Did ‘That ’90s Show’ write off Topher Grace’s Eric character?

Eric is out. 

In the second part of “That ‘90s Show” Season 3, now streaming on Netflix, Eric (Topher Grace) seemingly got booted off the show.

In the seventh episode, Eric’s wife, Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), says that he was offered his “dream job.”

She reveals that Eric is going to Skywalker Ranch to shadow George Lucas and write a book about the making of the “new” Star Wars movies, Donna explains to Leia (Callie Haverda), the couple’s daughter. 

Callie Haverda as Leia Forman and Topher Grace as Eric Forman in “That 90s Show.” Patrick Wymore/Netflix
Wilmer Valderrama, Ashton Kutcher, Danny Masterson, Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, Don Stark, Tanya Roberts, Mila Kunis, Lisa Robin Kelly, Debra Jo Rupp, Kurtwood Smith, for “That ’70s Show.” FOX Image Collection via Getty Images
Topher Grace as Eric Forman, Laura Prepon as Donna Pinciotti. Patrick Wymore/Netflix

Since the show is set in the ’90s, she’s referring to the “Star Wars” movie trilogy that starred Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen.

“It happened really fast,” Donna says. “He got the call, packed his bag and said goodbye to me in Wookiee.”

Eric will now be living in California, she says, far from their family home in Point Place, Wisconsin. 

Donna explains that she’ll divide her time between her work in Chicago, their family home in Wisconsin, and California with Eric. 

Grace, 46, has been playing Eric since “That ‘70s Show” premiered in 1998.

That show originally aired on Fox from ‘98 to 2006, following teen friends in Point Place, Wisconsin, including “Star Wars” obsessed Eric; smart Donna (Prepon); spoiled Jackie (Mila Kunis); vapid Kelso (Ashton Kutcher); flirty Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) and rebellious Hyde (Danny Masterson, who in real life was sentenced to 30 years to life for raping two women and is currently incarcerated. Kunis and Kutcher landed in hot water for writing letters of support praising the convicted rapist for his “positive influence”). 

Danny Masterson, Mila Kunis, Laura Prepon, Ashton Kutcher, Topher Grace and Wilmer Valderrama in “That 70s Show.” 20th Century Fox
Topher Grace with his wife, Ashley Hinshaw. Getty Images for The Art of Elysium
Ashton Kutcher, Topher Grace and Debra Jo Rupp in “That 70s Show.” 20th Century Fox

Grace reprised his role as Eric in “That 90s Show,” the spinoff series that premiered in 2003, following Eric and Donna’s daughter, Leia, and her friends.

Kunis, Kutcher and Valderrama also made cameos in the first season of “That ’90s Show,” but Kunis and Kutcher said they don’t plan to return.

“We did our thing,” Kunis, 41, told Entertainment Tonight in April. 

When “That ‘70s Show” ended, Jackie and Kelso were broken up, and she was with Fez. But in “That ‘90s Show,” Jackie and Kelso were back together. 

Kunis has previously criticized that plotline. 

“My husband and I are together in [That ’90s Show], which is weird ’cause we shouldn’t have been,” Kunis told Access Hollywood in September 2023. “My character would be with Fez. I think that I ended up with Wilmer’s character. And I was like, ‘Why are you and I together?’”

Kunis added, “Now we’re, like, 20 years — no, 16 years later, whatever it is — and now we’re married with a kid. And I was like, ‘I don’t know about this one.’”

Kurtwood Smith as Red Forman, Topher Grace as Eric Forman, Debra Jo Rupp as Kitty Forman, Callie Haverda as Leia Forman in “That 90s Show.” Patrick Wymore/Netflix
Topher Grace seems to have gotten written off “That 90s Show.” Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
It seems like Eric is no more on “That 90s Show.” The Walt Disney Company

About writing original cast members like Grace off the show, showrunner Gregg Mettler told TVLine, “We always hope to have everybody back. We come up with ideas, we bat things around … but when you get down to the nitty-gritty of it all, it’s about scheduling.”

He continued, “I will be grateful for the rest of eternity for the contributions of the legacy cast members from That ’70s Show in Part 1. Them returning was a blessing, and they handed the show off in a delightful way.”

The Post reached out to reps from “That ‘90s Show” and Grace for comment. 

“That ‘90s Show” part 3 is currently streaming on Netflix.

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