Is Dawn Lyen-Gardner Stepping Away From 'Queen Sugar'? What's Happening to Charley?

Ever since the first season of Queen Sugar premiered in 2016, the show has gotten tons of positive feedback from viewers. Season 7 premieres on Sep. 6, 2022, continuing where things left off at the end of Season 6. The show is about a trio of adult siblings doing their best to live life in Louisiana.

One of the siblings, Charley, previously relocated to Los Angeles and changed her entire lifestyle. However, she realized she needed to return home to the south to help care for the sugarcane farm her father was in charge of before he passed away from a stroke. Dawn Lyen-Gardner plays the role of Charley on the show. Here’s an update about what’s happening with her character.

There is some unfortunate news for fans who enjoy seeing Charley’s character arc on Queen Sugar: She’s no longer a series regular on the show. At the end of Season 6, viewers watched her make the tough decision to reconcile with her estranged husband. Her choice to reconcile with him meant that she would be leaving Louisiana behind to move back to Los Angeles.

Now that her character has moved away, she won’t be written into the main storylines anymore. Interestingly enough, Charley is completely absent from Queen Sugar’s Season 7 trailer. Although she may show up sporadically in the future, she definitely doesn’t have as big of a role as she once did.

Dawn plays Charley on the show, but she has a few other things going on in real life that are keeping her busy. On Instagram, the link in her bio is dedicated to helping fundraise money for women in need of reproductive health care. Several of her recent posts are about preparing for changes in the political arena as she encourages her followers to get out and vote.

In one post, she added a caption that says, “As we approach the midterm elections, it can be tempting to check out, become apathetic, and think that this election cycle doesn’t matter. And given recent events, trust that I understand and have deep compassion for the exhaustion many of us are feeling."

She continues, "And yet I know, I must do everything I can to move this country in the direction that creates Belonging for everyone. I’ll be voting during the midterms. Have you started planning to get out the vote yet? Who and what are you voting for?”

It’s obviously important to Dawn that she uses her platform. In another post, she added a thought-provoking quote that says, “Striving for perfection limits imagination, possibility, and creativity. It stops you before you start."

In other words, she doesn’t believe that it’s totally reasonable to expect perfection out of yourself or others. It’s OK to make mistakes every now and then. It’s also OK to prioritize having an unlimited imagination as you explore different realms of possibility and creativity. Dawn's Instagram doesn’t reveal any other acting projects she’s planning to sign onto at this time as she steps back from Queen Sugar.