Fire Country producers are speaking out about Stephanie Arcila’s future on the CBS drama.

After it was reported that the actress has exited the series as Gabriela Perez after three seasons, co-creators and executive producers Joan Rater and Tony Phelan, and executive producer and showrunner Tia Napolitano shared their reasoning and what’s next for her.

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Since the two-hour finale did not indicate that Gabriela was planning on departing, even after her scary run-in with stalker Finn, it was a surprise when it was revealed that she would indeed not be coming back to 42, at least for now. The trio spoke to Deadline about the decision to have Arcila not be a series regular, with Rater explaining it “really just comes down to what’s the best creatively.”
Pictured (L-R): Max Thieriot as Bode Leone and Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela Perez. Photo: Sergei Bachlakov/CBS

“There’s a lot of stuff going on that we as producers juggle, but honestly, we are writers first and foremost and storytellers,” she said. “And we struggle with these stories, we wrestle them to the ground, we consider them from six different angles. We don’t do anything lightly, we talk, we talk, we talk. And then we just have to go with our gut about what makes the most compelling story, and we are really trying to write authentic stories that examine what these heroes deal with and go through. So that’s where we’re coming from at all times.”

Napolitano said the decision to have Arcila leave “wasn’t decided earlier in the season. It was during discussions about finding the end of the season. We spoke to Stephanie while we were shooting the finale.” Phelan added, “It was really a decision that came out of the dynamic between Bode and Gabriela; we felt like those two characters needed a reset. We love Stephanie, and we are committed to saying that the Bode-Gabriela story does not end here; it goes on.”
Pictured (L-R): Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela Perez and Kevin Alejandro as Manny Perez. Photo: Sergei Bachlakov/CBS

“We’re hoping that we can bring that character back, because we think that they have such great chemistry, and the audience is really invested in the two of them. But we felt, with everything that’s happening in the finale and moving on into the next season, that it was time for that character to discover what’s next for her.”

Even though it’s disappointing that Stephanie Arcila will no longer be on Fire Country as a series regular, it does seem like she is expected to return, just in a smaller capacity. It should be interesting to find out how they write her off. One possible way would be for her to take a break from 42 after all she’s been through, which wouldn’t be so surprising. Fans will just have to wait and see when Fire Country Season 4 premieres this fall on CBS.