‘The Last Ship’ on Production Hiatus as Eric Dane Battles Depression (EXCLUSIVE)

Elizabeth Wagmeister

Production on TNT’s “The Last Ship” has been temporarily shut down at the request of star Eric Dane, who suffers from depression, Variety has learned.

The series, which is set to debut its fourth season this summer, is going on a production hiatus through Memorial Day, sources say.

“Eric asked for a break to deal with personal issues,” a rep for Dane tells Variety. “He suffers from depression and has asked for a few weeks of downtime and the producers kindly granted that request. He looks forward to returning.”

Variety has reached out to TNT for comment.

According to an insider, “The Last Ship” team recently returned from a two-week spring hiatus, so with this additional halt, production will have been shut down for quite some time. However, “The Last Ship” has already been renewed for Season 4 and Season 5, each consisting of 10 episodes, and both seasons are shooting back-to-back. Per our sources, the fourth season is already wrapped and the fifth season is being shot now — so the Season 4 premiere should not be pushed back at all by this production delay. The fifth season is slated to premiere in summer 2018.

Based on William Brinkley’s novel, “The Last Ship” follows the Navy destroyer U.S.S. Nathan James as its captain Tom Chandler, played by Dane, and crew navigate life following a global catastrophe that nearly kills off the world’s population. The action drama is one of TNT’s top-rated programs, reaching an average of 7.1 million viewers per episode across multiple platforms for its third season, according to the cabler.

Dane, who is also known to audiences as “McSteamy” after starring on “Grey’s Anatomy” from 2006 to 2012, has been vocal about his personal issues in the past — in 2011, the actor entered a 30-day rehab program to battle an addiction to painkillers, following a sports injury. He shares two young children with his wife of 13 years, Rebecca Gayheart.

Get more from Variety and Variety411: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter