NEED TO KNOW
- David Del Rio was fired from Matlock following allegations of sexual assault involving Leah Lewis
- The 2 starred in recurring roles alongside Kathy Bates and Skye P. Marshall in season 1 of the sequence
- Del Rio was reportedly taken off of set the day Lewis made her report earlier this month
David Del Rio has left the solid of Matlock.
ipromiseyoumedia can verify the actor, 38, has departed the CBS sequence. It follows allegations that he sexually assaulted co-star Leah Lewis. The alleged incident occurred in late September and Del Rio was faraway from the set on the Paramount lot in October, the identical day the report was made, in keeping with Deadline.
ipromiseyoumedia has realized an investigation was instantly carried out after an incident was raised involving Del Rio and the community has since parted methods with the actor.
CBS has declined to remark.
Del Rio performed Billy Martinez in Matlock’s debut season final 12 months — which is a gender-swap reboot of the traditional Eighties authorized drama by the identical title.
His character was an affiliate at a prestigious New York legislation agency, Jacobson Moore, alongside Lewis’ Sarah Franklin.
The pair labored carefully and shared nearly all of their scenes portraying younger attorneys who’re a part of Kathy Bates’ titular Madeline “Matty” Matlock’s workforce, underneath Skye P. Marshall’s Olympia Lawrence.
His character will likely be written out of the present.
Earlier than becoming a member of the authorized drama, Lewis starred in The Half of It, Netflix’s 2020 fashionable retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac. She additionally voiced the character Ember in Pixar’s Elemental and appeared in The CW’s Nancy Drew, which ran from 2019 to 2023.
For the reason that incident, manufacturing has resumed on season 2 of Matlock, which is about to start airing on Oct. 12 however will go on a pre-planned hiatus subsequent week till Thanksgiving. Together with Del Rio, Lewis, Marshall and Bates, the solid consists of Jason Ritter.
Deadline additionally reported in August that Justina Machado was becoming a member of the solid for the second season in a serious recurring function.
Season 1 ended with Billy discovering out he was going to be a dad, which creator Jennie Snyder Urman beforehand instructed ipromiseyoumedia paved the best way for a storyline filled with “drama” and “trauma.”
In the meantime, the finale noticed Sarah land a triumphant courtroom victory, however Urman stated her happiness will likely be each “short-lived” and “deep.”
“She did one thing nice in courtroom and he or she goes to really feel that for some time after which Simone positively comes and pops the balloon, however Sarah’s not going to take that mendacity down,” Urman defined. “She is protecting of her job, her place on the workforce and he or she’s acquired some methods up her sleeve.”
The showrunner added, “Sarah goes to be somebody who’s rising in confidence.”
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Matlock season 2 premieres Sunday, Oct. 12, at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
