Silicon Valley creator talks about T.J. Miller’s controversial exit

So why exactly did T.J. Miller leave Silicon Valley?

Over the last couple of days, information regarding T.J. Miller’s exit from HBO’s critically acclaimed series Silicon Valley has resurfaced. Last May, hearts all over the world broke when it was announced that the hilarious character of Erlich Bachman would no longer be a part of the series. Initially, T.J. Miller revealed he wanted to focus his efforts on future projects, but Silicon Valley creator, Mike Judge, begs to differ. It appears the “mutual decision” was not so mutual after all.

In an upcoming fifth season feature, Mike Judge talks about exactly why T.J. Miller left the show. While the world has continuously been rocked by sexual allegations against many in the industry, the allegation against Miller was not the reason here. It appears Miller’s action towards the series, his work ethic, and overall desire to be a part of the show had severely diminished–a point that became obvious to Judge and as he pointed out in his interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

"“There are a lot of different ways you can find out somebody doesn’t want to do the show anymore. 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 crew members and extras and people who are not paid as well and they’re all showing up before 7 a.m., and then are just like, ‘Oh, OK, we’re not shooting today.”"

Members of the cast and crew also shared Miller’s propensity to show up late to shoots and table reads, which would cause issues within the schedule for the day. Others stated he would fall asleep in between takes or come unprepared for the day’s scenes. All this culminated in his exit, and Judge’s decision to part ways with Miller. Judge claimed, “It just wasn’t working.”

Many fans are skeptical of the humor that will now be missing without Erlich Bachman around to stir things up. However, executive producer Alec Berg created a sports metaphor to talk about Miller’s exit and how the story of Silicon Valley and its characters will keep chugging along.

"“These guys are the Golden State Warriors of comedy. So, it’s like, yeah, we’ve lost Andre Iguodala but we still have Steph Curry and Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson and some other guy on the Warriors whose name I don’t know. But I don’t feel like we can’t win championships anymore because we’ve lost. T.J. wasn’t LeBron.”"

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The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Miller in response to the statements released about his exit. He stated his behavior on set wasn’t tied to substance abuse, but rather, the exhaustion that he felt from balancing his time on Silicon Valley and his stand-up comedy career.

"“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.”"

Next: A Series of Unfortunate Events releases trailer

Where will T.J. Miller go from here? Only time will tell.  Keep the conversation going in the comments section below and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter for more on your favorite shows!

Silicon Valley premieres for its fifth season on HBO March 25th