First Wives Club is a bit of a black knockoff series of HBO’s Sex and The City on BET. And one of its characters, Ari, portrayed by Ryan Michelle Bathe is no longer a cast member.
So, with season three of First Wives Club in full swing, coupled with its plot twists, and drama you might’ve noticed that Hazel, played by Jill Scott, and Bree, played by Michelle Buteau have been gossiping in and out about Ari.
So, today, we’re going to examine a few plot details concerning First Wives Club and how it relates to Ryan Michelle Bathe’s character Ariel Montgomery, a character who made a lot of impact with character story arc and now, all of a sudden is written out of the series. What were the reasons behind Ryan Michelle Bathe’s decision to leave the program?
Why Did Ari Leave First Wives Club?
Ryan Michelle Bathe is a talented actress whose previous work in acclaimed series like Retired at 35 and Boston Legal made her a very popular actress.
Tracy Oliver and Darren Star, the show’s creators, decided to write Ariel Montgomery’s character off the series by setting the stage up for Ryan Michelle Bathe’s character departure.
Firstly, they wrote into her character story arc development that Ariel was moving to the West Coast. Thus, she was showing up in fewer episodes. Secondly, in the third season, we learn that Ari had a brain aneurysm and died in the second episode of the third season ahead of Hazel’s wedding.
Secondly, there are strong rumors that lead us to think that there were some behind-the-scenes rivalries that made the showrunners uncomfortable and the work environment difficult to shoot the show.
Jill Scott, who plays Hazel in the show, she wasn’t happy about how the showrunners wrote Ryan Michelle Bathe’s character story arc into death and separated her from the show.
Showrunners Wanted Depth
Tracy Oliver and Darren Star claim that the decision to write off Ari from First Wives Club comes from the intention to put into this rather dull, and black version of Sex and The City some unpredictability, challenges, and dramatic plot twists to keep the audience hooked to the show.
But is killing off one of the favorite characters of the audience a wise decision? Moreover, how is this going to play out in the rest of the character story arc development for the rest of the cast members? In any case, ratings and reviews will tell us how this is exactly going to play out.
Considering that Ari’s character is dead, it’s not like she went to work in another part of the United States. Still, lazy scriptwriting could bring her back, either in the form of a ghost, or take the “Who shot JR in Dallas?” approach when it all was just a dream. Still, those approaches are unlikely.
Ryan Michelle Bathe’s Reaction
When asked about how they wrote her out of the show, Ryan Michelle Bathe takes a simple approach: “It just happens”. Actors are accustomed to being written in and out of the shows. Sometimes, they’re beloved characters with strong story arcs, which eventually leads them to die. We all remember how Dr. Greene from ER died from that brain tumor. Or how Drea De Matteo —Adriana La Cerva— was killed off in The Sopranos for snitching on her boyfriend.
These examples serve as ones that are logical to profound and well-thought scriptwriting. If the showrunners wanted to add an element of surprise to the series, they could’ve done so in a different way, shape, and manner.
Still, lazy scriptwriting, right in the middle of the wake of a screenwriter’s guild strike, is the kind of thing you’d expect.
Do you all remember the early 2000s with that screenwriter’s guild strike that made every show not only short but also unpalatable in every sense storywise? I do; shows with great following, like House MD, tanked.
Well, the same thing happens even for low-rent shows like First Wives Club.
