Run the World: Is Ella in Season 2?

Things look a bit completely different in “Run the World” season two — beginning with certainly one of the major characters. The Starz dramedy returned on May 26 to select again up the place it left off with finest pals Whitney (Amber Stevens West), Renee (Bresha Webb), and Sondi (Corbin Reid) following season one’s roller-coaster finale. However, there’s one face that is noticeably absent in the season two premiere: Andrea Bordeaux’s Ella.

As followers might keep in mind, though the Harlem-set collection focuses on the ladies’ buddy group as an entire, it began with Ella at the starting of season one, as she kicked off the subsequent section of her struggling writing profession at the digital gossip website Hot Tea Digest. Throughout the first season, Ella’s resurrected profession and hectic love life had been main storylines that continued till the very finish, the place she lastly patched issues up together with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Anderson (Nick Sagar), and began writing the first chapter of her new e book.

Though Ella is not utterly absent in season two (she’s nonetheless talked about in conversations together with her girlfriends), some followers could also be questioning about the shift from the core 4 and why Bordeaux did not return to the present with the remainder of her “Run the World” castmates.

Read forward to search out out what we all know and see how the solid really feel about the change.

Is Ella in “Run the World” Season 2?

Bordeaux’s Ella nonetheless has a presence in the second season, although small, and the present wastes no time addressing her absence at the begin of the premiere. While on a aircraft experience again residence from their ladies’ journey, Whitney mentions she ought to’ve stayed in Tulum, Mexico, like Ella, and prolonged her trip (primarily to get her thoughts off her breakup with ex-fiancé Ola). Sondi then chimes in to make clear that Ella is not nonetheless having fun with a blissful journey away to flee actuality, however as an alternative, staying an additional week to work on her e book.

Later on in the episode, after Whitney and Ola determine to separate up for good, the former will get a textual content from Ella saying she has some information to share and asks to get on the cellphone with all the ladies. The subsequent scene then cuts to Ella’s boss Barb (Erika Alexander) studying a resignation letter from her as we see her pals packing up her residence. Renee then confirms that Ella will not be returning to Harlem as a result of she determined to remain in Tulum for the subsequent six months to finish her e book. Even Anderson pops in to bid Whitney, Renee, and Sondi goodbye, as the latter tells him to “take care of our girl.”

For viewers who weren’t in the darkish throughout season two manufacturing for “Run the World,” Ella being seemingly written off the present would not come as a shock. Back in February 2022, Bordeaux revealed on Instagram that she would not be returning to the present after she was reportedly fired over a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. “Getting the opportunity to play Ella on #RunTheWorld was an absolute dream come true,” she wrote in a caption. “I would have loved to continue to grow with this delightful character and having to come to terms with this sharp turn in my life, my dream, and career these past several weeks has been heartbreaking beyond words. I have so much love for the cast and crew of ‘Run The World’ and will miss them. I wish you all the best.”

Bordeaux added in her submit, which included a screenshot of a Deadline report, “Despite what the article says, I did not opt to leave the series and Lionsgate made no efforts to find a workable 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 of the kind words, messages, and phone calls. I’m overflowing and abundant in so many ways and I hope you know that it means the world to me.”

What Have the “Run the World” Cast Said About Ella’s Absence in Season 2?

Speaking to POPSUGAR, the solid of “Run the World” shares that they weren’t too apprehensive about persevering with on with their present with out Bordeaux. “It was OK. It was something that we just fell into and we had to walk it out,” Webb notes. And as Stevens West factors out, their former costar’s exit felt like a mirrored image of the distant friendships many expertise as younger adults.

“That’s like real life because I’ve had several friends in my adult life who have moved away and we’re still friends and we keep in touch and that doesn’t make them any less important in my life, and that is shown in the show,” she explains. “Ella is still a part of this girl group and she’s a presence in the show and I think it’s handled really well.”

Reid additionally notes that Ella “has impactful moments” with the ladies in season two “without being there just because that’s how strong their friendship is.” “I mean, the older you get, people move to different cities, they do all kinds of stuff, so I think it’s a really accurate reflection of what happens in your 30s, you know? When people make life decisions,” she continues. “But, for us as actresses, we love each other so much. We know we have great chemistry and we knew it was going to be OK.”

According to Stevens West, filming season two was nonetheless “just as fun” with a trio because it was with the authentic 4. And regardless of the reality that they are now not appearing alongside Bordeaux, Webb says, “The love doesn’t change.” “COVID-19 has shown us that friendship is needed at all times and you can get to it whenever you can and to have the grace; give your friends grace. So you have to just carry that through.”