Co-creator of Max’s The Sex Lives of College Girls Justin Noble (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Never Have I Ever) reassures audiences that fan-favorite character Leighton, played by actress and singer Reneé Rapp(Mean Girls), will have her storyline wrapped up in the third season according to Deadline. Last year, it was announced that Rapp would be leaving the series during the upcoming third season.
Noble announces to fans that “they haven’t seen the last of Reneé Rapp’s Leighton”, according to Deadline. In recent interview with Teen Vogue, Noble stated, “[She] definitely still has some lessons and room to grow ahead of her…She’ll be faced with a couple of big choices and she’ll have to make a couple of big decisions in all aspects of her life.” This statement suggests that Leighton will not abruptly leave the show with unfinished storylines, as many speculated since her conflicts in the first and second seasons are some of the biggest and most pivotal in the series.
Noble goes on, even teasing what lies ahead for the four girls heading into sophomore year, “[Co-creator] Mindy [Kaling] (The Office, Never Have I Ever), myself and the writers, we definitely chose chaos at the end of Season 2. And I think that is also a real thing that relationships in college go through. You have to learn your boundaries. You have to learn where you’re going to assert yourself with friendships [and] telling them what is and isn’t okay and what your needs are,” as stated via Deadline.
The hit Max series follows the lives of four freshmen at the fictional and prestigious Essex college: Kimberly, played by Pauline Chalamet (The Kings of Staten Island), a naïve Midwesterner on scholarship; Whitney, played by Alyah Chanelle Scott (Reboot), a talented soccer player trying to out shadow her famous mom; Bela, played by Amrit Kaur (The Queen of My Dreams), an aspiring comedy writer and wild child; and Rapp’s character Leighton, a upper-class Essex Legacy it girl coming to terms with her sexuality. As roommates and unlikely friends, the girls explore sex, relationships, frat parties, and themselves.
Rapp’s career has exploded since the first season of The Sex Lives of College Girls first premiered in 2021. This is also the year her first album, Snow Angel, was released and held to high critical acclaim. Rapp was also in the musical adaptation of Mean Girl this year as the titular Regina George.
With Noble’s assertion that her story is not over, fans need not worry that Leighton will silently exit the series again.