Anthony RobledoUSA TODAY
July 10, 2026/” title=”Moana (2026)”>2026, 8:24 p.m. ET
Some changes are coming to “Sullivan’s Crossing” for Season 5.
As the Canadian TV show – which airs on The CW and Netflix in the U.S. – gears up to film its fifth season, series creator Roma Roth is stepping down as head writer and showrunner, USA TODAY can confirm.
Roth will continue serving as an executive producer of the show, which stars Morgan Kohan and Chad Michael Murray, while she focuses on her new CTV and Crave series “Thunder Point.” Canadian director and TV producer Floyd Kane will take over for Roth as head writer on Season 5, which is expected to enter production this summer.
Deadline first reported the staffing change on July 8.
Roth served as head writer for the first four seasons of the show, which premiered in 2023 and follows the romance between former Boston neurosurgeon Maggie Sullivan (Kohan) and local handyman California “Cal” Jones (Murray).
The head writer shift follows Scott Patterson’s sudden exit from the series after Season 3.
In March, the actor, who played Maggie’s dad Sully, wrote on Facebook that creative differences “were becoming untenable and I just sadly realized that the show was not something that I could agree to continue.”
“It’s unfortunate that it is now being implied that they moved on from me/Sully when the fact is the complete opposite, and those who sadly already have spoken out are also fully aware of this fact, and yet chose to say otherwise,” his March 5 post reads. “I really enjoyed Sully and fought for his voice and his character. The richness and depth of Sully, whom the fans of the books all know and love, is so multi-layered and interesting.”
Though Patterson was a mainstay on the show, his character was written out of Season 4, with Sully opting to travel to Ireland with his new love interest.
Chad Michael Murray says Season 4 finale had alternate ending
Warning: This portion of the story contains spoilers from the Season 4 finale of “Sullivan’s Crossing,” now streaming on Netflix.
Murray recently told USA TODAY that things could have played out differently in the Season 4 finale, in which Cal proposes to Maggie even after she kisses her ex-husband, Liam (Marcus Rosner), when he returns to town.
“There was a lot of discussion on the proposal. There was even a world where she was the one proposing to Cal. I tried to put my two cents in, and my opinion was definitely put in there,” he said. “However, those decisions are above my pay grade; I’m not going to tell anybody how to do their job.”
He said the team ultimately landed on an ending that worked best for the fans, who he said loved the finale.
“Now I’m hoping that we can have a whole Season 5 without any red flags, without any lies, and it’s just the two of them taking on the outside world, together as a team,” he added.
All four seasons of “Sullivan’s Crossing” are currently streaming on Netflix.
Contributing: Joelle Goldstein, USA TODAY
