For weeks there has been speculation and suspicion that Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton would leave One Tree Hill at the end of this season, and now EW's Michael Ausiello has confirmed those rumors.
According to Ausiello, his sources confirmed that Burton and Murray will not stick around for season 7. The CW has not made any official statement, but that is likely to come at the network's upfront presentation next Thursday.
In addition, Ausiello is reporting that the show will introduce new characters next season to fill the void rather than simply use the existing recurring players. Spoiler TV has first word on the casting notices for next season including three prominent new roles:
-Quinn, Haley's heartbroken older sister. Though we've only seen Taylor, it's also been mentioned that Haley has two other sisters, Vivian and Quinn.
-Alexis, a party girl and model for Clothes Over Bros.
-Clayton, a handsome sports agent who works alongside Nathan.
In perhaps the only bright spot from Ausiello's exclusive, he also claims that next season Austin Nichols will join the cast as a series regular next season as Julian, the movie producer eager to be with Brooke.
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Given the videos online from official sites and fan video phones, it's not much of a surprise that Murray and Burton will be leaving. However, I can only assume that the CW has avoided making any official statements because they want all their ducks in a row about where the series is going beforehand.
On the other hand, the CW is also missing a prime promotional angle if this Monday's season 6 finale will actually be Murray and Burton's final episode of One Tree Hill.
Will you still watch after Murray and Burton leave? Is Julian sticking around a good thing or a great thing? And do any of these new characters sound any good?
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