Mike Judge On Why TJ Miller Was Let Go From Silicon Valley

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Silicon Valley showrunner Mike Judge spoke about TJ Miller’s exit from Silicon Valley. The report suggests that Miller would sometimes show up ready to work and others where he appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. His character Erlich Bachman left after the end of the fourth season. Here are highlights:

Judge on Miller’s alleged on-set issues: “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 crewmembers 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.’ It just wasn’t working.”

On the show shying away from sex and nudity: “It all just makes me feel creepy and uncomfortable.”

On not exploring social issues: “There I was losing at the DGAs, and Amy Schumer makes this long speech about how [there are,] I don’t know, too many white males and all that, and saying that every show should be 50 percent people of color. Well, if you’re doing a movie about Nazi Germany, you can’t do that. And if you’re doing a TV show about tech that’s satire, you can’t do it. I don’t think you do any service by pretending [Silicon Valley] is half female or half black. And not to pin bouquets on ourselves here, but I think we brought some attention to the gender imbalance by doing this show.”