You probably know her as the tech-savvy, high-stakes survivor Rose Larkin from The Night Agent. She’s become a household name lately, especially with all the buzz surrounding her departure from that show's third season. But if you look closely at the early days of Netflix’s post-apocalyptic fantasy, you’ll find Luciane Buchanan Sweet Tooth history that many viewers completely missed. It wasn't a starring role. Honestly, it was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment that carries way more emotional weight than the screen time suggests.
She plays Louisa.
If that name doesn't immediately ring a bell, don't feel bad. In the world of Sweet Tooth, Louisa is the tragic tether to Tommy Jepperd’s past. She’s his wife—the woman whose absence defines the "Big Man" for most of the series. While the show focuses on Gus and his journey through a world ravaged by "The Sick," the flashback sequences in the first season give us a raw, heartbreaking look at how the collapse started for the people who lost everything.
Why the Luciane Buchanan Sweet Tooth Role Matters
Most people skip over the credits for guest stars in the first season of a show. But Luciane Buchanan brought a specific kind of groundedness to Louisa. We see her in the episode "Big Man," which is essentially a deep dive into Jepperd’s backstory. He’s at the hospital. The world is ending. Louisa is about to give birth.
It's a heavy scene.
💡 You might also like: Ebonie Smith Movies and TV Shows: The Child Star Who Actually Made It Out Okay
She isn't just a "dead wife" trope here. Buchanan plays her with a mix of exhaustion and desperate hope. When she delivers their son—who turns out to be a hybrid—the look on her face tells the whole story of the series' central conflict: fear vs. love. In the comics, the story of Louise (spelled slightly differently) is even darker, involving experiments and a much more clinical, cruel end. The show softens this slightly by focusing on the emotional fracture it causes Jepperd.
The Connection Between Roles
It’s kinda wild to see her go from this vulnerable, tragic figure in Sweet Tooth to the powerhouse lead in The Night Agent. If you watch the two performances back-to-back, you can see the range. In Sweet Tooth, she’s the catalyst for a man’s entire moral arc. In The Night Agent, she’s the one driving the action.
A lot of fans have been asking if she’ll ever come back to the hybrid-filled world of Sweet Tooth. Since the show officially wrapped its third and final season in 2024, the answer is basically a firm no. Her character’s story was told. It was a closed loop. But for those of us who track the "Netflix-to-Stardom" pipeline, this was a clear early indicator of her talent.
Making Sense of the Timeline
Luciane Buchanan appeared in Sweet Tooth back in 2021. This was right around the time she was also working on Mr. Corman and just before the world went crazy for Rose Larkin.
📖 Related: Eazy-E: The Business Genius and Street Legend Most People Get Wrong
- 2021: She appears as Louisa Jepperd.
- 2023: The Night Agent drops and breaks the internet.
- 2024: Sweet Tooth finishes its run without further Louisa flashbacks.
- 2025/2026: Luciane moves on to projects like Chief of War and Evil Dead Burn.
The show's creators, Jim Mickle and Beth Schwartz, were known for casting actors who could do a lot with very little dialogue. Louisa only has a handful of lines, but she has to sell the idea that Tommy Jepperd would spend years mourning her. Buchanan nailed it. She made the stakes feel personal in a show that was mostly about deer-boys and candy bars.
What Most People Get Wrong About Louisa
There’s a common misconception that Louisa was just a background extra. Actually, if you look at the series lore, her death is what eventually allows Jepperd to connect with Gus. Without that specific loss, he wouldn't have the "Big Man" shell that Gus eventually cracks open.
Buchanan’s performance is the ghost that haunts the rest of the show.
It’s also worth noting that she wasn't some unknown actor they found on the street in New Zealand (where the show was filmed). She already had The New Legends of Monkey under her belt. She was already a pro. The "Luciane Buchanan Sweet Tooth" connection is a testament to how these big Netflix productions often recycle great talent across different genres.
👉 See also: Drunk on You Lyrics: What Luke Bryan Fans Still Get Wrong
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're a fan of Buchanan and only know her from her more recent action roles, go back and watch Episode 6 of Season 1. It’s a masterclass in economy. She doesn't have a gun or a laptop or a conspiracy to solve. She just has a husband and a baby and a world that’s falling apart.
- Look for the parallels: Notice how she uses her eyes to convey terror in Sweet Tooth vs. how she uses them to show calculation in The Night Agent.
- The NZ Connection: Explore other New Zealand-filmed Netflix shows; there is a huge overlap in the "acting family" there.
- Comic Comparison: If you’re brave, read the Sweet Tooth comics by Jeff Lemire to see how much darker Buchanan’s character could have been.
If you're looking for more of her work, keep an eye out for her upcoming role in the Evil Dead franchise. It’s a massive jump from the whimsical, albeit sad, world of hybrids, but if her past roles have proven anything, it's that she can handle the transition. The story of her time in the Sweet Tooth universe might be short, but it’s the foundation of everything that came after.
Check out the "Big Man" episode on Netflix to see the performance that helped set the stage for her career. You can also follow her current projects on Apple TV+ to see how far she's come since that hospital bed in the woods.