“No more breakup bangs,” Meghan Ory says with a laugh.
The actress, who’s played practical divorcée and mother of two Abby O’Brien since Chesapeake Shores’ 2016 debut, knows the show’s diehard fans, called “Chessies,” will be excited to hear it. After spending time getting over love Trace (Jesse Metcalfe), Abby is ready to move on in the series’ sixth and final season. In last October’s cliffhanger, she left a voicemail message saying, “I think maybe we should give us a try” for one of the two men hoping to date her next. Was it kindhearted third-grade teacher Jay (Greyston Holt) or playful billionaire Evan (Robert Buckley, above, with Ory)?
“You find out who she called pretty quickly,” Ory offers coyly. “Finally making the decision is her choice to trust herself, go with her heart and take a leap of faith.”
Regardless of her pick, Abby will still be in business with Evan as O’Brien Construction & Development Group builds his hotel. “They continue to get under each other’s skin. That hasn’t gone away,” Ory says.
Also constant is the O’Brien family drama. Connor (Andrew Francis), Abby’s lawyer brother, suffered a heart attack in the Season 5 finale. His prognosis looks good, but the event shakes up the workaholic’s world. “It could be the wake-up call he needed to change some things,” Ory teases.
Their devoted dad Mick (Treat Williams), meanwhile, is still popping painkillers after his near-death crash landing of his plane. “The accident shook him up more than he [thought it would],” Ory hints, adding that we’ll see a different side of both Mick and Abby’s brother-in-law, David (Carlo Marks), whose own father is on the run from multiple fraud charges. Abby’s writer sister Bree (Emilie Ullerup) grows closer with ex-con Luke (Stephen Huszar), and her firefighter brother Kevin (Brendan Penny) navigates marriage post-miscarriage.
With only 10 episodes left, Ory promises a satisfying conclusion that is “everything that you would hope for and nothing that you would expect.” But she isn’t ruling out a spinoff, pitching us Mandrake for Evan’s fan-favorite chauffeur/sidekick (Wesley Salter). “They end up living together in a studio apartment because Evan loses all his money,” she says. “I took it upon myself to come up with every version possible!”
Chesapeake Shores, Season 6 Premiere Sunday, August 14, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel
