T.J. Miller Says Erlich’s Departure From Silicon Valley Will Be Final and Perfect
T.J. Miller is serious about leaving Silicon Valley and wants Erlich’s curtain call to be cemented.
Last week’s news that T.J. Miller would be leaving HBO’s hit show Silicon Valley came completely out of left field, and left many fans reeling. There were no answers accompanying HBO’s diplomatic statement on the matter, just more questions. Now, Miller has cleared some of the air surrounding the situation, and made it clear that the decision to bring the story of Erlich Bachman to a close really was a mutual one between himself and the network.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Miller told Dan Snierson that his conversation with HBO was “very much like a break-up, but as HBO said, it’s an amicable break-up.” The decision to leave, he says, was a moment during a table read in which he felt like it was simply Bachman’s time to go. Describing sitting down for the read of season four’s finale, Miller said that, right as the read ended, he was overcome with the feeling that the show had found a fitting end for his character. “I just sat back and in the applause had this… moment,” recalled Miller. “I don’t even think it was an epiphany, I just had this moment where I go, ‘You know, that could just be the end.’ We could finally have something really definitive in the show. We can finally have someone make a left turn or have something happen to them where it really is the end.” It looks like Bachman will be gone for good, with Miller emphasizing that bringing Bachman back for a series finale might detract from his exit this season.
Miller describes Bachman in the EW interview as “a very tragic character” who’s always trying to insert himself into places where he doesn’t truly belong, be it Pied Piper or Silicon Valley in general, and he believes that the character’s exit will cement that fact for good. While Bachman’s exit likely won’t be an uplifting one, it is nice to know that the character is going out in a way that is creatively fulfilling to Miller. On that note, Miller added “I wouldn’t have left the show if this finale hadn’t absolutely, perfectly, organically allowed for an exit for Erlich in a way that I found very funny. It’s a funny joke for him to then never be back on the show. It was perfect.”
Any fan of Miller or Silicon Valley should definitely check out the interview, as it’s got some great input from Miller regarding his reasons for leaving, his favorite outtakes, and his favorite highlights from the show. While we’ll all certainly be sad to see Miller go, we can rest easy knowing that he’s got a load of other projects, from his upcoming HBO special to the various films and TV shows he’s involved with, in the pipeline.
