Actor Eric Close is moving out of "Nashville" as the 48-year-old's character, Teddy Conrad, will no longer be a regular on the ABC musical drama, TVLine reported. 

The network declined to comment on the decision, though it apparently opted "to place the focus of the show squarely on the music business," the website noted.

The fact that Conrad is the ex-husband of fading country star Rayna Jaymes, the main character played by Connie Britton, means that he is likely to still make guests appearances. 

On the show, Conrad and James have two children -- Daphne (biologically his) and Maddie (legally his) -- which ups the probabilities of "Teddy (returning) at some point to give his family members young and old some kind of closure with his sinful past," Cinema Blend predicted.

Still, the departure of a key character marks a turning point, TVLine suggested. 

"For three seasons, it seemed as if Teddy had been starring in his own satellite show about local Nashville politics," the website commented.

He was taken away in handcuffs at the end of the third "Nashville" season, which concluded on May 13, as the Feds arrested him for hiring a high-priced call girl and embezzling official funds to pay her off.

Observers noted that ABC's decision to do without the character comes as a bit of a surprise. 

"Usually when a TV series builds up a character to be one of the sleaziest people in the medium, that person is kept around until well past his or her expiration date," Cinema Blend quipped.

"But it looks like ABC's 'Nashville' is bucking that trend" with Conrad, it added.

Close, a Staten Island native, is well-known for his role as Martin Fitzgerald in the CBS police drama "Without a Trace," which ran for seven seasons and featured the actor in 160 episodes. He had joined "Nashville" as the Tennessee city's fictional mayor in 2012 and will now reprise his role of lawyer Travis Tanner for one episode in USA's upcoming fifth season of "Suits," TVLine revealed.