Matlock Fall Finale Leaves Billy on the Brink After David Del Rio Firing
Matlock’s fall finale quietly sets up Billy’s exit, with David Del Rio missing as the show ties off his arc, amid reports he was fired following sexual assault allegations involving co-star Leah Lewis.
If you noticed Billy missing in the Matlock fall finale, you weren't imagining it. David Del Rio is out, and the show has been quietly steering his character to the exit for a few weeks now. Here's how that unfolded on-screen and what we know about why.
Behind the scenes, Del Rio's departure reportedly followed allegations of sexual assault involving his co-star Leah Lewis. The production isn't discussing specifics, but they've written Billy out without recasting him, and they&aposre folding his exit into the ongoing merger storyline at the firm.
"I'm not going to discuss details, but what I can talk about is in terms of the show. The last episode you see him is in 7, and then you find out how Billy's story ends, which is in a very organic way that has to do with our whole office and how things are being shaped in this merger." — executive producer and showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman, to Deadline
- Nov 13: Billy and his girlfriend, Claudia, have a puzzling scene where she says she doesn't want to get married. Closed captions suggest Billy says he does want to marry her, but to the ear it sounds like the opposite. The camera stays locked on Claudia the whole time, so you never actually see Billy speak. It feels like the show was already adjusting midstream, and it's not clear what the original plan was.
- Dec 4 (Episode 7, "Prior Bad Acts"): This is Del Rio's final on-screen appearance as Billy.
- Dec 11 (fall finale): Billy doesn't show up at all. Through Sarah's voicemail, we learn he's taken a personal day. Then Sarah gets a call from Billy, and her reaction makes it clear that Billy's girlfriend has had a miscarriage. It's a brief, somber update that nudges his storyline off-screen.
So, yes: fans have probably seen the last of Del Rio on Matlock. The show says Billy's story ends in a way that ties into the firm's merger, which tracks with how they've been handling it — quietly, and mostly off-camera.
Don't expect a new Billy, either. The character isn't being recast. Instead, the cast is shifting: Henry Haber and Sarah Wright Olsen are joining as new additions as the office gets reshaped.