Matlock season 2 has premiered, and with it, the story of Matty Matlock (Kathy Bates) and her quest to find the truth behind her daughter's death and legal cover-up continues. The main story of the Matlock season 2 premiere is Matty and Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) trading lies as they each try to outmaneuver each other, with Matty wanting to get to the truth of the Wellbrexa case and Olympia lying to hide Julian's involvement.
Another major revelation, however, was Billy (David Del Rio) confirming that he is indeed the father of Claudia's child, and the pair deciding they'll get back together to raise the baby together. Shortly before the premiere, however, Deadline broke the news that Del Rio had been fired from the series for alleged sexual assault.
Here's why he was fired and how it will impact the show, which has already filmed the first half of season 2, moving forward
Matlock's David Del Rio Was Fired For Alleged Sexual Assault
Matlock regular David Del Rio was fired from the sophomore season of the CBS legal drama following an internal investigation into an incident of alleged sexual assault. The accuser was Del Rio's Matlock co-star Leah Lewis, and while details of the alleged assault were rightly not made public, the incident reportedly took place in Lewis' trailer on the Paramount lot on September 26.
Accusing someone of sexual assault, and any punitive moves that follow, are serious business. As such, studio executives and show producers immediately launched an investigation following the incident being reported. While details of the investigation have not been shared, whatever they found was apparently enough to warrant firing Del Rio.
Matlock's Leah Lewis Has Spoken Out After The News Of Del Rio's Firing
For her part, Leah Lewis has been largely quiet about Del Rio and the alleged assault, only once indirectly referencing the incident and subsequent fallout on Instagram. Shortly after Deadline broke the news of Del Rio's firing, Lewis shared an Instagram story with a picture of her hugging her mom with a caption that read, "Mom is here. We’re moving forward in love and strength. I’m in good hands. Thank you to everybody for any kind of support and care. Truly, we’re moving forward in strength. Key word, strength. Let that be the takeaway."
It's the only time Lewis has alluded to the incident on the Matlock set with Del Rio, and she's been quiet since then. It's unclear if this is for legal reasons or simply because she is choosing to, as her Instagram story indicates, put the incident behind her and move forward.
Del Rio's Wife Is Standing By Her Husband
While David Del Rio has not spoken out about his firing or the accusations against him, his wife, Katherine Del Rio, posted two deleted Instagram stories of her own that took shots at Lewis. The first was a close-up shot of Lewis' face with a caption that read "This is the most disturbing human being I have ever met." That was quickly deleted.
She shortly thereafter posted another Instagram story that mimicked Lewis' own. The story contained a picture of Del Rio and her mother, and the caption "Mom is here. We’re moving forward in love and strength after what Leah did to our family. Thank you all for the love and support!”
Del Rio also quickly deleted that story; since then, she has not spoken about her husband's firing or Lewis on social media. It would appear that all parties involved have either been told to or chosen to remain mum on the matter for the time being.
Del Rio's Firing Creates An Issue For Matlock Season 2
Regardless of the details or what went down behind closed doors, the fact remains that David Del Rio's firing has created significant story problems for Matlock's sophomore season. Del Rio played Billy Martinez, a first-year associate at Jacobson Moore, where most of the action takes place. Lewis plays fellow first-year associate Sarah Franklin.
Matlock's premise revolves around the law firm hiring Madeline “Matty” Matlock, who claimed to be a widowed lawyer, to work under Olympia Lawrence. Matty's fake identity, however, is merely a way for her to infiltrate Jacobson Moore to investigate the wrongdoings of the firm, which she blames for her daughter's death from an opioid overdose.
As the junior associate trio of the law firm, Matty, Sarah, and Billy drive much of the show, and Del Rio's exit will significantly complicate matters. Though season 2 just premiered, as is the case with most network shows, the filming for Matlock is episodes ahead. As such, the first half of Matlock season 2 has been filmed, with a planned hiatus this week. Production on the second half is intended to resume after Thanksgiving.
While the network has not spoken about the incident directly, it did confirm to TV Insider that Del Rio's Billy Martinez will be written off the show when production resumes. If the show decides to stick with that option, that will require significant script rewrites, as Billy is involved in multiple storylines.
Regardless of how they choose to handle it, the Matlock team will have its hands full when production resumes, and not a lot of time to figure it out.
