Stephen Finch's exit from Scandal marked a major turning point early in the show's run.
Starring Kerry Washington (known for her recent work on UnPrisoned), Scandal highlights Olivia Pope, a former presidential media consultant who opens a crisis-management firm. However, she and her team quickly learn the challenges of cleaning up other people's lives while trying to do the same for themselves.
Featured heavily in Season 1 is Henry Ian Cusick as Stephen Finch, a litigator who works closely with Olivia in Washington, D.C., and forms a friendship with her.
What Happened to Stephen in Scandal?
Scandal features Henry Ian Cusick's Stephen Finch throughout most of its first season, which starts off with him proposing to his girlfriend, Georgia.
The rest of the season shows Stephen growing as a character alongside Olivia Pope as fans learn about his past, mostly through his sexual relationships. Later, Olivia and Stephen's firm takes on D.C.'s finest madame, Sharon Marquette, as one of their clients, with whom Stephen has his own history.
Later, he discusses admitting to his fiance that he was sleeping with other women to Olivia in hopes that the engagement would be called off.
The start of Season 2 changes things for Stephen even further as he is no longer part of the series. Olivia explains to White House Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene that he moved to Boston and married Georgia, ending his tenure with the firm.
Why Did Stephen Leave Scandal After Season 1
Scandal fans were disappointed to learn that Cusick's departure from the series was a mutual decision between him and showrunner Shonda Rhimes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two came to an amicable decision, which led to the character's time on the show coming to an end.
Rhimes further explained to TV Guide (via Digital Spy) that there simply was not enough material to give Cusick in the show. She did not want to "hold him back from doing other things" by keeping him on the series in such a limited role:
"Henry Ian Cusick is such a great guy. [But] in the making of the show, there was less for him to do than is deserving of him. I felt, why hold him back from doing other things?"
Fortunately, Cusick had a moment of redemption in Scandal, coming back for a guest-starring role in Season 4, Episode 13 (titled "No More Blood").
That episode revealed him to be working with a Russian unit that bid $2 billion for Olivia, effectively giving them control of the United States President. In actuality, Stephen was paying back a favor to prevent Olivia's death.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Rhimes noted that the idea of Cusick coming back was in play "for a long time," and the actor said yes almost immediately when asked:
"We had been thinking about the idea of him coming back actually for a long time. As far as I know, he immediately said yes. It was an immediate, 'Absolutely,' and then he and I were on the phone together, which was nice."
Cusick confirmed jumping at the opportunity to come back, reminiscing on it being "super cool that Shonda invited [him] back to be in the show." While he did not see it coming, he was excited to keep his return a secret for fans wondering where he was:
"When the call came in from my agent, I jumped at it. It was super cool that Shonda invited me back to be in the show. It was completely unexpected, but I was delighted to bring Stephen out of the box once again. I loved Shonda’s idea of keeping it a secret, which is pretty hard to do in this day and age. It was such giggle for all of us. I had no idea what Shonda had in store for Stephen, I knew I would do it anyway–but I am so pleased that she gave me kick-ass story line! The question is, will he be back?"
Sadly, that was Cusick's only return to the show after his exit in Season 1.
Scandal is now streaming on Tubi and Hulu.
Cusick was also recently seen in 911: Lone Star, which is nearing the end of its final season.
