Move over dead weight. it’s time to make room for Amanda Woodward.

By early next year, you can expect to see a number of changes on Melrose Place. It seems Laura Leighton won’t be the only cast member to make a quick exit from the freshman drama this season; the ratings-challenged program will soon say goodbye to another two characters.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, executive producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer confirmed that Ashlee Simpson-Wentz (Violet Foster) and Colin Egglesfield (Auggie Kirkpatrick) will both exit the series in January. Their final appearances will come shortly after the murder mystery comes to a close.

Although their departures may come as a shock to viewers, Slavkin and Swimmer claim both actors knew what may come. The plan had been to give the show a lighter tone once Sydney’s murderer was discovered. “They’re total professionals and they took it like professionals. When you go into a show you never know what’s going to evolve and what the possibilities are. But because they knew ahead of time [that leaving was a possibility], it wasn’t a complete shock,” Slavkin said of Ashlee and Colin’s reaction to the news.

Heather Locklear - who is scheduled to be “in every episode moving forward” - isn’t the only new face we’ll be seeing in the weeks to come. Billy Campbell will have a three-episode stint as love interest for Amanda. Meanwhile, a new male doctor will be taking up residence at Melrose Place. That role has yet not been cast.