Epps is moving on to “Uncle Buck.” Photo courtesy of ABC
Starz has had a lot of success lately with their original programming. Flesh and Bone is a critically-acclaimed show, Power boasts some of the network’s best ratings, and there is quite a following for the show, Survivor’s Remorse, which is produced by LeBron James. The performances on the latter are what seem to keep viewers tuned in, including Mike Epps’s work as Uncle Julius on the show.
But if you saw the Season 2 finale in October, you know that his character was involved in a pretty terrible car crash and was thrown from the vehicle. His last words were, “I wish I believed in God.” Fans weren’t sure what all that meant for the character, but it didn’t look good.
Well, Uncle Julius is dead, ya’ll. Dead, dead, dead. And it’s not simply because such a twist and turn in the storyline (killing perhaps the glue of the show) would leave fans shocked and wondering what would happen in Season 3. It’s also because Epps claims that he wanted more money to stay on the Starz program, but those behind it weren’t willing to pay up. With no raise, Epps wasn’t willing to stay with the show. Therefore, his character was killed off.
“I asked for some more money and they killed me,” Epps said at the Television Critics Association panel in Pasadena on Saturday, according to The Wrap. “That’s usually what happens on TV shows. If you remember Good Times, that’s what happened.”
That’s not exactly what happened on Good Times. Esther Rolle and John Amos both took issue with the creative direction of the show. Rolle left after Season 4 and Amos’s contract wasn’t renewed after Season 3 because of his creative conflicts with Norman Lear. But I digress.
Despite his sad departure from Survivor’s Remorse, Epps isn’t shedding tears about moving on. He’s ready to stand front and center.
“[On] ‘Survivor’s Remorse, I was like 24th lead.”
So Epps is off to be the lead and play another important uncle, this time on his upcoming ABC comedy, Uncle Buck. That is, of course, why he was speaking at the TCA panel in the first place. He will star alongside Nia Long and James Lesure in the Will Packer-produced series. But will you watch? In case you missed the trailer, check it out below:
Will you stand by Survivor’s Remorse without Epps?
