‘The Night Shift’ season 4 losing Ken Leung as series regular
While “The Night Shift” is going to return for a fourth season next summer on NBC, we’ve just learned that when it is back on the air, it’s going to have a slightly-different configuration without one of its core cast members.
According to a new report from Deadline, Ken Leung is not going to be coming back in the role of Topher; the actor had a three-season deal on the series, and is opting to move on. It’s a tough pill to swallow since Topher has been a rock to this hospital and has kept a sense of stability to everyone in one of the most unstable environments we can think of.
Story-wise, the third season was wrapped up in a way that alluded to a possible departure for the character, as he was fired from his job thanks to an ownership shakeup at the hospital. We know that many of the doctors and nurses working under him fought to secure his employment (and many walked out of their jobs in solidarity), but unfortunately it must have been to no avail. Hopefully, the series writes the character off in a way that we can imagine him off in greener pastures saving the world in another capacity. Certainly, there are going to be many other hospitals who are going to have a desire to have someone of his caliber under their employ.
We know that the fates of many other “Night Shift” characters are in jeopardy still following the finale (you can read our review for that here), but we’re optimistic that many of them are going to be able to make their way out of that situation in one piece. After all, if that turned out to not be the case, we have a feeling that we’d be looking at a show that is dramatically different than the seasons that came before it.
Once there is a little bit more news to report on the future of the show, including more premiere-date speculation, we’ll have it for you over at the link here. Also, we want to hear from you! What do you think of Ken leaving the show and do you think it will hurt the series not having him be a part of it? Leave us a comment in the box below with your thoughts. (Photo: NBC)