Melrose Place plans to shake things up.

How you ask? By firing Colin Egglesfield and Ashlee Simpson.

Executive producer Todd Slavkin tells EW that “it was the original plan” to have Ashlee exit the show. And as for Colin? Well, his “brooding alcoholic (character] tonally didn’t fit” the new “sexy, upbeat” direction the show plans to take starting in January.

Egglesfield told E! that he was signed to do 10 episodes and had a multi-year contract, but “got the call” yesterday morning from producers saying he was off the show. It was “a network decision,” they said. He adds, “It’s kind of crazy. It’s like, How?! Why?!” But he sounds like he’s got a healthy attitude about it. “I’m not spending too much time thinking about it, because it’ll just drive you crazy, if you try to figure something out that you’re never going to figure out. I’m just focusing on [other stuff]. I’ve already got a bunch of auditions lined up.”