Overview
- Christian Howard closed out the role of Ethan Lovett on the Tuesday, Aug. 4 episode, marking the character’s latest on-screen exit.
- Howard began subbing for Nathan Dean on July 27 and completed the final episodes after Dean stepped away for personal reasons.
- Nathan Dean had returned to the show in April on a limited four-month deal because he and his wife are expecting a baby and he declined a longer contract.
- The Aug. 4 episode sent the plot to a cliffhanger when Hudson planted a listening device and overheard a hotel-room call that raises new questions about the baby central to the story.
- Set-side sources say the short arc was scripted to end this way, producers intentionally left the door open for a future Ethan return, and the exit follows a long history for the character that dates to 2009.