Silicon Valley, the HBO comedy about how the people who make your favorite smartphone app are probably very dumb, just lost one of its key players: T. J. Miller, who plays Erlich Bachman, will not be returning for the show's just-announced fifth season.

The news comes via Vulture, which cites an HBO spokesperson who says the decision for Miller's departure was a mutual one.

It's kind of hard to imagine the show without Miller. As Erlich, Miller was a vital part of the show, a contemptible yet very funny presence who found a way to insert himself into everything, always attempting to weasel his way into a cut of someone's profit while doing very little himself. A pitch-perfect parody of the "ideas man," Bachman excelled at two things: moronic delusions of grandeur and wonderfully creative burns.

Season 4 of the show is only halfway through its run—the finale is scheduled for June 25—and so far there's been zero indication that Bachman is going anywhere. In fact, he's just weaseled his way into protagonist Richard Hendricks's (Thomas Middleditch) new venture, kind of ensuring that he'll go on to be everyone's pain in the ass, even as the core group starts to splinter some. There's still five episodes before we get to the end—a lot of story, given how much happens in Silicon Valley—so maybe he does get some kind of farewell, but at the moment, it seems very abrupt.

Also, given how grating the character is, it's kind of weird to realize how much he'll be missed. Is there even a show anymore? Bachman owns 10 percent of everything that happens in that house, you know.

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