Gina Rodriguez Shares ‘Love Triangle’ She Wanted on ‘Not Dead Yet’ (Exclusive)

In Gina Rodriguez’s dream world, there was more to the story of Not Dead Yet.

Rodriguez, played Nell Serano — an obituary writer who starts seeing ghosts — on the ABC series, which was canceled after two seasons earlier this year. She tells PEOPLE during a conversation about her game show, Lucky 13, that the Not Dead Yet story was “not done” as she reveals the relationships she was hoping to see blossom in future seasons.

“I would’ve loved a love triangle between myself, Rick Glassman, and Lauren’s character,” Rodriguez, 40, says, referring to Glassman’s Edward and Lauren Ash’s character Lexi. “I definitely think that the Edward-Nell story was not done. That’s the love story that really belongs.”

Rodriguez says she would’ve also loved “more exploration in my character’s experience with this crossover, or who she can talk to. That last episode gives you this [idea] that she can kind of see people in the in-between stages [of life and death] as well.”

“And so there could have been more exploration as to what she actually does, and knows, and maybe [she] hones in on it, maybe [she] starts telling people that she loves,” she continues. “Maybe it starts getting weird, and making friendship friction.”

“There was just so much… We had so much fun,” she says of the show, which first premiered in 2023 and also starred Hannah Simone (Sam) and Brittany Snow (Piper).

While there’s quite a few things she would’ve loved to have seen wrapped up in Nell’s story, Rodriguez’s overall perspective on the series’ cancellation is an optimistic one.

“This is what I do say about things like this, is that I am so happy that it makes me sad and heartbroken that we couldn’t do more work together because I had such a great time. That’s a beautiful feeling to have,” she shares. “I’m just so happy I got another experience where I made a family so quick.”

She formed particularly close bonds with Simone, 44, and Ash, 41, who she calls “my girls for life.”

“Hannah has helped me through motherhood, helped me through my pregnancy. All the women helped me through my pregnancy. And Hannah [has] really guided me as a mom,” she says, referring to her and husband Joe LoCicero’s 1-year-old son Charlie.

Glassman, 40, was another strong bond she made, sharing, “Me and Rick just really got each other. We just got each other.”

Ahead of the show’s premiere last year, Rodriguez spoke to PEOPLE about how she’d connected with Nell’s story because she had just lost her own grandmother.

“She lived a long, beautiful life. And she’s with me always. But how I learned so much from her and how I’m still learning from her now that she’s gone, or at least not here in the flesh,” she said. “And just the idea that those that have passed, those that are done with this flesh existence can come back and teach you about how to live a better one because you’re in it now. I just thought that was such a beautiful concept.”

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Not Dead Yet can be streamed on Hulu.