The Pitt Star Alexandra Metz Joins Will Trent Season 5 as New GBI Boss

Will Trent has found its new boss, and viewers of The Pitt will recognize her. Alexandra Metz has joined the upcoming fifth season of the ABC crime drama as a series regular, playing Birdie Palmer, the new deputy director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Metz is best known to The Pitt viewers as Dr. Yolanda Garcia.

The casting answers one of the biggest questions hanging over Will Trent following the events of Season 4: Who could possibly step into the position previously held by Amanda Wagner?

Alexandra Metz Is Playing Birdie Palmer

Metz's Birdie Palmer will enter the picture as the GBI's new deputy director, putting her directly in the orbit of Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) and Faith Mitchell (Iantha Richardson). That makes Birdie considerably more than another new face joining the GBI.

Amanda wasn't simply Will's boss. She was his mentor, protector and one of the most important people in his life, making her replacement a potentially major source of conflict as the series moves forward. Whoever took over that office was always going to have a difficult job, both within the story and with viewers who spent four seasons getting to know Amanda.

The show's creative team had already teased that change was coming. Following Season 4, co-showrunner Karine Rosenthal confirmed that interim deputy director Bill Appleyard (Jason Davis) wasn't being positioned as Amanda's permanent successor. Instead, the series planned to introduce someone new who could create a different dynamic for Will and Faith. Metz's Birdie Palmer is now set to fill that role.

‘Will Trent’ Season 5 Is Entering a New Era

The casting comes after a particularly painful fourth season for Will and the people closest to him. Amanda's death left a massive hole at the GBI, while Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen) was also left grieving the death of her husband, Dr. Seth McDale (Scott Foley).

Season 5 therefore has plenty of rebuilding to do, both personally and professionally. Bringing in an entirely new deputy director gives the series an opportunity to change the atmosphere inside the GBI without attempting to simply recreate the relationship Will had with Amanda.

How Birdie approaches Will, his unconventional methods and his close partnership with Faith could become one of the season's most interesting new dynamics. Metz becoming a series regular also suggests viewers will have plenty of time to get to know Birdie rather than seeing her merely function as the latest authority figure handing out assignments.

From ‘The Pitt’ to ‘Will Trent’

For viewers who recognize Metz from The Pitt, the new role should offer a very different side of the actress. Metz plays Dr. Yolanda Garcia on the acclaimed medical drama and has also appeared in series including Chicago Fire, The Originals, Once Upon a Time, Grey's Anatomy and Tracker.

Her move to Will Trent doesn't necessarily mean viewers have seen the last of Dr. Garcia, either. The casting announcement establishes Metz as a series regular on Will Trent, but there has been no announcement that she is leaving The Pitt, so it's best not to start writing Yolanda's goodbye just yet.

Production on Will Trent Season 5 is underway in Georgia, with the series expected to return to ABC in early 2027. With Birdie Palmer officially taking over the GBI's top job, the question is no longer who will replace Amanda, but what happens when Will finally has to answer to someone who isn't Amanda Wagner.