As Sullivan’s Crossing wraps its emotionally charged third season, showrunner Roma Roth sat down with us to reflect on the themes, turning points, and creative vision behind one of the show’s most powerful chapters to date. With a blend of grounded storytelling and emotional nuance, Season 3 navigated healing, identity, and the delicate balance between career and love—both for its lead, Maggie Sullivan, and the community around her.
At the heart of Season 3 was a deeply personal journey for Maggie, and Roth didn’t shy away from the emotional complexity. “This is a journey for Maggie to figure out,” she explained. “It’s not one or the other. It’s like, how can you marry both sides of yourself? How do you satisfy both sides of yourself and not have to give one up for the other?”
For Roth, Maggie’s conflict between career and personal life was not just a fictional tension, it mirrored real-life struggles many women face. “As a career woman myself, I struggle between my career and family and juggling,” she shared. “There’s a lot of career women out there who are perfectionists and want to do everything perfectly. But when you’re doing multiple things, you’re not necessarily perfect at anything, and you have to cut yourself some slack.”
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| “Twists and Turns” – SULLIVAN’S CROSSING. Pictured: Sharleen Kalayll as Dr. Rabney and Morgan Kohan as Maggie. Photo: Bell Media ©2025. All Rights Reserved. |
While Roth was careful to avoid spoilers, she hinted that Season 3 was all about pivotal decisions. “When you are faced with that decision, you can then come to the realization of what is important to you,” she said. “That was why it was important to explore that, so Maggie could finally decide what she wants out of life.”
One of the season’s most emotionally charged arcs revolved around the health crisis faced by beloved character Edna, which became a turning point not only for Edna but for the entire community. “She has to deal with some issues of her own that cause her and Frank to question what their future looks like,” Roth said. “You have to decide what is truly important to you.”
Season 3 also emphasized second chances—not just in love, but in life. “These characters have been through a lot over two seasons,” Roth noted. “We wanted to give them an opportunity to explore love.” She even revealed that the theme of the season was crystal clear: “Second chances,” adding, “I think that’s what we actually even called one of the scripts.”
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| “First Cut is the Deepest” – SULLIVAN’S CROSSING. Pictured: Chad Michael Murray as Cal and Andrea Menard as Edna. Photo: Bell Media ©2025. All Rights Reserved. |
She also touched on how the finale reflected the duality of closure and new beginnings: “Because we’re dealing with a lot of emotional issues we wanted to have some lightness and levity this season, by giving people a reprieve and having them have some hope and positivity in their lives.”
And of course, no season finale would be complete without a twist. While Roth was careful not to give anything away, she did offer one tantalizing tease: “There’s never a dull moment at Sullivan’s Crossing. A romance drama series needs to have push and pull between your characters… we’re going to have a pretty big shoe drop at the end of the season that we’ll get to see play out in Season 4.”
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From heartbreak and healing to second chances and self-discovery, Sullivan’s Crossing Season 3 has offered a richly layered emotional tapestry and according to Roth, the journey is far from over.