The Night Agent surprised viewers with Luciane Buchanan‘s shocking exit — but how did season 3 write her character Rose off?
During season 3, which premiered on Thursday, February 19, Rose (Buchanan) didn’t make any appearance after her offscreen split from Peter (Gabriel Basso). Rose took a new job in California after they chose their careers over their relationship.
“In the writers room, we certainly discussed [a return],” creator Shawn Ryan told Deadline. “In fact, that was our starting position: What would a Peter-Rose-centric story in season 3 look like? There were moments in that conversation that felt a little derivative of the first couple seasons. And then we challenged ourselves, What would it look like without Rose in the season, and we came up with a lot of what you see in season 3. So it was completely a creative decision.”
Ryan weighed in on the support for Rose and Peter, adding, “Yeah, I know it’s a topic. I don’t mind answering it, because my answer has always been consistent. I love Luciane and I’d love to see Rose on the show again at some point. This was the best story that we felt we could tell.”
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Based on the novel of the same name by Matthew Quirk, The Night Agent follows FBI agent Peter (Basso) as he gets thrown into the middle of a vast conspiracy about a mole operating at the highest levels of the United States government.
The series became the third-most-viewed debuting series on Netflix in its first four days, which scored it a renewal one week after it was released. Ahead of the second-season premiere, Netflix renewed the action thriller for season 3.
Fola Evans-Akingbola, who plays Chelsea, returned for season 3 after she was missing on screen one season prior. Ryan confirmed Evans-Akingbola’s return after season 2 only brought back Basso and Buchanan. Most of the additional cast members didn’t appear at all.
Kari Matchett made a cameo as President Michelle Travers in the season 2 premiere, while Evans-Akingbola’s Chelsea briefly returned in the finale.
“I don’t view this the way that a lot of TV shows operate in that I think characters come and go and then come back to the show, depending on what the story line for that season is,” Ryan told Deadline in January 2025 of Evans-Akingbola’s future on the show. “An example I would give you is that we really love the character of Chelsea in season 1, who was played by Fola Evans-Akingbola.”
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Ryan recalled breaking the news to Evans-Akingbola about her season 2 absence.
“It really pained me to have to call her between seasons 1 and 2, and say, ‘Hey, the writers had been working for a few weeks, and we’re gravitating towards stories that I don’t think we have a role for you in,’” he noted. “’The story has just taken us here, and I’m so sorry, but we love you, and if there’s a chance to get you back on the show at some point, I would love to do it.’ She was wonderful about it.”
He continued: “As we got towards the end [of season 2], we found this opportunity to have this little cameo for her that will serve as a platform. And I will tell you, she will be part of season 3.”
The Night Agent is streaming on Netflix.
