On the heels of Fire Country’s Season 3 finale, two cast members are leaving, and that’s not all.

Stephanie Arcila and Billy Burke will not be returning next season. This comes after the cast was asked to appear in less episodes for Season 4.

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Deadline reports several series regulars were asked earlier this year to reduce their episodes for next season. Many shows have been doing so in cost-saving measures by studios to help with budget cuts. Not surprisingly, all actors apparently declined, and no one’s episodes are being reduced for next season. It’s possible that Arcila and Burke’s departures are the end result to save money, but co-creator Joan Rater told the outlet it was a creative decision, at least for Arcila.
Pictured (L-R): Jules Latimer as Eve Edwards, Jordan Calloway as Jake Crawford, and Max Thieriot as Bode Leone. Photo: Sergei Bachlakov/CBS

This will be the first time in Fire Country’s three seasons that a main character, let alone two, will be departing. But many shows these days are asking actors to appear in less episodes to save money. A lot of them even demote a chunk of their main cast to recurring, rather than just not having them appear in an episode or two. It seems in the case of Fire Country, which greatly depends on its ensemble cast, no one wanted to go through with it.

That being said, even though Arcila will not be a series regular, don’t expect this to be the end of Gabriela Perez. Co-creator Tony Phelan expressed, “We love Stephanie, and we are committed to saying that the Bode-Gabriela story does not end here, it goes on. 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.”
Pictured: Billy Burke as Vince Leone and Max Thieriot as Bode Leone. Photo: Darko Sikman/CBS

“We hope to see her back very soon, to give her a proper not goodbye, but see you later,” showrunner Tia Napolitano added. In the epic love story of Bode and Gabriela, sometimes it’s very useful for a longing, to miss her, to miss them, to really crave seeing them on screen together, whatever they mean to each other.”

If Stephanie Arcila and Billy Burke’s exits were because of cost-saving measures, that would certainly be disappointing, but if they were just for a creative aspect, that would still hurt, but it wouldn’t be as bad. Since Fire Country Season 3 ended on a cliffhanger, with Burke’s Vince Leone’s life hanging in the balance, it’s unknown if he will be coming back in a recurring or guest capacity. Fire Country Season 4 premieres in the fall, so fans will just have to wait and see what happens.