Luciane Buchanan Not Returning To ‘Night Agent’ Season 3 (Exclusive)

EXCLUSIVE: In 2023, a then-little known outside of New Zealand actress named Luciane Buchanan captured the hearts of Netflix viewers as Rose Larkin, a cybersecurity wiz thrust into a dangerous government conspiracy on spy drama The Night Agent, with lowly FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) as her protector. Fans loved the duo’s dynamic and, despite the two going their separate ways in the Season 1 finale, Rose was the only character besides Basso’s titular Night Agent that was brought back for Season 2.

That won’t happen again, with Peter and Rose’s Season 2 finale breakup permanent — at least for now.

“I won’t be returning to Season 3 of The Night Agent,” Buchanan told Deadline in an exclusive interview tied to her new series, Apple TV+’s Chief Of War. “As much as that show has been so amazing, especially for my career — being a lead on a U.S. show from little New Zealand was such a whirlwind — the writers decided that they wanted to follow Peter and his journey based on what happened at the end of Season 2. And so, we don’t get to see what happens to Rose, but I think it’s a really exciting time for the show, and who knows, it’s not a goodbye forever.”

It was The Night Agent creator, executive producer and showrunner Shawn Ryan and his producing partner at MiddKid Productions, fellow Night Agent EP Marney Hochman, who broke the news to Buchanan.

“They called me not so long after Season 2, and they were like, we’ve been trying to find a way to bring her in, but we want to do her character justice and not make her a sub-character,” she said. “I totally respected that decision and agreed. I was like, if it makes sense to a story, I’ll do that. If it doesn’t, let’s not force that.”

Why Buchanan Is Leaving ‘The Night Agent’

In a statement to Deadline, Ryan spoke about Buchanan’s run on The Night Agent and the reason she won’t be in Season 3.

“Luciane has been a beloved member of our Night Agent family for our first two seasons and her portrayal of Rose Larkin and Rose’s relationship with Peter has been a huge part of the show’s success,” he said. “We always envisioned the show as telling a new story each season with a revolving cast, and the story we broke for Season 3, much to our chagrin, didn’t have a satisfying place for Rose.”

Ryan left the door open for Buchanan to return in future seasons for a Rose-Peter reunion.

“I adore Luciane as a person and as a performer and I don’t believe that this means we’re done telling the story of Peter and Rose,” he said. “I hope circumstances ultimately allow for the return of Rose to our Night Agent universe.”

Buchanan confirmed that Ryan and Hochman did mention to her the possibility for a The Night Agent return.

“If there is an opportunity that makes sense to the story for her to come back, I’m sure they’ll explore that, because they really loved the dynamics of Peter and Rose, and I know a lot of audiences loved that dynamic,” Buchanan said. “So I’m sure Shawn Ryan and his team will find a little way; maybe we’ll make a little cameo along the way.”

Rose’s Legacy And… A Spin-off?

Buchanan spoke about Rose’s evolution on The Night Agent, which started as an adaptation of Matthew Quirk’s novel of the same name in Season 1.

“I really loved Rose. I loved how she was someone who didn’t follow the grain, she was grieving family members and just wanted answers, and that was the driving force. And of course, the love story with Peter came along with that, and I really enjoyed it,” she said.

Season 2 was an original story not based on any source material, and Buchanan praised the series’ writers for being “a really big advocate of how Rose progressed in terms of the trauma that she’s already experienced.”

“For season two, it was her deciding whether she’s willing to enter this world again and be with Peter, and what that brings with it, everything that she was trying to run away from,” she said. “I think she got her answer in the end, that, as much as she cares about him and really values that relationship, it’s not the best for either of them. They’ve lived completely different lives, so It made sense that they ended up the way that they did, and I think make consequences feel real. Season 3 has to explore that with Peter on his own, without her little annoying, OK, I’m back again. I’m not interested in playing that.”

While there are no current plans, Buchanan is game for a Rose-centered Night Agent spinoff as her heroine has proven to be quite capable at the spy craft.

“I kept hinting at that, and they’re like, come on,” she said. “Well, she doesn’t have to be out there shooting guns; she could be behind the computer doing some things.”

As for what comes next on The Night Agent, “I have no idea what they’re doing for Season 3; I’m sure it’s something super juicy,” Buchanan said. “I can’t wait to watch.”

She is fully aware how invested fans have been in Peter and Rose’s love story. She has a message for them.

“So many people are so invested, and I just want to thank them for supporting me,” Buchanan said. “There’s a bunch of fans who continue to comment on everything that I post, asking whether I’d be in Season 3. This hopefully answers that question, and they can move on with that. They’ve been the best and supported me, some of them have followed me on to other things, and I’m just so grateful, it’s been so lovely.”

From ‘The Night Agent’ To ‘Chief of War’

SPOILER ALERT: This portion of the interview includes details about the first eight episodes of Chief of War.

One of the other things fans have followed Buchanan to is Apple TV+’s epic Hawaiian historical drama Chief of War, co-created, executive produced by and starring Jason Momoa.

Buchanan, who is of Tongan descent, auditioned for the series while she was finishing Season 1 of The Night Agent, landing the starring role of Ka‘ahumanu, King Kamehameha I’s queen consort and a major figure in Hawaiian history who played a key role in the unification of the islands. She filmed the drama series between Seasons 1 and 2 of The Night Agent.

“What made it really special for me was that I didn’t realize that a big production company like Apple TV wanted to invest in a Polynesian story, which is very close to mine — I’m not Hawaiian, but it’s similar in some ways to my tongue and heritage. I was like, this can’t be real, and I need to be a part of this, whether it’s the smallest role with one line. Who I ended up portraying in the end, Ka‘ahumanu, is very, very influential to that story, so it was such a dream.”

Since Buchanan was cast in Chief of War before The Night Agent had come out, she was still a virtual unknown in Hollywood when she landed the part.

“Looking back, it was just like, wow, they took such a risk on me,” she said. “I remember when Night Agent Season 1 did come out I was in the middle of shoot, and I came back to see the crew, they all gave me a lovely clap, and were like, congrats, you’re No.1 around the world. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s overwhelming.’ Anyways, back to work.”

For Buchanan, the connection between The Night Agent and Chief of War goes deeper than timing.

“In a weird way, those two experiences have always been in tandem, and I don’t think I would have been ready for the amount of work that I’ve had with Ka‘ahumanu being No.2 again if I hadn’t gone through the experiences on the Night Agent as a lead as well,” she said.

Interestingly, Buchanan initially didn’t realize she would be No.2 on the Chief of War call sheet.

“I did not know that I was a lead for the show because I hadn’t gotten a script,” she said. “I asked our director for Episode 1 and 2, Justin Chon, so how much am I in the show, like, roughly how many episodes? And he’s like, Oh, every episode, it’s Jason, and then there’s you.”

Learning the Character & the Language

Buchanan didn’t know who Ka‘ahumanu was until she researched the character for the audition. After landing the role, she flew to Hawaii, visited museums and her birthplace, talked to historians and advisors.

“I learned pretty quickly who she was and what she meant to the people of Hawaii,” she said. “I definitely was paralyzed in fear for about a month before we started shooting, and then leant into that fear to try portraying her.”

There was also the language challenge. The characters in Chief of War speak the Hawaiian language which has been facing extinction after being banned for decades. Hawaiian and Tongan are both Polynesian languages but Buchanan grew up only speaking English.

“I totally went into that audition being like, yeah, I’ll learn Hawaiian,” she said. “I had never heard Hawaiian spoken before; I just knew little phrases from Lilo and Stitch, Ohana and Aloha. I travel there, but I haven’t heard people have conversations there, so it was completely new to me.”

Mastering Hawaiian proved to be “super tough.”

“I think I was one of the worst at the beginning, which I kind of like; I like knowing where I start, and it’s kind of like a kick up the bum — such a Kiwi thing to say — just to get me to work harder and harder,” Buchanan said. “I did coaching sessions every day, sometimes three times a day. I got off Instagram, I wasn’t socializing or anything. I really dedicated myself to that because I know the history of the language and that it was endangered and banned. As someone who’s an outsider and not Hawaiian, I had to make sure I did my best, because this is going to be seen by millions of people — and probably heard for the first time for a lot of people. It ended up being my favorite and most rewarding part of being a part of that project.”

Ka‘ahumanu’s relationship with Ka’iana

Ka‘ahumanu has a special relationship with Jason Momoa’s warrior Kaʻiana who, upon returning from his world travels, admits that she understands him better than anyone else. Now both married to other people, they grow closer, sharing long gazes and hand-holding. (The storyline follows a popular historical speculation about a romantic liaison between the two.)

‘It was noted in history that they were very fond of each other, which stirs things up the future as we continue with the show, and I’m sure we’ll explore that,” Buchanan said. “But I think the main thing when I was approaching our story, which is based on historical events, she meets him directly after she’s been told a prophecy. She doesn’t know what it means at the time, but she’s almost enamored by him in their first meeting because he talks about war in such a different way that she can relate to and that piques her interest.

The two don’t see each other for years.

“Once she learns he’s alive, she’s thrilled to see him again, because he not only is alive, but is one of the first Hawaiians to actually leave the islands and saw things that she’s so curious about,” Buchanan said. “I think that, again, draws some interest to him, and that was really interesting to explore, because so much time had passed, but there was still something about this warrior that fascinates her, and now things are different. Now she is someone of status, and wife of a chief. She’s trying to influence her husband to see the good in him, and vice versa, that Kaʻiana can see something in King Kamehameha. That’s really fun to play, and I think we we have more room to explore that in future seasons.”

Ka‘ahumanu-Rose parallels

Ka‘ahumanu shares some of Rose’s naiveté as both trust people’s good intentions. In Episode 7, Ka‘ahumanu sided with her husband in welcoming “pale skin” sailors against Kaʻiana’s warnings about their true intentions. The visitors ended up massacring a village, which left her devastated.

“Yeah, I think there are similarities, for sure. I seem to find myself in characters that are very headstrong and very convincing as well,” Buchanan said. “But in terms of what happened in Episode 7, I think she’s trying to toe the line of, I am someone of status, but I’m not in the position of my husband. So she’s trying to mediate these two men in this world, and ultimately, at the end of the day, and what she says to Kaʻiana, my duty is to my chief, and I serve him as much as I agree with you, we just need to slow this down. Kaʻiana, Jason’s character, is privy to so much knowledge that we don’t quite understand in terms of what these outside pale skins are capable of and the weapons that they possess. So I think everyone’s slowly catching up, and unfortunately, it’s a massacre, which took the others to realize, okay, maybe this peace train that we were running on might not be the answer. There is an outside threat.

“With Rose, she was someone who always had her doubts, and was always trying to convince Peter throughout the series to be a bit more critical, but then that would backfire in the face too. So yeah, those are both fun things to play, and I really, really enjoyed it.”

Woman in a male-dominated world

Like Rose, but on a much bigger scale, Ka‘ahumanu is seeking an agency. Smart and capable, she is trying to assert political power beyond her assigned role in society. In Episode 8, it was her, working with Ka’iana’s wife, Kupuohi, who get the job done by getting Kamehameha to agree to Ka’iana’s plan for using Western guns in the upcoming war.

“It’s so hard to know when you’re playing real people and you don’t have enough resources to justify why they do the things that they do,” Buchanan said. “When I looked at her parents, I was like, okay, her dad is a war advisor. His life is ruled by a war; he’s participated in so many battles and was there when Captain Cook came, so he has this knowledge that he would have passed out to her.

“War has always been on her periphery. She doesn’t fight, but it’s part of her world, and I realized her mother was quite a rebel and did things that women shouldn’t really do. I use it as an influence as to who my character was based on her parents and the research; history books showed how cunning she was. She wasn’t allowed in men’s spaces and would find a little messenger or a spy that would go listen in and then relay the information to her.

“She was always finding ways to be involved in a man’s world, she was quite creative. That’s what’s fascinating me about the character: this is someone who’s different and thought outside the box and didn’t really abide by rules — kind of like Rose. I just wanted to inject as much of that into her character, because the biggest thing for me was in Episode 2, we learned that she is barren and she won’t be able to produce an heir. The No.1 job for a wife of the king is to produce the next king, so I took that as, if her legacy is not her child, what is going to be the legacy? I believe that she thought, well, I have to be that legacy myself. I’m going to assert my power and find my ways into all these war discussions and ultimately, the unification of Hawaii. I won’t spoil it but she is the person to get the job done, it’s pretty inspiring.”

That is why, when there were conversations about dropping the infertility storyline from the show, Buchanan made a case about keeping it, and was successful.

“I really fought for it, because I really believe that was a catalyst for her to become the person that she was; it really took a turn of her trajectory,” she said.

Working With Momoa & Teasing Finale

Chief of War has been a passion project for Hawaiian native Momoa who, in addition to starring, is co-creator and executive producer, co-wrote every episode and directed the upcoming Season 1 finale, which will be released Sept. 19.

“Working with Jason was so fun,” Buchanan said. “I’m very grateful that he believed in me, which was awesome, because, first of all, I’m not Hawaiian, as I mentioned. Ka‘ahumanu was actually six feet tall and 300 pounds by the time she passed away, but he really championed me and gave me the confidence, and when I wanted to play her in a specific way, he gave me space to do that, which is not always the case.”

The actress, who is 5’2″, spoke about Momoa’s personal connection to the project and how it was filming the finale, directed by him. (The Aquaman star is a descendant to Kaʻiana in real life).

“The series means so much to him, and that passion really came across in his directing,” Buchanan said. “He is full of energy; it was so funny to have him and his loincloth, telling me where to walk and where the cameras should go. We shot on an actual lava field on the Big Island of Hawaii, and we had three different units going at the same time — big, big battle scene, volcano Mauna Loa erupted, and that was also part of the story; all these magical moments happened. It’s epic — the two armies of Hawaii coming together, the music is beautiful as well, so I think it will be a nice ending, but also leaves audiences wanting more.”

Hopes for Season 2

Buchanan hinted several times where the story may go in a potential second season, something Apple TV+ has not shared plans for yet but she is looking forward to. Chief of War has not appeared on Nielsen’s Top 10 for streaming originals; it has made Luminate’s US Top 50, most recently at No.21.

“I love playing this character so much; there’s so much to be explored,” she said. “I think anyone who watched the show and has dug into the history will know that there are many, many more battles and betrayal and different things that happen in order for Kamehameha to unite these kingdoms. So there’s definitely more to be explored, and I am crossing my fingers. But at this point, I have no idea what’s going to happen.”

That is full circle for Buchanan who also had no idea while filming The Night Agent that it would be a hit and go to a second season with her in it.

“The moral of the story Nellie is, I never know what’s happening at any point. You just have to go with it.”