HBO's True Blood recast James Kent for the final season, but why? Introduced in season 6, the hit series' penultimate season, Kent was originally played by actor Luke Grimes, who is perhaps best known for his roles in Clint Eastwood's American Sniper and the Western drama show Yellowstone. At the time of his departure from the HBO show in the seventh and final season, HBO's reasoning for the recast was that Grimes was unhappy with the creative direction of the character. Though generally unsatisfied with this vague reasoning, True Blood fans quickly moved on as the show refilled the role with actor Nathan Parsons.

Of the original True Blood characters, Kent is noteworthy for his exceptional intelligence and kind-heartedness. Despite entering the series late in the game, Kent is one of the show's fan favorites. A sensitive vampire who would fall in love with Jessica Hamby, Kent eventually leaves Jessica for Lafayette Reynolds to form a gay romance that would last through the series' final episode. However, while this may seem a sharp unexpected turn for his character, the biggest shock came when season 7 opened to a completely different Kent played by a completely different actor.

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Essentially, the reason vampire Grimes left True Blood, forcing the show to recast the character of Kent, was his discomfort with playing a gay character and potentially getting involved in same-sex action. Initially, Grimes' publicist claimed that his reasoning for leaving the character had more to do with scheduling conflicts, as the actor was set to play Elliot Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey film franchise. The real reason for Grimes' departure aligns with an HBO statement released in 2014: "The role of James is being recast due to the creative direction of the character."

As a latecomer to the show, Grimes short-lived performance as Kent wasn't essential to the HBO series, hence why HBO ultimately decided to recast the character with Parsons rather than rewrite the script. With the many odd turns and overall weird tone achieved by the time True Blood reached its sixth season, any remaining fans were likely unperturbed by the Kent character switcheroo. In a strange way, with the sudden revelation of his true sexuality, the replacement of Grimes with Parsons arguably worked to emphasize the drastic shift in his character. If nothing else, this helped True Blood outcompete Twilight, its contemporary competitor, in terms of weirdness.

If the Kent recast disappointed fans, at least any more so than the infamously unsatisfying ending did, True Bloods seeks to wipe the slate clean with an entire new cast for the gory fantasy horror's reported reboot. Whether this means the new True Blood will see any returning cast reprising their roles or not remains the seen. Either way, it's unlikely either Grimes or Parsons will be returning as Kent.

Next: Every Character Who Could Return For The True Blood Reboot (& How)