How Chris Noth’s Equalizer Character Was Written Off

CBS’ The Equalizer has said goodbye to Chris Noth‘s William Bishop.

On the April 10 episode, Queen Latifah‘s Robyn McCall finally learned why her mentor, Bishop, had been MIA. As it turns out, the former CIA director has been assisting the CIA on a two-month investigation into a mysterious plane crash. 

With the help of Harry Keshegian (Adam Goldberg) and Melody “Mel” Bayani (Liza Lapira), McCall discovers that her nemesis Mason Quinn (Chris Vance) is behind the plane crashes. Apparently, he and an evil scientist have found a way to use electromagnetic pulses to knock planes out of the sky. They then use this technology on the aircraft carrying Bishop, killing him and the rest of the passengers. 

Noth last appeared on The Equalizer in a Jan. 2 episode, which was filmed prior to the actor’s ousting in December. 

CBS announced that the star was fired from the series in a Dec. 20 statement: “Chris Noth will no longer film additional episodes of The Equalizer, effective immediately.”