Ashton Kutcher‘s days onThe Ranchare coming to an end.
The 41-year-old star and executive producer of the Netflix series announced Tuesday that the Jim Patterson and Don Reo-created dramedy about a dysfunctional family in Colorado will conclude in 2020.
In March 2018, Netflix announced thatParenthoodalumnus Shepard was joining the show a few months after original starDanny Masterson’sdeparturefollowing multiple allegations of sexual assault against the actor.
“After discussing with the producers, we’ve decided to write Danny Masterson off ofThe Ranch. Yesterday was his last day of work, and we’ll make new episodes in 2018 without him,” the streaming service said in a statement.
“From day one, I have denied the outrageous allegations against me. Law enforcement investigated these claims more than 15 years ago and determined them to be without merit. I have never been charged with a crime, let alone convicted of one. In this country, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, in the current climate, it seems as if you are presumed guilty the moment you are accused. I understand and look forward to clearing my name once and for all. In the meantime, I want to express my gratitude to the cast and crew that I’ve worked so closely with over the past three seasons. I wish them nothing but success. I am also so thankful to the fans that have supported me and continue to do so,” he continued.
Netflix
Kutcher’s announcement of the final season comes on the heels ofhis testimony in the alleged “Hollywood ripper” serial killer trial.
Last week, the actor took the stand in the trial of suspected serial killerMichael Gargiulo, who faces two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of two women — including Kutcher’s friend Ashley Ellerin, who was killed in 2001.
Kutcher, who is now married to actressMila Kunis, is one of more than 100 witnesses who have or are scheduled to testify in the murder trial of 43-year-old Gargiulo, who prosecutors have described as a “serial psychosexual thrill killer” whostalked and then viciously stabbedhis unsuspecting victims — all young women who lived near him.
He testified for about 40 minutes, wearing a blue suit with a light blue shirt and a tie. Ellerin’s father was present for Kutcher’s testimony.
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Kutcher, who was 23 at the time, had planned to go to dinner and drinks with Ellerin, 22, on the evening of Feb. 21, 2001.
He had met her the previous December, when they were both dating other people. By February, they discovered that they were both newly single, so they scheduled a first date, Kutcher testified in court on Wednesday.
But the date never happened. While Ellerin was getting ready, prosecutors say Gargiulo snuck into the woman’s Hollywood home and stabbed her 47 times.
Kutcher testified that on the night Ellerin was killed, he arrived at her home between 10:30 and 10:45 p.m. He knocked on the door, and no one answered. There were lights on, so he tried the door. It was locked.
“I assumed she had left for the night and I was late and she was upset,” he testified. “I just assumed she had gone out with her friend and bailed.” He was never a suspect in the woman’s death.
source: people.com
