Fans of Silicon Valley were disappointed to hear last year that the show's breakout star T.J. Miller would not be returning for the comedy's fifth season.
A statement from HBO at the time read: "The producers of Silicon Valley and T.J. Miller have mutually agreed that T.J. will not return for season 5."
Not much explanation was given although Miller did say in an interview on Larry King Now that: "It was the right time.
"HBO and I kind of decided that this was a time that the character could leave. We'd written it in a place where there was an organic departure."
However, in a piece published today in The Hollywood Reporter, the show's creator Mike Judge was a bit more candid about Miller's departure.
"There are a lot of different ways you can find out somebody doesn't want to do the show anymore," he explained.
"And it's not fun to work with someone who doesn't want to be there, [especially when] they're one of the main people and you've got however many crewmembers and extras and people who are [not paid as well] and they're all showing up before 7am, and then are just like, 'Oh, OK, we're not shooting today'."
Judge added,"It just wasn't working" and while they presented Miller with an offer to return to season five for three more episodes as a sendoff to his character Elich, the actor refused.
The Hollywood Reporter contacted Miller for a comment on what Judge said, with the actor saying: "In real life, I'm not always high like Erlich is. And this will blow your readers' minds, but I'm not high when I work because it gets in the way of the comedy. I also am not a guy who's blackout-drunk, bumping into things on set."
"What was occurring was I was out doing stand-up all the time, even if it meant I only got three hours of sleep. So, the thing I have a problem with? It's pushing myself to do too much."
Silicon Valley returns to HBO in the US on March 25 and will air not too long after that (hopefully) on Sky Atlantic over here.
