The long-awaited return of Hallmark Channel’s Chesapeake Shores is in sight and the show’s tried-and-true fans could not be happier with the news.
The popular multi-generational family drama has started filming 10 episodes of season 5, which is set to air on Sundays, premiering on August 15. Joining the cast is Robert Buckley (The Christmas House and iZombie), and the show will be helmed by new showrunner Phoef Sutton, an Emmy-Award winner.
“We are thrilled to bring back Chesapeake Shores for a long-awaited fifth season with Phoef Sutton’s brilliant voice leading this new chapter for the O’Brien family,” said Michelle Vicary, executive vice president of programming.
“Robert Buckley has been part of the Hallmark family for years, most recently he starred in and produced The Christmas House,” she said. “And I know that the show’s fans will thoroughly embrace him in this new role.”
Chesapeake Shores will continue ‘character-driven storytelling’
Sutton says that throughout his career, he has sought out “shows with truly character-driven storytelling, where the drama or the humor comes from everyday moments,” Sutton says.
A longtime fan of the show, Sutton added that he believes that “The O’Briens’ are a television family that you look forward to spending time with, and a huge part of that is the chemistry of its talented cast. I’m looking forward to working with them and, together, producing an exciting new season for viewers to enjoy.”
The show explores the lives of the O’Brien family after the homecoming of eldest daughter Abby O’Brien (Meghan Ory), a high-powered career woman and divorced mother of two. Over the past few seasons, Abby has leaned on her family to strike a balance between her professional and personal lives.
This season viewers will see her coming into her own as her father Mick’s (Treat Williams) new business partner and facing a new challenge when Evan McKenzie (Buckley), a successful, young entrepreneur brings a new development project into town.
Chesapeake Shores novelist Sherry Woods is looking forward to season 5
In addition to the show’s cast and crew, the author of the bestselling Chesapeake Shores series of books has had her fingers crossed for the start of the fifth season for many months.
“I hear often that so many people are struggling and need that escape, and that the kind of books that I write do that for them,” author Sherryl Woods recently explained. “I think what matters is that we need a little moment and we need it right now.”
Having such devoted fans of her books and the TV series “is the most rewarding aspect of being a writer. Finding out how passionate people are about your work is affirming,” she says. “They have been incredibly patient having to hang in there waiting for us to get back on location for Season 5. I love the loyal following we have on Chesapeake Shores.”
In case you missed them, make sure to read Monsters & Critics’ interviews with Hallmark’s Taylor Cole and Danica McKellar.
Seasons 1 through 4 of Chesapeake Shores are available for streaming on Hallmark Movies Now.