It felt like a breakup: TJ Miller on leaving 'Silicon Valley'

After announcing in May that the fourth season of hit-comedy series 'Silicon Valley' would be his last, TJ Miller has finally revealed that leaving the show felt like a "breakup" to him.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO offered him a reduced role on the show going forward, but instead Miller countered by saying he'd be more comfortable leaving the show entirely.

Miller said, "It felt like a breakup with HBO. The final phone call was them going like, 'Well, I don't think this is the end of Erlich. I still want to see him on television,' and I was like, 'I know but I think this is for the best.' So they were very, very cool about it, and that final conversation was super friendly and sad. It was heartbreaking on my end."

Bachman, a fan favorite, was becoming less integral to the show, Miller said, which is what made him funny.

"I actually think the writing with Erlich gets funnier and funnier the more inessential and irrelevant he becomes. He's an annoyance," noted Miller.

The 36-year-old actor also shared that cast-mates and crew were supportive of his decision to leave the show.

But he did have a few parting shots for one of the show's Executive Producers/writers Alec Berg and star Thomas Middleditch.

"I think that HBO and Alec Berg, specifically, kind of thought, and I guess apparently Thomas Middleditch, i guess they thought, "All right, maybe this is the end of the character. But like everything in the show, we'll sort of solve this and then it's back to normal." And they just didn't imagine that I would be in a position of being like, "I think that's it." I don't know how smart [Alec] is. He went to Harvard, and we all know those kids are f-ing idiots. That Crimson trash. Those comedy writers in Hollywood are f-ing Harvard graduates and that's why they're smug as a bug. . I think that in television you usually have one element that is very challenging, very frustrating," said Miller.

Adding, "It's an obstacle, right? So you're doing the best work that you can do. Alec was that for me, and I think I was that for Alec. And a very good article was written that says that Erlich in the show is just this constant annoyance to Richard. And I think, in some ways, that is analogous to real life. I think in some ways Thomas Middleditch is - we have a contrarian relationship, like a big brother-little brother relationship. And this is also an opportunity for me to be like, "Let me just step off, dude. Like, just do your f-ing thing. You're amazing." I did a two-man improv show with him for a decade. He's amazing."

Miller said he never watched 'Silicon Valley,' but might tune in for one character.

Miller shared, "If I have a terrible day, I'll probably tune in to see what Zach Woods said on an episode because you know he's a winner.