Originally posted Tuesday, November 27, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Former "CSI" star George Eads is leaving another CBS show early, this time "MacGyver" partway through season three. The show is shot in metro Atlanta and MacGyver is played by Lucas Till, a Kell High School graduate.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the story, saying Eads is leaving as a series regular but won't be killed off, leaving an opening for him to return as a guest star. He is set to wrap up his role early next month.
The story, citing unnamed sources, said Eads had an altercation in October and stormed off the show's Atlanta set early.
A CBS spokeswoman declined to comment.
Eads is the co-lead on the show as MacGyver’s partner and Delta Force agent Jack Dalton. It’s unclear how his departure will be addressed in the series.
A story in Deadline.com noted that he was not pleased with the show moving to Atlanta and he had been trying to leave since the end of season one. The drama had originally been slated to shoot in Los Angeles. He has a young daughter in Los Angeles.
The producers this season agreed to let him out of his contract.
“MacGyver,” in its third season, is airing its ninth out of 22 episodes this Friday. Given the production schedule, the show is probably shooting its 14th or 15th episode right now so a replacement for Eads has already been cast or is about to be cast.
Eads had a reputation on "CSI" for being difficult and was benched season 14 for a time after an altercation with a writer.
I interviewed him twice on set before season one and season two. In both cases, he raved about "MacGyver" and how much he enjoyed the action and working with Till and the producers. (The network didn't offer me a set visit for the third season.)
"I'm taking better care of myself," Eads told me a year ago. "Laurence Fishburne is my mentor. I went to his home this summer and brought Lucas with me. It really is like going to see the Oracle, man! We just talked about leadership, responsibility and the ins and outs of fame and the work, being humble in victory... Lawrence said, 'Some things can only be learned in a storm.' He had a profound effect on me. He's been instrumental in helping me grow up."
RELATED: My 2016 interview with Eads
This reboot of the original series, which aired from 1985 to 1992, has been a solid performer for CBS on Friday nights.
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