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.”
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.”
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.
