By late morning, the hotel in Rome is already busy. Journalists move between interview rooms while camera crews wait in the corridors. Posters for The Echo Chamber: The Divide cover the walls.
Ethan Cole has spent the morning being photographed with the rest of the cast, and his first interview is due to begin in less than twenty minutes. His phone rings. It is Daniel, his agent in London.
You've picked a good time. They're about to start moving us into the interview rooms.
I know. That's why I needed to catch you before you went in.
Something in Daniel's voice makes Ethan stop walking.
What's happened?
Daniel has received a call from somebody close to the production. The information was not supposed to reach him yet, but the source is somebody he trusts.
The producers have been discussing the third season of The Echo Chamber. They have decided Ethan's character will not be returning.
They've written me out?
That's what I've been told.
By who?
I can't give you the name. They shouldn't really have told me, but they were concerned that you were in Rome doing press without us knowing what was happening.
How certain are they?
Certain enough that I'm taking it seriously. I've been trying to get somebody at the studio to confirm it formally, but I'm getting nowhere at the moment.
It is still early in Los Angeles. Daniel has left messages with the production and with the studio's publicity team in Europe. Nobody senior has called him back.
Why haven't they told us?
That's one of the questions I'm trying to get answered.
For weeks, Daniel has been asking about possible dates for Season Three. Ethan recently screen-tested for a film, and other conversations have also begun. Daniel needed to know how much flexibility Ethan might have.
The studio kept telling him that the next season was still being worked out. Daniel assumed they were avoiding another conversation about money. Ethan's profile had grown significantly since he signed his original contract, and Daniel had been preparing to push for better terms if the studio wanted him back.
So I've spent the last couple of months asking about dates and talking as though I'm going back next year, and they may already have known I wasn't.
They may have. I don't know when the decision was made, and I don't want to tell you something I can't stand behind. That's one of the things I'm trying to establish now.
I just don't understand how I can be here promoting the programme while they're having that conversation without us.
Neither do I. If the decision has already been made, somebody should have thought about the fact that you were about to start two weeks of press. That's a conversation I'm going to have with them once I can actually get somebody senior on the phone.
Is it because of the money?
I don't know.
Is it something I've done?
I haven't been told anything like that. The person I spoke to said it was a creative decision, but until I've spoken directly to the studio, I'm not going to start guessing about the reasons.
What am I supposed to do now?
For the next few hours, you do the press you've agreed to do. You talk about The Divide. You talk about the work you've already done. You don't say anything about what I've just told you.
What happens if somebody asks about Season Three?
That's a big if. As far as I know, nobody outside the production knows anything. If it does come up, you stay with the season you're there to promote. You don't speculate about future casting.
That's going to feel completely ridiculous.
I know. If I'd had twenty-four hours' warning, we could have dealt with this properly. Instead, I'm telling you between breakfast and your first interview.
A member of the publicity team appears at the other end of the corridor and gestures towards Ethan. They are ready for him.
I've got Bianca involved. We're going to find out exactly where you stand. Keep your phone with you when you can, and I'll call as soon as I know more.
All right.
Ethan?
I'm here.
Just get through the first interview. Don't try to solve the rest of your career in the next ten minutes.
Ethan puts his phone away. The publicist is waiting. His first interview begins in three minutes.