Joshua Jackson Not Returning To ‘The Affair’ As Series Regular For Final Season

Joshua Jackson will not be returning to The Affair as a series regular in Season 5. The actor has decided not to commit to the series for the final season following his character’s highly talked about arc during Season 4.

According to a Sept. 25 report by TVLine, Joshua Jackson’s character, Cole Lockhart, won’t be seen much during the final season of The Affair. The actor, who rose to fame during his time as Pacey Witter on Dawson’s Creek, has been a favorite among fans of the Showtime drama.

However, an insider tells the outlet that Jackson may bring Cole back for an episode or two during the show’s final season. The actor’s departure comes after actress Ruth Wilson shockingly exited The Affair when her character, Alison Bailey was killed off.

As fans of The Affair already know, Alison’s body was found in the ocean and her death was ruled a suicide. Later, it was revealed that foul play was involved in her passing. The character’s death left her former husband, Cole, to raise their daughter, Joanie.

When Season 4 ended, Cole and Joanie decided to leave Montauk and drove off into the sunset together. It was Cole who had the hardest time with Alison’s death.

Ruth Wilson’s exit has been kept a mystery. The actress confirmed back in August that she would not be returning to The Affair, and that she “did want to leave the show” but that she was “not allowed to talk about why.”

However, executive producer, Sarah Treem revealed that Alison’s storyline had simply “run its course,” hinting that it was time for the character to go, although many fans were stunned and a bit suspicious of the bold move.

Up until the final season, The Affair had been based on the four points of view of its lead characters, Alison (Wilson), Cole (Jackson), Noah (Dominic West), and Helen (Maura Tierney). The show started when Noah and Alison met and began an affair, and has taken off into a thrilling drama series that ended with a lot of unanswered questions in the Season 4 finale.

With both Alison and Cole out of the picture, Noah and Helen will seemingly be the main focus of the final season. When Season 4 ended, Helen was dealing with the impending death of her boyfriend, Vic, and the fact that her neighbor was pregnant with his child.

Meanwhile, Noah was still trying to put his family life together by spending time with his children and had found passion in his job as an English teacher in California.

Joshua Jackson has yet to publicly comment on his exit from The Affair.