In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the season four finale, co-showrunner Mike Judge offered a bit more clarity on Miller’s exit. “It was kind of becoming clear that he didn’t want to do the show anymore, but we wanted to leave it so that there would be an opportunity to come back at some point, ” Judge said, explaining that the writers purposely left Erlich’s storyline open-ended in the finale. “When the season was done, we talked to T.J. and said, ‘Do you want to come back for part of it?’ And he just wanted to move on.”

..Now Miller is offering his side of the story. In a wide-ranging and, at times, eccentric interview (what else do you expect from Miller?), the actor reveals that HBO offered him a reduced role in the upcoming season, which he ultimately turned down in favor of leaving the show completely...

T.J. MIller: They came to me and said, “Look, we’re not going to pick up your contingency because we want to offer you doing five episodes out of the 10, or three episodes.” And then I said, “Oh perfect, I had been wanting to ask if you guys would be open to me leaving the show.” And then they suddenly said, “Wait, no, what? You can do whatever. What? What do you mean?” And that was so good of them. They said, “We just wanted you to have more time to do all of the things you’re doing.” And I said, “Well, the best way for me to be involved in the show is by no longer being on it.” I swear to God, that’s why the internet broke. Everybody was like, “What the f— are you talking about? You’re on this successful show. Don’t you want three more years of solid acting work and don’t you want to be a famous television actor?” And I was like, “No, not really.”