At ABC’s Disney Upfronts in New York, Iantha Richardson, Erika Christensen, and Kevin Daniels looked back on Will Trent’s Season 4 cliffhanger and staked their hopes on what Season 5 could tackle next—centering Faith’s sex trafficking effort and expanding Angi
When the lights came up at Disney’s Upfronts presentation, the conversation on the red carpet at New York City’s Jacob Javits Center wasn’t about what already happened in Will Trent’s Season 4. It was about what the show owes its characters next.
Iantha Richardson, Erika Christensen, and Kevin Daniels were all on hand for ABC’s big Upfronts event on Tuesday, May 12 night, celebrating the successes of Will Trent Season 4 and looking ahead to Season 5.
For Richardson. the emotional starting point is the cliffhanger ending—Faith’s effort to follow up on a sex trafficking ring case she’d only begun to scratch the surface of throughout the season. Faith, Richardson said, is drawn toward something bigger than her, something that can keep her rooted in the GBI-APD world.
“I feel like it’s something bigger than her. and she needed something bigger than her to stay in the GBI-APD world. There was a lot that was circulating this season around her feeling like… ‘What does matter to her?’” Richardson said. “These girls do. I think the livelihood of people who can’t take care of themselves do. And this specific case gives her something to zone in on. Her zone of focus, of genius, genuinely helping people with compassion. And what better way to do that than to center on something like sex trafficking?. I’m excited for her.”.
That hope isn’t vague or abstract. It’s tied to what Richardson described as Faith’s need for purpose, and to the way the case gives her a concentrated mission—one built on compassion and focus.
Christensen’s version of hope runs through Angie’s return to work, too. The actress said Angie finally returned to work after months of bereavement over the death of her husband, and she’s eager for Angie to be part of the effort in Season 5—especially if it means working more closely with Faith.
“I hope we find a way to have some success with the trafficking case. That’s complicated. I don’t know. I hope it runs a long time, so it can earn some real forward strides with that. And Faith and Angie don’t get to hang out a lot. so it’s cool that they seem to be on a path forward to working together more closely. ” Christensen said.
The show’s direction, as both actresses framed it, is about momentum—taking a case that began unfolding in Season 4 and giving it enough room to create real forward strides.
Kevin Daniels, meanwhile, brought a different kind of wish to the conversation: more space for Franklin’s personal life. Season 4 made him a series regular for the first time and introduced his ex-boyfriend into the mix. and Daniels said he wants to build out what comes next for Franklin beyond the procedural pace.
But he also came in with a pitch he and the cast clearly couldn’t let go of.
“All of us were stuck at the airport for six hours yesterday,” Daniels explained. “So we thought, ‘Maybe the pilot’s missing! Can we figure out, was he murdered?’”
Richardson immediately agreed.
“We want to do that episode,” she said.
The stakes of these hopes are clear: Season 5’s premiere date is TBA on ABC. and the cliffhanger momentum from Season 4 is still hanging over Faith’s next move. With Richardson pushing for the trafficking case to grow into something lasting. Christensen hoping Angie can step closer to Faith’s work after her bereavement. and Daniels asking to deepen Franklin’s personal storyline. the cast’s message at Upfronts was the same—keep going. but go deeper.
In one afternoon of promises and jokes at the Jacob Javits Center, Will Trent didn’t just look forward. It made readers feel what’s at risk when a show leaves major questions unanswered—and then dares its characters to earn the next step.
Will Trent Season 5 Iantha Richardson Erika Christensen Kevin Daniels Faith Angie Franklin sex trafficking ABC Upfronts Jacob Javits Center