Run the World: Is Ella in Season 2?

Things look a little different in “Run the World” the second season — starting with one of the main characters. The Starz drama returned on May 26 to pick up where she left off with best friends Whitney (Amber Stevens West), Renee (Bresha Webb) and Sondi (Corbin Reid) following the season one finale. However, there’s one face that’s conspicuously missing from the season two premiere: andrea burgundyit’s her.

As fans will recall, while the Harlem-set series focuses on the girls’ group of friends as a whole, it all started with Ella at the beginning of the first season, when she kicked off the next phase of her struggling writing career at the digital gossip. Hot tea overview site. Throughout the first season, Ella’s resurrected career and her turbulent love life were major storylines that continued until the finale, where she finally patched things up with Ella’s boyfriend Anderson (again and again).nick saga), and began writing the first chapter of his new book.

Although Ella isn’t completely absent from the second season (she’s still mentioned in conversations with her friends), some fans may wonder about the change in the main four and why Bordeaux didn’t return to the show with the rest of her “Run.” the castmates of the world.

Read on to find out what we know and see how the cast feels about the change.

Is Ella in “Run the World” season 2?

Ella de Bordeaux still has a presence in the second season, albeit a small one, and the show wastes no time in addressing her absence at the start of the premiere. During a plane ride home from her girls’ trip, Whitney mentions that she should have stayed in Tulum, Mexico, like Ella, and extended her vacation (mainly to take her mind off the breakup with Ella’s ex-fiancée). she Hello). Sondi then chimes in to clarify that Ella isn’t enjoying a happy escape from reality yet, but that she’s staying for another week to work on her book.

Later in the episode, after Whitney and Ola decide to part ways for good, Whitney receives a text from Ella saying she has some news to share and asks to talk to all the girls on the phone. The next scene then cuts to Ella’s boss, Barb (Erika Alexander), reading a resignation letter from her as we see her friends packing up her apartment. Renee then confirms that Ella will not be returning to Harlem because she decided to stay in Tulum for the next six months to complete her book. Even Anderson shows up to say goodbye to Whitney, Renee, and Sondi, as the latter tells him to “take care of our little girl.”

For viewers who weren’t in the dark during the production of the second season of “Run the World,” the fact that Ella was apparently written off the show comes as no surprise. In February 2022, Bordeaux revealed on instagram that she would not be returning to the show after she was reportedly fired over a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. “Getting the chance to play Ella in #RunTheWorld was a dream come true,” she wrote in a caption. “I would have loved to continue to grow with this charming character and having to come to terms with this abrupt turn in my life, dream and career in recent weeks has been heartbreaking beyond words. I have so much love for the cast and crew of ‘Run The World’ and I will miss them. I wish them all the best.”

Bordeaux added in his post, which included a screenshot of a Deadline report: “Despite what the article says, I did not opt ​​out of the series and Lionsgate made no effort to find a viable solution. I was fired.” She concluded her message by writing: “Thank you to everyone who has shown me love and support. I am so grateful for all the kind words, messages and phone calls. I am overflowing and abundant in so many ways and I hope you know what the world means to me.”

What have the cast of “Run the World” said about Ella’s absence in season 2?

Speaking to POPSUGAR, the cast of “Run the World” share that they weren’t too concerned about continuing their show without Bordeaux. “It was good. It was something we just fell into and had to get out of,” Webb says. And as Stevens West points out, the former co-star’s exit from him felt like a reflection of the distant friendships many experience as young adults.

“It’s like real life because I’ve had a number of friends in my adult life who have moved on and we’re still friends and we keep in touch and that doesn’t make them any less important in my life, and that shows in the show,” he explains. “She’s still a part of this girl group and she’s a presence on the show and I think she handles herself very well.”

Reid also notes that Ella “has shocking moments” with the girls in season two “without being there just because that’s how strong their friendship is.” “I mean, as you get older, people move to different cities, do all kinds of things, so I think it’s a very accurate reflection of what happens at 30, you know? When people make decisions in the life,” he continues. “But, for us as actresses, we love each other very much. We know we have great chemistry and we knew everything would be fine.”

According to Stevens West, filming the second season was “as much fun” with a trio as it was with the original four. And even though they no longer act alongside Bordeaux, Webb says, “Love doesn’t change.” “COVID-19 has shown us that friendship is necessary at all times and you can reach for it whenever you can and have grace; give grace to your friends. So you have to carry that out.”

“Run the World” airs new episodes every Friday on Starz.