It’s time for sophomore year at Essex College.

The Sex Lives of College Girls returns for season 3 on Thursday with many new changes – including Reneé Rapp taking a step back from the show.

Rapp, who stars as Leighton Murray, will appear in three episodes before she departs from the Max series. Alyah Chanelle Scott, who plays Whitney Chase, told ABC Audio she’ll still see her close friend, but that it was strange to say goodbye to Rapp in character.

“I wasn’t prepared for that level of emotion, that weird dynamic shift in the group. But it’s cool because it happens in real time. Like, we are actively crying and saying goodbye,” Scott said. “There was so much emotion and so much release. And it was bittersweet, but also you feel so happy for her and the journey that she’s on separately of the show and all the things that she’s always wanted to do that she’s getting to do.”

Pauline Chalamet, who plays Kimberly Finkle, expressed similar feelings.

“It’s really bittersweet, obviously, because the four of us were like a family, but I think it’s just very emblematic and representative of what happens in college,” Chalamet said, noting the scene where they said goodbye to Rapp “allowed us to play out in the show what we were also feeling in real life. And that’s really such a privilege.”

Showrunner Justin Noble said the only way Leighton could depart was with a bang.

“The only thing Leighton does is win. So obviously we had to send her off with a big win,” Noble said. “I think it shows that Leighton has sort of excelled in the assignment of what college is, just faster than the others … and in a show about finding yourself, she just found herself a little earlier.”

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