For longtime viewers, King was a familiar part of Genoa City’s romances and family drama. When she left the regular cast in 2021, it meant saying goodbye to an actress they had watched grow up on screen.
Since then, she has built a career in Hallmark movies, branched into horror, and added producing to her credits. She also married filmmaker Chris Copier in 2026.
Her recent film Don’t Move reached U.S. theaters in September 2026. Getting there meant moving beyond a character she had played for nearly a decade.
Summer Newman made her a familiar face
King began playing Summer on The Young and the Restless in 2012. The role earned her two Daytime Emmy Awards and a lasting connection with the show’s audience.
Viewers followed her version of Summer from her teenage years into adulthood. Years of relationships, arguments, and family troubles made King’s performance part of their daily viewing routine.
She was also finding opportunities in comedy. On Life in Pieces, she played Clementine Hughes and became a series regular for the second season.
That promotion brought an earlier change in her soap schedule. In 2016, King moved to recurring status on Y&R as her sitcom role expanded. She returned to a regular role on the soap in 2018.
By the time she left again, she already knew what it felt like to step outside Summer’s world.
Why did Hunter King leave The Young and the Restless?
King’s regular run ended in 2021 amid contract negotiations. Her co-star Michael Mealor, who played Kyle Abbott, was negotiating his contract at the same time.
The pair later discussed their departures in an August 2021 interview. Their accounts described a difficult process involving a workplace they considered family, with negotiations failing to reach an agreement.
King still spoke fondly about her time on the show:
“Nine years is a long time being on one show and I loved every second of it.”
Leaving the regular cast did not immediately end her appearances. She returned for guest spots before the show cast Allison Lanier as Summer in 2022.
King also described wanting to grow and put herself in unfamiliar situations. The contract impasse explains the circumstances of her departure; those comments help explain her willingness to explore what came afterward.
Hallmark became her next regular stop
Her next chapter took shape quickly. King made her Hallmark debut opposite Beau Mirchoff in Hidden Gems, which premiered in June 2022.
Set in Hawaii, the romance gave her a fresh character and a very different setting. Two more television movies followed that year.
In Nikki & Nora: Sister Sleuths, she and Rhiannon Fish played sisters who inherit a detective agency. In A Royal Corgi Christmas, King played an American dog trainer working with a prince and his unruly pet.
Her growing collection of Hallmark films continued with The Professional Bridesmaid and The Santa Summit in 2023, then Two Scoops of Italy in 2024.
The move changed the rhythm of her career. Instead of returning to one character’s ongoing story, she could take on a new lead with each film.
Fans who mainly watched daytime television might have missed that transition. For viewers of romantic television movies, she was becoming an increasingly familiar presence.
Her work now stretches from Christmas movies to horror
In November 2024, King starred opposite Tyler Hynes in Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. She played Alana Higman, whose family competes for a Kansas City Chiefs fan award.
She followed it with A Make or Break Holiday in December 2025. Alongside Evan Roderick, she played one half of a struggling couple pretending to be happy while hosting their families for Christmas.
Her 2026 work took her into darker stories.
In the horror film Rabisu, also listed as Rabisu: Curse of the Demon, King has both acting and producing credits. Copier directed the film.
She also appears alongside Lyndsy Fonseca and Tom Cavanagh in Don’t Move. Directed by Maclain Nelson, the creature feature follows a wilderness outing that becomes a fight for survival.
The film opened in select U.S. theaters on September 11, 2026. It adds another genre to a career that already spans daytime drama, sitcoms, mysteries, and romance.
She married Chris Copier in 2026
While her screen work expanded, King also reached a major personal milestone.
She and Copier legally married on February 14, 2026. They celebrated with family at Medieval Times, then shared the news publicly in March.
A second celebration followed in Tuscany in June, with about 40 friends and relatives. King’s sister, actress Joey King, was among the bridesmaids.
The location had a connection to her work. King explained that a trip while filming in Italy inspired their wedding plans. Visiting the Tuscan countryside had left her imagining a ceremony there.
Their creative lives overlap, too. With Copier directing Rabisu and King acting in and helping produce it, the couple also share a film project.
Where is Hunter King now?
As of September 2026, King remains active in film and television. Her recent credits show her balancing romantic roles with horror and work behind the camera.
She also retains a public connection with Hallmark. King is among the guests scheduled for the Christmas Experience in Kansas City on November 27–29, 2026, although the lineup is subject to change.
For anyone catching up after her departure as Summer, there is plenty to watch. Her post-soap career now includes holiday romances, a detective story, and horror films, along with a producing credit.
Summer Newman gave audiences years to get to know King in one role. Her career since leaving has given them a much wider range of characters to discover.