HBO Show Kills off Character in Surprise Cliffhanger

You’d think after shocking deaths on global hits like Game of Thrones and Succession, HBO viewers would know by now to expect the unexpected.

But viewers all over the world were shocked when new comedy I Love LA killed off a character in Sunday’s episode, which was just the fifth episode of the series.

For those who haven’t yet tapped in to the popular new sitcom that’s created, written by, and starring Rachel Sennott (Bottoms), the series revolves around talent agent Maia (Sennott) and her close-knit group of influencer-y friends in Los Angeles. Think half Girls, half Entourage with a dash of Broad City and you’ll get the vibe.

In Sunday’s episode, titled “They Can’t All Be Jeremys,” our main cast is focused on moving up the ladder in their own special ways.

Most notably, celebrity stylist Charlie (Jordan Firstman) is trying to figure out how to retool his flamboyantly homosexual personality to better service his new client, the immensely popular singer Lukas Landry (Froy Gutierrez), an obvious parody of Benson Boone who also happens to be extremely Catholic, heterosexual and straight-edge.

Even odder for Charlie is when Landry and his crew of sober bros, who text each other whenever they’re thinking of looking at porn to keep each other “accountable,” end up being good people and not homophobic at all. For the first time, Charlie has a group of people that are genuinely nice to him… until the episode’s ending cliffhanger, when Maia sees a notification that Lukas Landry has died in an ATV accident.

It’s a move completely out of left field for the upbeat, tongue-in-cheek sitcom, with plenty of ramifications for Maia, Charlie, and the rest of the group to come. Watch the preview for next week’s episode below, which seems to indicate that the episode will be centered around Landry’s funeral.