The characters on MacGyver may be able to find a way out of the unlikeliest of situations, but one of those characters won't be around too much longer. George Eads, who is second-billed and plays Mac's partner Jack Dalton, is exiting the series in Season 3 after a reported altercation on set. Here's what we know about the incident, which is not the first issue on the MacGyver set during Season 3 production.
George Eads reportedly had an altercation and subsequently stormed off of set in Atlanta. The alleged incident took place back in October and must have caused a sticky situation on set, as sources indicate that it happened when there were still several more hours of scheduled production that day.
Any on-set altercation that may have happened did not immediately result in George Eads taking his leave of the series. As MacGyver fans know, Jack has continued to be a part of the series in Season 3, and THR states that Eads is still in production on MacGyver. As of now, his last episode on the show will air at some point in 2019. No details are currently available about how his character will be written out of the show.
Given that the show is called MacGyver and not Jack or MacGyver & Jack, the show could go in plenty of directions to write George Eads out of the narrative. One of those options is obviously to kill him off. Considering the parting sounds like it's not happening under the most amiable of circumstances, perhaps a clean break via Jack's death would be the easiest way to go. Hey, it worked for Lethal Weapon when that show wrote out its co-lead!
Although George Eads hasn't officially commented on news of his departure, he has reportedly asked to be released from his contract multiple times due to a desire to spend time with his daughter in Los Angeles. With MacGyver production based out of Atlanta, he likely wouldn't have been able to travel back and forth to L.A. on a regular basis.
Producers apparently agreed to George Eads' requests to leave the show after Eads announced his intention to quit the series. The altercation does not seem to have been so serious that immediate action was warranted against him. Given the seemingly messy nature of this split, perhaps Eads will not make another return to CBS.
Yes, MacGyver marked George Eads' second gig on a high-profile CBS gig. He spent 15 seasons on CSI, and his departure from that show was linked to an on-set issue between the actor and one of the writers about his character. That split was described as "amicable," and it obviously didn't result in the kind of bad blood that would discourage Eads from taking another job on a CBS show. Still, could this be the end of his time on CBS as a whole?
We'll have to wait and see. Tune in to CBS on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET for new episodes of MacGyver, which will still feature George Eads as Jack into the new year. For some viewing options in the not-too-distant future, swing by our midseason TV guide.
