Leah Lewis Returns to Matlock After David Del Rio Investigation, Firing

Leah Lewis — and the rest of the Matlock cast — is back on set for the first time since David Del Rio was fired following an investigation into alleged sexual assault.

“And we back up and running,” Lewis, 29, wrote via Instagram on Monday, December 1, alongside a photo of herself back at work. Her social media upload came after Beau Bridges told Mario Lopez during a recent interview that they will start filming the second part of Matlock season 2 before Christmas.

“I don’t want to give up too much. We’ve already done half of the second season, and we’re getting back at it in about a week to do the second half,” Bridges, 83, shared. “But I’ll just say that Senior always has a few tricks up his sleeve, which I’m happy that’s true.”

This is the first time the cast is back on set after Us Weekly confirmed in October that Del Rio, 38, who appears in the first half of Matlock season 2, is being written out of the remaining episodes.

News broke earlier that month that Del Rio was fired following an investigation afterLewis accused Del Rio of allegedly assaulting her in late September. Days later, Lewis reported the incident to CBS and Del Rio was removed from the set.

Matlock was on hiatus from filming at the time and the cast hadn’t returned until Monday. After the investigation was made public, Lewis broke her silence by sharing a photo with her mother from set.

“Mom is here, we’re moving forward in love and strength. I’m in good hands,” she wrote via Instagram in October. “Thank you to everybody for any kind of support and care. Truly, we’re moving forward in strength. Key word, strength. Please, let that be the take away.”

Del Rio has yet to address the scandal while his wife, Katherine Del Rio, posted Instagram Stories calling Lewis a “disturbing human being” before deleting them hours later.

The actor previously spoke to Us in May about how the show would be committing to the paternity twist involving his character, Billy. “I’m really excited to see how Billy handles the work balance with the personal balance of it all,” he shared before the season 2 premiere.

Lewis also weighed in on what was awaiting Sarah in season 2 during the joint interview.

“I remember reading the finale and hoping at the end that Sarah was going to get away scot free with this wonderful victory. Of course the thing happens with Simone and she might need to take accountability,” Lewis hinted. “To be honest, this is where we really get to see if Sarah can step up to the plate for the thing that she has been begging for, asking for and working so hard for. You want to get treated like a big dog. We’ll start acting like a big dog. I feel like this season we’ll definitely probably get to see her mature a bit more on that aspect. Her professional win is not over yet.”

Matlock airs on CBS Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.