Jesse Metcalfe Discusses Future After Being Booted from DWTS

Jesse Metcalfe, star of the hit Hallmark series Chesapeake Shores, was just recently booted off Dancing with the Stars. Many of his fans hope he’ll return to reality TV one day, but is that in the cards for the actor?

Metcalfe Says He’d Absolutely Be Open to Reality TV Again

In an interview with Us Magazine, Metcalfe said that he would be really interested in participating in reality TV again. “For sure,” he responded, when asked about pursuing more reality TV.  Dancing with the Stars was grueling, but he also enjoyed the experience.

However, he would not take part in a reality TV series about his love life.

He told Us Magazine: “That’s where I draw the line. Once you start profiting from your personal life — and I mean, you’re basically selling your personal life. You’re selling it to the network. You’re selling it to the media. I feel like I need to draw the line somewhere. That’s not in line with my values.”

He said things have changed a lot in 10 years when it comes to reality shows. There used to be a lot of stigma, he said, but not so much now.

Roughly 10 years ago, there was a lot of people saying what actors should or shouldn’t be doing. I feel like it’s a completely different landscape in the entertainment industry right now. … I feel like you can kind of do whatever you want now in the entertainment industry, as long as you are authentic in the way you do it.

Dancing with the Stars was tough, he said. As a 41-year-old competitor, he lost 10 pounds while on Season 29. Sometimes he and Sharna Burgess even fought during rehearsals, as he tried to learn movements that were really foreign to him. But he still loved the experience.

Metcalfe Will Be in a New Season of ‘Chesapeake Shores’

After a very short fourth season of Chesapeake Shores that was only six episodes long, Metcalfe is returning for a fifth season. The series’ renewal was just announced in July. This time the season will be 10 episodes long, premiering in Summer 2021, ET Online reported.

Filming is expected to start sometime in 2021.

Metcalfe told ET about the series: “Chesapeake Shores has been such a fulfilling, creative journey for me and a bona fide hit for the Hallmark Channel, as well as finding new audiences around the world. Our superfans call themselves ‘Chessies,’ and I know how invested they are in these characters. That’s why I’m excited to let them know that we’ll be back with all new episodes next summer.”

The Hallmark Channel answered questions on Facebook about why the fourth season was so short. It didn’t appear to be because of any cancelation concerns.

On Facebook, a fan asked why the show was ending early. Hallmark answered: “When the writers came up with this year’s storyline it was decided it could be told best with 6 episodes.”

This answer was shared the day before the Season 4 finale. One fan responded: “Thank you for responding… I don’t like the response… but thank you.”

Michelle Vicary, executive vice president of Hallmark programming, talked to the press during the Television Critics Association press tour,  the Post-Gazette reported. She said about the shorter season: “[This] was absolutely not a reflection of anything other than the logistics that go into making a series… Our audience loves to see these actors, much like you like to see your favorite actors in a series week after week. … It’s more of taking it to the next level as opposed to indicating any sort of distancing from any of the other series.”

Hallmark’s 2020 Countdown to Christmas Schedule