The unstoppable “Girls” may have just closed out its second season with its divisive finale, but it looks like one of the major storyline developments is getting an unexpected shakeup. Not all is sunny on Lena Dunham‘s set of the now-shooting third season, and one major character has abruptly exited the show.
NYPost reveals that Christopher Abbott — who plays Marnie’s perennial doormat Charlie — has left, with reps for the actor confirming he’s “grateful for the experience of collaborating with Lena, Judd [Apatow], and the entire ‘Girls’ cast and crew, but right now he’s working on numerous other projects and has decided not to return to the show.” But according to the paper, there may have been more at play.
Their sources say that Dunham and Abbott clashed, with Abbott reportedly dissatisfied with “the direction things are going in.” No matter what the official story is, it’s certainly a surprise given that Charlie’s arc really developed in the latter half of season two, with the character landing a hot new job after selling a successful app, and with Marnie back in his arms with declarations of love. So now the writers will have to do some interesting dancing to write him out of the show, though to be honest, the whole Charlie/Marnie drama was getting a bit tedious and repetitive, so maybe Abbott’s exit is not the worst thing in the world.
We’ll see how this develops, but it looks like season three of “Girls” is already serving up some twists without a single episode having aired.