Supergirl is saying good-bye to an original cast member in its upcoming fifth season.
Mehcad Brooks who has played James Olsen on the show for the last four seasons is departing the series sometime in the fall, Entertainment Weekly reports.
The decision to exit the show was made by Brooks. As a result, the door is being left open for him to return to the series in the future.
In a statement, co-showrunners Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller said,
“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.”
Brooks is leaving Supergirl to focus on feature films and to develop a cable series that he would star in. He’s writing a book as well.
This news comes on the heels of the announcement that former series regular Jeremy Jordan will be returning to Supergirl in the second half of the fifth season to reprise his role as Winn Schott.
It’s too bad that Brooks is leaving prior to Jordan’s return as the pair always had a fun dynamic together.
Still, it’ll be interesting to see how Brooks’ character is written off the series. James has played a key role on the show since the beginning, so his absence will certainly be felt.
Supergirl’s fifth season airs on Sundays at 9/8c on The CW. The season premieres on October 6.