The long-awaited third season of The Sex Lives of College Girls has finally landed on the 2024 TV schedule, but not without a bittersweet goodbye. New episodes of TSLOCG drop every Thursday, and the most recent episode officially saw the exit of Reneé Rapp’s character Leighton. While it was announced a year ago that the Mean Girls actress would be leaving in Season 3, it still didn’t make it any easier on the fans and cast. Thankfully, the party’s not over yet for Rapp and her co-stars, as Alyah Chanelle Scott revealed how she's still connected to the singer.
In Season 3, Episode 2, we get to see the roommates party together one last time before Leighton leaves the next day to transfer to MIT. The onscreen goodbyes were quite emotional for everyone involved, including the audience, but especially for Alyah Chanelle Scott, who plays Whitney. Over the first two seasons, Rapp and Scott formed a very close friendship in real life. Yet, the Reboot actress told People the goodbye was not as difficult as she anticipated for one specific reason, and I’m so jealous I don’t have this with my bestie:
As sad as I was to say goodbye to her, it never felt like I was actually saying goodbye because we literally live three minutes away from each other. So I was like, 'I'm crying because you're not going to be at work, I guess, but I'll see you at home.'
It’s quite ironic how similar this living situation is to the actual college experience. What I would give to live just down the street from all my best friends again...
So, while Leighton is saying goodbye to Whitney, it appears Reneé and Alyah are still as tight as ever, and I’m sure we can expect more TikTok content from the bestie duo soon.
@alyahcs the next thing i know it’s 3am and we’re screlting defying gravity
♬ Nighty night - Bri 🪐
Fans will have to live off that social media content too, because the show's creators, Justin Noble and Mindy Kaling, have confirmed that this is the end of the line for Rapp's character at Essex. So, we don’t expect her to make a surprise reappearance later in the season. We can assume Leighton is living her best life in Boston with her girlfriend and becoming a rocket scientist at MIT, though.
Overall, I’m just glad they did the "Tummy Hurts" singer's character justice. Having watched the characters' progression as a group over the years and the way they supported Leighton coming to terms with her sexuality in Season 1 will always stick with me. And I'm grateful for that.
In a way, they also supported the GLAAD award winner with her queer journey. The “Not My Fault” singer explained on the Call Her Daddy podcast how difficult filming Season 1 was because of the parallels between Leighton and herself. Knowing all this and watching this latest season, it's clear that the show means a lot to her and her co-stars, and you can really see it in their final goodbye, where there’s seemingly less acting and more raw emotion.
Scott recalled what it was like filming that final scene too, saying:
That moment for the friend group is really important. I think it makes us all realize that this time and this space isn't forever... You can't ever get fully comfortable. You just have to appreciate the time that you have with people and then appreciate when it's over. And I think that playing that emotion was very cathartic and bittersweet.
A very important message, and very fitting to the show. College isn’t forever, but the people you meet and the memories you make are. And our favorite roomies aren’t done yet. It’s only their sophomore year, and from the Season 3 preview, there are a lot more hijinx and sexual experiences coming their way.
Not to mention, Kimberly, Bela, and Whitney are about to get a new roommate, played by Gracie Lawrence of the band Lawrence. While I will miss Leighton’s snarky charm, I’m excited to see how this new character fits into the group dynamic. This cast has always been stacked, so I’m sure the newcomers will fit in just great.
You can catch new episodes of The Sex Lives of College Girls every Thursday with a Max subscription.
