Alexa Davalos Leaving FBI: Most Wanted Solidifies Dick Wolf's Biggest Problem

Alexa Davalos leaving FBI: Most Wanted is yet another cast member departure that has audiences asking -- does Dick Wolf have a turnover problem?

When Deadline announced Alexa Davalos' depature from FBI: Most Wanted on August 8, it came as a shock to fans of the show. The Season 4 finale saw team lead Remy Scott finally solving his brother's murder but gave no indication that Davalos would be leaving. There is no information as to how her departure will be addressed when the show returns -- that timeline is still up in the air due to the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes. Davalos isn't the first actor whose character has abruptly departed FBI: Most Wanted or any of the other shows in the FBI franchise, she's just the most recent.

It isn't just in the FBI franchise either. Audiences have seen similar abrupt departures on other shows run by Wolf Entertainment, including all three of the One Chicago shows and every show in the Law & Order franchise. Every time a viewer's favorite character leaves, it changes their relationship with the show just as much as it changes the show itself. While some actors leave to pursue other projects or spend time with their families, many of the departures from Wolf Entertainment shows are decided by producers with little to no explanation for the actors or the audiences. The announcement about Alexa Davalos confirms what many Wolf Entertainment fans have already been thinking -- Dick Wolf has a turnover problem.

What Alexa Davalos' Departure Means for FBI: Most Wanted

Alexa Davalos' Kristin Gaines joined the FBI franchise in 2021 during the three-series crossover event that included FBI's Season 4, Episode 1, "All That Glitters," FBI: Most Wanted's Season 3, Episode 1, "Exposed," and the pilot of FBI: International​​​​​​. Former Navy and a former field agent from Miami, Gaines was an expert in solving cold cases and never, ever giving up if she was on the tail of a fugitive. In Season 4, audiences began to learn more about Gaines, who experienced torture that left her with scars along her back while undercover, and who seemed to be recovering from other trauma as well. In Season 4, Episode 9, "Processed," Gaines connects with Ruthie, a survivor of child sexual assault, telling her, "You are not damaged goods. What you are is a survivor, and that takes guts, and that takes courage. Real courage." Gaines' history made her an important member of the team, especially for survivors.

There was still plenty to learn about Gaines, who had a lot to offer the team when it came to her skills as an FBI agent and a lot to offer the audience in terms of potential storylines, including spending more time with Gaines' daughter and healing Gaines' trauma. Her departure ends those storylines and leaves the Fugitive Task Force down a member -- again. Gaines will be the sixth member of the task force to leave in just 4 seasons of FBI: Most Wanted. While the team has restructured before, it would be nice for them, and the show's viewers, if they could focus on the cases for a while.

Plenty of television shows experience occasional turnover, whether due to decisions by the producers or actor departures. If the turnover was specific to one Wolf Entertainment show, or even one franchise, it might be an anomaly, but Wolf Entertainment sees it in every franchise. What also seems to happen with Wolf Entertainment shows are fan-favorite departures along with abrupt departures, with viewers and even cast members not finding out until after the actors' final episode has been filmed.

Dick Wolf's Turnover Problem

Law & Order: SVU fans experienced two such departures in the last season. Newcomer Molly Burnett, who played Detective Grace Muncy, left in the Season 24 finale after just 21 episodes on the show, with no more than a deleted scene released after the finale to announce her departure. In a move devastating to SVU fans, long-time fan favorite Kelli Giddish announced that she would be leaving the show partway through the season. Despite vocal fan outrage and pushback from showrunner David Graziano and SVU's star and Executive Producer Mariska Hargitay, Giddish's fate had been decided -- though fans were thrilled to see her return for the season finales of both SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime.

In the One Chicago franchise, there isn't a show that is untouched by Wolf's turnover problem, though Chicago Med seems to be fairing the worst. Doctors and nurses at Chicago Medical Center seem to be leaving constantly, some after just a few episodes. On Chicago P.D., Lisseth Chavez left after just one season, and on Chicago Fire, Adriyan Rae stayed for less than 10 episodes. With shows that have been on the air for 10 or more years, there's bound to be some turnover, but losing people after just a few episodes is becoming a Wolf Entertainment pattern.

It doesn’t matter if a show has been on the air for two seasons or twenty, cast departures have a significant impact on the tone of the show. Writing out a character or a storyline can change how characters relate to one another and how a show functions. It changes the experience that the actors have on the show, especially when someone leaves abruptly or in spite of protests from colleagues. More than anything, though, character departures change how viewers relate to the show.

Cast Changes Impact Viewer Attachment

In the last decade, more and more research has been done about why viewers get attached to characters. An increase in streaming due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to additional evaluation on everything from why re-watching a TV show can be helpful to why people connect to the characters they see on television. Connections to television characters can even lead to parasocial relationships, which get mixed reviews but ultimately can assist in expanding social networks. While fandom culture certainly isn't new -- some research indicates that fans of Sherlock Holmes were part of the first fandom -- it has expanded in the last 30–40 years with the development of the internet and streaming platforms. And that is where Dick Wolf's problem lies.

When a Wolf Entertainment show, whether it's FBI: Most Wanted or the long-running Law & Order: SVU, loses a character, it loses fans. Sometimes that's due to a feeling of loyalty towards the character or the actor, other times it's because the removal of a character might also lead to unresolved storylines. Audiences want continuity as much as they want to see new and exciting stories. They want to see the characters that they've connected with grow and change in ways that make sense, and when storylines end abruptly, it's nearly impossible to make that happen. Wolf's turnover problem also disproportionately impacts women. Not only are the majority of abrupt cast departures women, but procedural shows are also predominantly watched by women. When women see other women being removed from the television shows they love, it makes them less likely to watch future episodes.

While procedural shows aren't going anywhere, viewers are much less likely to stick around in the long term if they can't trust the showrunners and executive producers to keep their favorite characters and favorite storylines on the show. If Wolf Entertainment wants to see its shows last, its first course of action is to solve its turnover problem -- and fast.