Girls actor Christopher Abbott, who plays Marnie’s on-again, off-again, on-forever boyfriend Charlie, has left the show soon after filming began on Season 3. The departure comes after it appeared that Christopher’s role would increase on the show following his reconciliation with Marnie, played by Allison Williams.
“He didn’t like the direction things are going in, which seems a bit odd since the show put him on the map,” a source tells Page Six. Sources also reveal that Abbott began “butting heads” with show creator Lena Dunham just after production restarted.
Abbott’s rep issued this statement to Page Six about his departure:
“[Chris] is 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.”
For some reason this made me think of Charlie’s emotional tour de force “Hannah’s Diary:”
I’m a huge fan of the show, and I have to confess I think I like the guy characters even more than the “girls,” although I would have to rank Charlie below Grumpy Ray (Alex Karpovsky) and perhaps the greatest character on television right now, Adam (Adam Driver). To tell you the truth, I’ve secretly hoped they would all break things off with their respective Girlsfriends and launch their own Dunham penned spin-off series Guys. (Or Boys.) The Girls Season 2 finale seemed to put the kibosh on that, but perhaps Abbott’s departure is a sign that the show creators agree with me!
The show would feature the trio of Charlie, Adam, and Ray with the ever-busy Chris O’Dowd’s character Thomas-John mirroring that of his on-screen bride Jessa (Jemima Kirke) by popping in an out for numerous episodes at a time.
While we all await the inevitable announcement of Guys, let’s ponder how Lena will write Charlie off the show shall we? Here are my best guesses, though I’m sure there will be many better ideas from the brilliant @TonightOnGIRLS Twitter account:
1. With the profits from his app Charlie is able to purchase the entire city of Seattle, which was only slightly more expensive than his current office in New York City. Marnie just can’t convince herself Seattle isn’t boring and decides to stay in the Big Apple to pursue a career in lounge rapping.
2. Charlie gets a cold and it’s just too much for Marnie to bear so she breaks up with him — for good this time.
3. Charlie drowns in the Hudson River while trying to help Adam with his “sinking boat” art project.
