Fire Country finished its third season with a two-hour finale on Friday, April 25. The show will return for Season 4 in the 2025-2026 TV season, but a report by Deadline reveals that two series regulars won't return for the upcoming season. Stephanie Arcila, who plays firefighter Gabriela Perez, was confirmed to be leaving the show after playing the character for three seasons. It was also reported that Billy Burke, who plays Chief Vince Leone, might also be leaving the show, but Fire Country's creative team refused to confirm this departure, possibly to keep the outcome of the Bella Vista fire a mystery. These departures mark the first major departures in the hit series that has kept its main cast intact for as long as it has been on the air. "It really just comes down to what’s the best creatively," co-creator Joan Rater told the outlet when asked why these departures were happening now. Executive producer and co-creator Tony Phelan explained why Gabriela was being written out, saying:
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.
"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."
Why Stephanie Arcila and Billy Burke Are Leaving 'Fire Country'
Rater and Phelan said that going into the season, they knew some characters would leave, and the question was which ones and why. With Arcila's departure, "It really just comes down to what’s the best creatively." The goal was to shake up the show so it doesn't feel predictable. "Going into Season 4, you don’t want the audience to ever feel complacent, to feel like they know exactly what they’re gonna get, and it’s gonna be the same thing that they’ve gotten. You want to create lean-In moments where the real stakes of what’s involved with what these heroes do is always there. So the audience never knows what’s coming next," said Phelan.
