‘Chesapeake Shores’: Will Jesse Metcalfe Return as Trace in Final Season?

Jesse Metcalfe as Trace in Chesapeake Shores
Ricardo Hubbs/Hallmark Media

As Abby’s (Meghan Ory) finding new love on Chesapeake Shores, we can’t help but wonder about her last love and the chances of seeing Jesse Metcalfe as Trace again, especially with the Hallmark Channel drama in its final season.

“I don’t want to tease anybody. We don’t see Trace again for the season,” executive producer Phoef Sutton told TV Insider. “We don’t see Trace again. He’s off discovering who he is and all that. And he’s not a part of the show anymore, so I wish him well.”

But could we hear about him as the series prepares to say goodbye? “Not really.”

Jesse Metcalfe as Trace, Meghan Ory as Abby in Chesapeake Shores

Ricardo Hubbs/Hallmark Media

Metcalfe exited the drama at the beginning of Season 5. In the second episode, Trace left town, explaining to Abby, “I need something new, somewhere new. I was staying here on account of you, but everything in this place reminds me of you.” And while he didn’t know where he was going, “I think there’s something missing inside of me. Tried to find it in my music, tried to find it in us, now I’m going to try to find it in myself.” They both deserved the best and “maybe now we’ll find it,” he said.

The Chesapeake Shores Season 6 premiere revealed that Abby called Evan (Robert Buckley) about giving them a try and ended with their first date (on a yacht!). “We had always intended her to choose Evan. He’s an exciting character and a really interesting match for her and a totally different match for her than Trace,” Sutton explained. “Their relationship will grow slowly and before you know it, they’ll be in it more than they perhaps had intended to be.”

With the drama in its final season, “a lot of stuff that maybe would’ve taken two or three seasons to do, we kind of had to move forward,” the EP said. “So a lot happens this year. It is a very exciting year.”

And maybe this won’t be the last time we see the O’Briens. “I love writing the show and I love these characters and I hope it’s not over,” Sutton admitted. Does that mean a spinoff? “Something. I don’t know. Something would be nice.”

Chesapeake Shores, Sundays, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel