead. He’ll be playing the role of Marlon Freeman.
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