The Sex Lives Of College Girls, a show about four college roommates navigating life and love at a faux-Ivy League school, will now be a show about three college roommates navigating life and love at a faux-Ivy League school. Renée Rapp, who plays wealthy legacy student and lesbian Leighton Murray, will be exiting partway through the third season of Mindy Kaling’s Max comedy, per a new Deadline report.
According to Deadline, Rapp will appear in a “handful” of episodes in the third season before being written off (presumably for good). The actor, who made her Broadway debut in Mean Girls, will next appear in Mean Girls: The Musical movie. She’s also launching a pop career, recently dropping the lead single from her debut album Snow Angel and announcing an accompanying tour.
“College Girls moved me out to LA and introduced me to some of my favorite people. 2 and a half years later—it’s given me y’all and this community. Thank u Mindy, Justin [Noble], and everyone at Max for believing in me,” Rapp wrote in a statement posted to Twitter. “A lot of queer work gets belittled—but playing Leighton has changed my life. I love who I am 10x more than I did before knowing her. I hope she gave y’all a little bit of that too. She’s such a tiny part of representation but even the tiny parts count. I wouldn’t be half the person I am without her and y’all. I love that bitch more than you know. I’m so excited for this season and I can’t wait for you to see what we have coming for her and the girls.”
If you’re interested in a bit of gossip, a source for Page Six claims Rapp announced her tour before clearing things with the good people over at Sex Lives. “Mindy is a multi-hyphenate and is supportive of people who want to do different things and play to their talents, but she has to figure out what happens to Renée’s character. This is not the way anyone would have wanted [Rapp’s exit] to happen,” an insider told the outlet.
Rapp isn’t the first series regular to exit the comedy. Her on-screen brother, Gavin Leatherwood, dropped out after the first season in which he served as the show’s primary heartthrob. The remaining three College Girls include Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, and Alyah Chanelle Scott.