Wonder how and if Tom will fit into the story going forward.

Thanks for this news. That's sad but not really unexpected. I thought that there were 3 really good episodes out of the lot. I wouldn't mind it being brought back as a 3 - 4 episode mini-series in 2018 during the break.

Well, they set up that whole Howard world domination story, so they can't just leave it hanging. I wonder if it will tie in with that giant threat that Red mentioned what seems like so long ago with the Map of Doom?

Obviously Tom is still a compelling character and he's still related to Liz. However, its a super-crowded landscape on TBL, after 4 seasons worth - most of the actors have increased their worth - and everyone is screaming for valuable air time.

Famke & Howard can always be kept on stand-bye, pending other commitments to come in and serve a purpose.

I really hate the idea though of writing both Nez & Solomon out of the main show. They were solid, if not compelling characters who kept things moving and kept things lively. Losing one - or both would truly be sad.

But TBL is now a veritable James Spader Rat Pack (think Sinatra, Dean Martin & Sammy Davis's followers in the 50s and 60s.  . . . . . so many brilliant actors and so little time to do justice to all. Obviously Spader is the fulcrum - everything spins off of him but the others are used interchangeably depending on writers script and direction. Kaplan is now reduced to guest-star status. Samar, Harold, Aram are pretty much confined to quarters - no major story-lines for any of the Post Office group.
Right now the order of acting oxygen is 1. Spader, 2. Bloomaert, 3. Resler, 4. Julian Gale, 5. Debt Collector, 6. Donald Ressler, 7. Dembe, 8. Aram, 9. Samar, 10. Harold Cooper. And the show now has to service Tom Keen, Glenn, Marvin Gerard, etc.