#Why did Titus Makin Jr. leave The Rookie prior to season 4 premiere?

Why did Tutus Makin Jr. leave The Rookie prior to the season 4 premiere? In the opening minutes of tonight’s episode, it was clear the show changed. It was something we didn’t see coming, and it does set the stage dramatically for some of what could be coming yet.

Before we get into anything surrounding the circumstances of this exit now, we know that Makin debated even returning for the third season of the drama last year. He confirmed as much in an interview with Entertainment Weekly at the time, citing some of the reservations he had about playing a cop in the wake of police brutality, the killing of George Floyd, and social-justice movements that came about in the summer of 2020. However, he was sold on a return after discussions with showrunner Alexi Hawley and the rest of the cast.

Over the past several months Makin has been getting increasingly more into music, and this exit could be a way for him to transition more into that part of his life. Cast exits are becoming more and more common these days in the TV industry, especially after the onset of the global pandemic. This era has given all of us more perspective on what we want out of our lives.

As of right now, Titus has yet to publicly address his exit. However, Hawley made it clear to TVLine that the writers did not have much of a choice in regards to killing off the Jackson West character:

“It’s heartbreaking … but I didn’t really have a choice. [Titus] wasn’t coming back, and because of the way we set things up with the [Season 3] finale, there was just no way to tell that story without Jackson…. But we lean really hard into honoring how he was the heart of the show, and it was definitely impactful for us to have to deal with that.”

Hawley did not elaborate on the reason behind Makin’s departure, but it was clearly his choice to leave.

Related – Get more info as to how The Rookie wrote out Jackson on the show

Are you sad about Titus Makin Jr. leaving The Rookie, especially the way it went down tonight?

Be sure to share right now in the comments, and stick around for some other news. (Photo: ABC.)