Yikes — this can't be good. According to TVLine, True Blood star Luke Grimes has left the series ahead of its final season, with sources citing "creative differences" as the reasoning for his abrupt departure. Though he's a fairly new addition to the large cast, he played the role of James, Jessica Hamby's (Deborah Ann Woll) new boyfriend — so the loss of him in the series is pretty major. According to a spokesperson over at HBO, the role will apparently be recast with a new actor, but the network didn't reveal anything else about the drama behind Grimes' departure, other than it's "due to the creative direction of the character."
Sources close to the star, however, had a different story to tell: "He initially joined the show because he wanted to work with [his Forever co-star] Deborah Ann Woll... but when he started reading the scripts for Season 7, he was disappointed to learn that they were going in a completely different direction with James."
Worth mentioning is the fact that Grimes was just cast as Christian Grey's brother, Elliot Grey, in the upcoming film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey, which is currently filming in Canada. If the rumors are true, and Grimes broke his contract because he didn't like the direction of the series, it could mean one of two things: Either Season 7 is going to suck even worse than ever before, or it's going to be amazing because clearly Grimes taste cannot be trusted — he did, after all, accept a role in Fifty Shades.
As for who will now take on the role of James, that has yet to be announced — but given the nature of the character and the show, it will likely be someone who looks very good without a shirt on.
