Actor David Del Rio has departed from the CBS legal drama Matlock after allegations surfaced that he sexually assaulted his co-star, Leah Lewis. Del Rio, 38, is no longer part of the cast. According to Deadline, the alleged incident occurred in late September, and the actor was immediately removed from the Paramount lot in October on the same day the report was filed.
Del Rio portrayed Billy Martinez in Matlock’s debut season, a gender-swapped reboot of the classic 1980s legal drama that starred Andy Griffith. The reboot features Academy Award winner Kathy Bates in the lead role as attorney Madeline “Matty” Matlock.
Del Rio’s character, Billy, was an ambitious associate at the high-profile New York law firm Jacobson Moore, where he worked closely with Lewis’ character, Sarah Franklin. Their on-screen partnership formed one of the central storylines of the show, as both young lawyers were part of Matlock’s legal team led by Olympia Lawrence, played by Skye P. Marshall.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/david-del-rio-1-100925-1a48a3c22036409a97f88fbbc0a6273e.jpg)
Sources have confirmed that Del Rio’s character will now be written out of the upcoming season. Production on season two has since resumed and remains on schedule. The new season is set to premiere on Sunday, October 12, at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS. However, filming is expected to pause briefly for a planned hiatus around Thanksgiving.
Leah Lewis, who portrays Sarah Franklin, has built a successful career in both film and television. She starred in Netflix’s 2020 romantic drama The Half of It, voiced Ember in Pixar’s Elemental, and appeared in The CW’s Nancy Drew series from 2019 to 2023.
The ensemble cast for Matlock also includes Skye P. Marshall, Jason Ritter, and Kathy Bates, with Justina Machado joining the second season in a major recurring role, as previously reported by Deadline in August.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/david-del-rio-matlock-1-100925-a5c94c50bfa6484a82812696874db105.jpg)
Season one ended on a dramatic note, with Billy discovering he was going to become a father — a plotline that creator Jennie Snyder Urman told PEOPLE would lead to “drama” and “trauma” in the coming episodes. Meanwhile, Sarah’s character achieved a major courtroom victory, setting up her own complex journey in season two.
“Sarah is going to be someone who is growing in confidence,” Urman said, teasing future storylines. Despite the controversy surrounding Del Rio’s exit, CBS intends to move forward with the new season of Matlock, continuing to focus on its ensemble cast and legal intrigue.