Christian Howard has replaced Nathan Dean in the role of Ethan Lovett.

Additional article from TV Insider, which includes quotes of Dean admitting he agreed to do four months, and that TPTB wanted him back for three-years.

That baby story is going to run for THREE YEARS???

Ugh, I'm not able to watch live today, but this is just sad news for me. I was really enjoying him and the storyline with Ava. I'll give the new actor a chance, of course... but it's just odd that TPTB threw the dice, knowing Nathan wasn't going to commit to long-term. I guess he stood his ground. Bummer for us.

Had we heard anything about this? Any rumbling? (beyond people speculating a few days ago that Dean was leaving)

Is Howard just there to wrap up the story? I don't know if I see them keeping him on for three years. Dean was the only reason any fans ever seemed to like Nathan.

Looking at his IMDB his most known role seems to be Ken Masters from Street Fighter, so maybe he can do some martial arts scenes at least.

Yeah, very odd. Cuz as much as I enjoyed seeing Nathan Dean...is the character of Ethan relevant enough to need a recast? The baby storyline could easily have been handled in four months.

Just now, DRW50 said:

Had we heard anything about this? Any rumbling? (beyond people speculating a few days ago that Dean was leaving)

Is Howard just there to wrap up the story? I don't know if I see them keeping him on for three years. Dean was the only reason any fans ever seemed to like Nathan.

I don't think there's been any rumbling beyond people discussing the change in Nathan's contract status online last week (?).

When something like this happens, Frank tends to keep stuff as long as possible as if out of spite so I could see it running three years.

I don't at all care for the storyline. The only reason I had interest has been cuz it's Nathan so yep.

3 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Had we heard anything about this? Any rumbling? (beyond people speculating a few days ago that Dean was leaving)

Nothing that I know of. Other than people expected Nathan to leave in August per his short deal. I had expected him to extend or return soon, but that was just me guessing. I didn't expect some random recast lol.

Edited Monday at 06:51 PM2 days by Vee

I'd love to see a Laura/Lulu/Ethan storyline, but I don't know if the show cares about Lulu enough. They didn't do much with Lucky so I don't know about any of this.

6 minutes ago, Vee said:

Nothing that I know of. Other than people expected Nathan to leave in August per his short deal. I had expected him to extend or return soon, but that was just me guessing. I didn't expect some random recast lol.

My guess is his need to be home with his wife took precedence over continuing on in the role.

Uh, wow, I honestly thought the only reason he was back was as a favor to the actor, lol. There is no point otherwise!

BTS at this show is wild the last year and some change. If anything, the current lack of jobs in entertainment media made me think he had decided to stay for at least a year based on what they were doing with Ethan.

Much like with Lucky, Ethan was sharing most of his scenes with nearly all the wrong people. As much as I enjoyed him with Ava, I wish we got more scenes with Tracy, Laura, and especially Lulu and her kids.

I bet FV is close to pulling his hair out lately.

3 hours ago, janea4old said:

I'd love to see a Laura/Lulu/Ethan storyline, but I don't know if the show cares about Lulu enough. They didn't do much with Lucky so I don't know about any of this.

With a recast Ethan what’s the point? He was on for a couple of years as a regular, and was back this time for a short stint without much connection to his past. It’s not like Emma Samms was there for Tristan’s tribute yet. And Geary is gone and Luke is dead. Lucky is gone, Lulu is a recast. It was a strange pull to begin with considering the current canvas.

I see the new guy has a background in stunts. Maybe they can make something of that. But I kind of think if he is any good they wasted him on Ethan.

He looks like Diet Cody. Okay, Frank.

3 hours ago, titan1978 said:

As much as I enjoyed him with Ava, I wish we got more scenes with Tracy, Laura, and especially Lulu and her kids.

I bet FV is close to pulling his hair out lately.

I was definitely happy with the scenes with Lulu that we got at least.

Oh, well. Karma always shows up on time.