AMC’s ‘The Killing’ season 3: Billy Campbell, Brent Sexton among actors out

Given that the Rosie Larsen case is now over, it makes since that we would see some major casting changes for “The Killing” prior to the start of season 3. However, that does not make their exit any less sad.

Earlier this week, Variety confirmed the news that Billy Campbell (quite possibly one of the most grossly underrated actors on TV), Brent Sexton, and Michelle Forbes will all be moving on following their second go-arounds on the show earlier this year. Campbell was the only one who could have feasibly stayed put, given his connection to the world of Seattle politics. However, it would have made no sense at all for Rosie’s parents to be anywhere around the show moving forward, especially since it is so much nicer to imagine them off somewhere trying to move on with their lives. Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos are currently listed as “likely” to return, and it would be a shock if they did not given they are the bread and butter of the show as Linden and Holder.

The fact that “The Killing” is even getting another chance to shine on TV is in some ways a modern miracle of the entertainment industry. The show was initially canceled by AMC after drawing subpar ratings earlier this spring, but Netflix sprung into action and agreed to help save the show after helping to cover some of the production costs. We’re still not sure how well the program is going to draw viewers moving forward: some people probably think the show is still canceled, and there are a good many people who watched the end of season 2 solely to catch the end of the Rosie story. Then again, it did close the door in such moving fashion that the buzz could build around this show again.

Are you glad that “The Killing” is coming back, even without some of its stars? If you want to read more about production on season 3, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: AMC