William Gallagher
The producers of Apple TV+ hit "Mythic Quest" had announced that F. Murray Abraham will not be resuming his character of C.W. Longbottom in the show's next season.
"Mythic Quest" has already been picked up for both a third and fourth season, but now seemingly without the old-school narrative writer Longbottom.
According to Vanity Fair, a spokesperson for production company Lionsgate issued a brief statement regarding the actor's unexpected departure.
"F. Murray Abraham will not be returning to season three of Mythic Quest," says the statement. "Beyond that, we do not comment on matters concerning personnel."
Both the show's creator Rob McElhenney and Apple TV+ staff referred Vanity Fair to Lionsgate's statement and declined to comment further.
Apple TV+ has tended to make more short-run or mini-series shows than it does series. Even so, F. Murray Abraham's departure mid-run is unusual for the streamer.
Certain characters in "Servant" lasted for either one or two seasons before leaving, but they were all recurring roles rather than a role similar in scope to Abraham's.
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7 Comments
He was a great character in the show. Hope he's healthy. And wish him best of luck in his future work. Those two episodes that explored Longbottom's past were phenomenal (William Hurt played his old friend - Hurt passed away just a few weeks ago).
Great show. IMO.
Sucko. Also hope it's not his health (or scandal of some flavor). Could be he wanted too much cash. Seems unlikely to recast that role. He was so good at it, I often thought Longbottom was a real person.
Damn, he was for sure one of the best characters, and Abraham gave a memorable performance. The two backstory episodes on his character were the highest emotional impact of the entire series so far.
It's usually difficult to discern the real reason behind failed negotiations. After 33 years, I'm still unsure about the reason behind why Crispin Glover didn't get an agreement with the producers for his character's role in Back to the Future II. As best I can tell, Zemeckis offered only one-fifth what his on-screen wife's actor was making. But apparently there was a reason behind that low-ball offer, which was that Glover was antagonist towards Zemeckis during the first movie. The truth is always difficult to find.
Mythic quest should have ended when the lead characters moved on. A perfect ending.