Whenever any TV series endures for an extended period of time, it’s only expected that not every member of the cast stick it out until the end. Case in point: only Tom Welling and Allison Mack appeared in all ten seasons of Smallville, with most of their colleagues moving on to other projects before the journey to becoming Superman reached its conclusion.
Staying on the subject of shows focused on Kryptonians, Supergirl is about to lose another longtime member of its own cast, that being Mehcad Brooks. Having been around since the pilot episode originally aired, we fully expect for fans to lament the departure of the Arrowverse’s iteration of James Olsen, who also suited up as the Guardian.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Brooks will bounce at some point during the first half of season 5. Details are being kept under wraps, but the door is said to be left open for his return. At first, I’d assumed for “Crisis on Infinite Earths” to serve as his exit point, though it sounds like he’ll be gone before then.
In case you’re wondering, Mehcad is leaving so that he may focus more on feature films, and to develop a cable series he’ll star in. He’s also writing a book, so be on the lookout for that.
Here’s what showrunners Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller had to say regarding this situation:
“We love Mehcad and we’re sad to see him leave the show as a series regular, but we’re excited for both Mehcad and James Olsen’s future. He’ll always be a part of our Supergirl family and we look forward to James returning to National City at some point to visit his sister and his super friends.”
Despite this sad news, fans of the series have reason to keep their chin up. Don’t forget, Jeremy Jordan is returning as Winn Schott for three episodes, so we have that to look forward to. Plus, Andrea Brooks has been promoted to series regular status, so expect to see a lot more of Eve Tessmacher going forward.
Supergirl returns with new episodes on Sunday, October 6th on The CW.