The Actor That Plays Erlich Bachman Will Not Be Returning To "Silicon Valley" Next Season

Vulture- HBO just renewed Silicon Valley for a fifth season, but Vulture has learned one key cast member won’t be back. T.J. Miller, who plays tech incubator/marijuana maven Erlich Bachman is leaving the show at the end of the current season. “The producers of Silicon Valley and T.J. Miller have mutually agreed that T.J. will not return for season five,” a rep for HBO tells us. “In Erlich Bachman, T.J. has brought to life an unforgettable character, and while his presence on the show will be missed, we appreciate his contribution and look forward to future collaborations.”

WHOA, I definitely did not see that coming. I have to admit that when Silicon Valley first started, I wasn’t a big Erlich Bachman fan. I think TJ Miller just has an extremely punchable face and I didn’t really like him in She’s Out Of My League. But obviously all the ridiculous shit Erlich has pulled over the years has made me a big fan of the character and his rivalry with Jian Yang is up there with Coke vs. Pepsi and Magic vs. Bird. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not quite Game of Thrones losing Jon Snow or Curb losing Larry David. But still, Erlich was the straw the stirred the drink, the incubator that housed the eggs/nerds, and the pothead that found some absolutely RIDICULOUS one-liners at the bottom of a bong. I don’t know why, but this season has been my favorite season of Silicon Valley. It just seemed like it was hitting its stride and now it loses a character that had a bunch of hilarious running jokes and kind of the de facto leader of the house. The writers did adjust on the fly when the actor that played Peter Gregory died. So I’m sure they can pivot (fancy tech word) again with Erlich’s departure. I just hope they don’t have to change the other characters too much. I love how Dinesh has been getting shit on this season, Gilfoyle has been laughing the entire time, and Jared continues to slowly reveal himself as the next Creed Bratton.

So while I am sad to see Erlich go and interested to see how they write his character out of the show, I find that during moments like this it is best to remember the good times.