EXCLUSIVE: Sullivan’s Crossing is undergoing a major behind-the-scenes change ahead of Season 5. Series creator Roma Roth has stepped down as head writer/showrunner; she is being succeeded by Canadian writer-producer Floyd Kane (Diggstown) who is assuming day-to-day leadership as Head Writer.

Roth remains an executive producer on the popular romantic drama, which was renewed for a fifth season by CTV a month ago as part of the network’s upfront announcements. A Season 5 pickup by the CW, which has been the show’s first-window U.S. home since Season 1, is still being finalized, sources said.

Filming on Season 5 is set to begin later this summer in Nova Scotia, with Morgan Kohan and Chad Michael Murray leading the returning cast. There are no current plans for Scott Patterson, the series’ co-lead with Kohan and Murray for the first three seasons, to return, I hear.

Patterson departed after Season 3 and was reportedly approached by Roth about a possible Season 5 return before the duo each issued statements, revealing a behind-the-scenes rift.

“The creative differences were becoming untenable and I just sadly realized that the show was not something that I could agree to continue,” Patterson said in March about his exit.

There had long been rumors about issues — some of them related to Roth’s showrunner style — on the Sullivan’s Crossing set, which has not been a harmonious work environment.

That has not translated on screen, with the series, based on Robyn Carr’s novels, continuing to do well on both sides of the border. In the U.S., Sullivan’s Crossing remains the CW’s most watched series, and it also has been a hit for Netflix, which has domestic streaming rights.

Season 4, which wrapped its run on the CW on June 22, made its debut on Netflix on June 30, immediately shooting into the streamer’s daily U.S. Top 3 for TV series. The new season ranked at #6 on Netflix’s English series chart globally for its opening week with 3M views despite only being available in the U.S.

While Roth will no longer be in a managerial position, her creative vision is expected to continue to be reflected on the series.

Roth has had her hand in two successful adaptations of Robyn Carr book series; in addition to creating and executive producing Sullivan’s Crossing, she also executive produces with Carr Netflix’s hit Virgin River, which is going to Season 8.

Kane is known for creating of CBC’s 2019 series Diggstown, the first Canadian legal drama with a Black female lead, which ran for four seasons. He recently executive produced the TV movie Recipe for Romance and the BBC Scotland/Sky New Zealand thriller series The Ridge.

In Season 4 of Sullivan’s Crossing, Maggie Sullivan (Kohan) finally settles on a new direction for her career and a renewed commitment to Cal (Murray) when her ex-husband, Liam (Marcus Rosner), arrives, upending Maggie’s life once again and causing Cal to question whether she will ever truly be able to leave her past behind.

The season, which referenced the absence of Maggie’s dad Sully (Patterson) a handful of times as he remains in Ireland, ends with a major cliffhanger involving Maggie and Cal, setting up a story arc for Season 5.

Sullivan’s Crossing is executive produced by Reel World Management in association with Bell Media’s CTV, The CW and Fremantle.

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