But the song no longer remains the same on HBOs beloved tech comedyafter Server Error.

(Which turned out to benotsuch a mess, thanks to some data-sharing, data-storing smart fridges.

But also: R.I.P., Anton.)

(T.J. Miller, as you know, is leaving the show.)

What happens now to Pied Piper after Richards rejection of Gavins offer?

What does life without Erlich look like?

And will the smart refrigerator replace the smart phone as our primary means of communication within a few years?

Where the heck did you get that idea, and how pure is the science here?

We attempt to vet it through a lot of different people.

[Laughs] So there might be a little bit of that with this.

And well be continuing that thread throughout next season?Yeah.

And the space-saver app that hes doing is one step along the way.

The fortunes of Pied Piper rise and fall so fast.

What is the biggest discussion that the writers have about balancing these reversals of fortunes?

And there are a lot of steps to building something like this.

It was intriguing to see them working together, albeit briefly, this season.

Were there discussions in the writers room to have them on the same team for a longer stretch?

So we ended up going that route.

Well, it did, in its brief time, give us the Blood Boy.

And Jared (Zach Woods) defending Richard to Bryce (Graham Rogers) You dick!

was a highlight.Yeah, I feel like Zach was on fire this year.

[Laughs] It just has this ring to it.

Its like, Oh, god.

I dont know if I want to know what it means.

Almost none of them made it in, but they did influence our writing of the character.

And then he started doing these things about his foster home.

That was the winner.

All of which is to say that this made Richard even more interesting.

Whats the biggest challenge in writing the hungrier, more Machiavellian Richard?Its like eating your seed corn.

I thought Thomas played it great.

I mean, who knows?

We havent gotten to next season yet.

But for me, watching Thomas and Zach play those scenes was really great.

I think the season finale may be my favorite episode of the series so far.

I mean, the season finale of season 1 was right up there.

Those guys were both playing some really subtle things and then some not-so-subtle things.

And to see it come close to happening was where weve been headed from the beginning.

Jared finally stood up to his captain and (temporarily) quit the company in an emotional moment.

It could very well be that season 5 is the season of Jared, you know?

But yeah, that would be a fun one to write.

I know Dan OKeefe wrote some really funny stuff on the profile page back in season 1.

[Jared] had an a cappella group called Joyce Carol Notes.

Those things are really fun to write.

If he wanted to come back, he can.

So initially, I think we were talking about possibly having him go over to find Gavin.

You wrote it both ways.

But once I actually saw him there, it is a little sad.

But we didnt know for sure that that was the last one.

If we absolutely knew for sure that that was his last scene, it would have been more sad.

We knew itcouldbe, but thats a little different than knowing that it is.

And then Jian Yang just throws his bag out of the car at the airport.

And then Gavin just leaves him there in this opium daze.

Its a little brutal.It is pretty brutal.

I love it, though.

Sounds like you werent surprised that he wanted to move on.

We were just going to attempt to maybe come up with something that happens in China.

We just had a couple ideas, really.

I wouldnt say I was surprised.

I thought it could go either way.

Its been awesome working with him.

Im hoping it breathes new life in it, and it reinvigorates.

I actually talked to T.J. about this; he said the same thing.

We have some really great actors, great performers, great writers, I think well make it work.

If you look back, the shows better with him, of course.

But do you also envision that well need a new oppositional force to bring inside Pied Piper?

And if so, do you have any idea what that character looks like?

Could it be a woman?Yeah, it certainly could be a woman.

I mean, we havent looked at just replacing him as a one-for-one.

Weve had the same guy owning the house.

There could be family members that inherited, there could be somebody that buys it.

Thats the kind of thing that could happen and we just havent figured that out yet.

Its not like a medical drama where people are racing in.

But because of that challenge, it makes this show more interesting.

I guess its the same thing.

I think it led to some fun things.

The thing that Im going to miss.

T.J. is always so good at being a little too loud.

And hes just saying this awful thing really loudly and it was just so funny to me.

Hes just one of those guys whos born funny.

IthinkI like that idea.

But it may affect me differently when Im watching it now that I know that hes not coming back.

But the fact that he likes it, that kind of makes me like it too.

I like his absurdist mentality.

I think its funny.

I was really happy with the episode.

I would much more prefer that to some sappy, sentimental thing at least for that character.

I mean, maybe Ill change my mind when I see it again, with this new information.

Gavin pays the man a bunch of cash so Erlich can have an opium hook-up for five years.

How long do you think that he actually stays there?In my head, hes still there.

[Laughs] Hes got a lot of ideas.

Thats what we were talking about when we were thinking about three episodes.

Maybe that just happens off-screen.

And in T.J.s mind.

Is that something youre interested in pursuing?

How serious is that?Yeah, sure.

Especially the animation part.

T.J. is one of these people thats just naturally funny.

Its been great working with him.

Im a huge fan ofGorburger and, you know Mucinex.

[Laughs] All that stuff.

Youve been renewed for season 5.

How many more seasons do you see in the shows future?

Youve hinted in past interviews that were inching closer to the end.Seems like six would be a good amount.

But itd be nice to not unnaturally push it to go longer than it feels like it ought to.

But I think two more seasons we have it in us.

But you never know.

I think it will be a Jared-heavy season.

Laurie [Suzanne Cryer] was pregnant, so therell probably be a baby.

There may be more than one baby.

Head hereto read our interview with T.J. Miller about his exit and the season 4 finale.