Sullivan’s Crossing Hit With Major Shakeup As Season 5 Fate Remains In Limbo
Sullivan’s Crossing is making a major change for season 5.
The romantic drama series is based on the books by Robyn Carr, who also wrote the source material for Netflix’s hit show Virgin River. Sullivan’s Crossing is centered on neurosurgeon Maggie Sullivan (Morgan Kohan) after legal trouble sends her back to Nova Scotia, which is where she grew up. While there, she rebuilds a relationship with her estranged father, Harry “Sully” Sullivan (Scott Patterson), and develops a romantic bond with California “Cal” Jones (Chad Michael Murray).

According to Deadline, series creator Roma Roth will no longer serve as the showrunner and head writer in Sullivan’s Crossing season 5. Floyd Kane will be taking over these responsibilities, although Roth will remain an executive producer. The news comes after season 5 was renewed by Canada’s CTV but has still not been picked up by the CW, which is where it has aired in the United States since season 1.
The Canadian series is slated to begin filming in Nova Scotia later this summer, with Kohan and Murray reprising their respective roles of Maggie and Cal. No plans have been revealed for Patterson to return after his season 3 exit. Roth reportedly came to him about coming back for season 5, but he released a statement in March saying that “The creative differences were becoming untenable and I just sadly realized that the show was not something that I could agree to continue.”
Roth stepping down as showrunner and head writer comes in the wake of rumors about on-set issues. Nevertheless, the expectation is that her overarching creative vision will remain at the heart of Sullivan’s Crossing season 5. As Virgin River heads into season 8, she continues to be an executive producer, and she is working on another television adaptation of Carr’s bestselling books, with this one being the 10-episode Thunder Point.
As for Kane, he is best known for creating the CBC’s Diggstown, a four-season series that was the first Canadian legal drama with a Black female lead. His more recent credits include producing the TV movie Recipe for Romance, the thriller series The Ridge, and the documentary miniseries Sounds Black.
While Sullivan’s Crossing season 5 has not been finalized yet with the CW, it is one of the network’s most-watched shows. The series has also been a hit on Netflix, with season 4 coming to the platform for U.S. subscribers on June 30. It immediately landed in the top three of the U.S. streaming chart and was number 6 on the global chart for its first week, even though it was not available to subscribers in other countries.

As of this writing, Sullivan’s Crossing is in fourth place on the U.S. chart, only behind Raw, Worst Neighbor Ever, and I Will Find You, and ahead of the live-action Avatar the Last Airbender, Salish & Jordan Matter, Survival of the Thickest, Dark Winds, The Polygamist, and Agent Kim Reactivated. Worldwide, it is in the eighth spot, behind I Will Find You, Avatar the Last Airbender, Agent Kim Reactivated, Worst Neighbor Ever, Teach You a Lesson, The Polygamist, Salish & Jordan Matter, and is ahead of Oasis and L’Été 36.
