‘Matlock’ Writer Drops Bombshell Lawsuit Against CBS, Accusing Showrunner of Racist Remarks and a Hostile Writers’ Room
CBS’s ‘Matlock’ has been one of the most unlikely success stories in recent broadcast television, anchored by the undeniable force of Kathy Bates and a premise that turned audience expectations completely on their head. The revival earned a near-perfect critical reception and shattered network records at its premiere, drawing in 7.73 million viewers and becoming CBS’s most-watched non-post-Super Bowl debut in over five years. Behind the scenes, however, a very different story has been unfolding, and it is now spilling into open court.
The series closed out its debut season as television’s top new series, with an average of 17 million viewers watching each week across broadcast and streaming on Paramount+. Its reputation as a genuine ratings powerhouse made it one of the most talked-about dramas on network television, a platform for Bates to deliver what many considered some of her finest work. That glowing public image now faces serious scrutiny with the emergence of a damning legal complaint.
Former writer John Lowe filed a lawsuit in California state court this week alleging that ‘Matlock’ showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman and executive producers created a hostile work environment described as being permeated by “sexually explicit and discriminatory conduct.” Lowe, who worked on ‘Matlock’ from October 2023 to July 2025, claims he was terminated from his position as a form of retaliation, coming just two weeks after he reported an alleged incident involving Urman and the Juneteenth holiday.
According to the suit, when Lowe asked whether the production would observe Juneteenth, Urman responded by using a deeply offensive racial slur to refer to the holiday, a comment the filing describes as shocking to Lowe and the colleagues within earshot. In a candid exchange with The Hollywood Reporter, Lowe opened up about the emotional toll of the experience, saying the incident left him crying in empty soundstages for the rest of the work week and that the remark felt deliberate. “It’s vicious in a writers’ room as a Black creative,” he said. “You’re either treated like a threat or a pet.”
The lawsuit specifically names CBS Television Studios, showrunner Urman and executive producers Nicki Renna and Jeffrey Lieber as defendants, bringing claims of hostile work environment and failure to prevent harassment, and seeking unspecified damages. Among the additional allegations, Lowe claims that showrunner and executive producers made inappropriate comments about his genitalia invoking racist stereotypes, and that he was pressured into performing personal tasks for Urman, including caring for her dog, with the implication that his job depended on his compliance.
CBS Studios issued a statement in response, saying it conducted a thorough internal investigation into Lowe’s concerns before the lawsuit was filed and that the probe was “unable to find support for his allegations,” adding that the company intends to vigorously defend the suit. Lowe’s attorney Ron Zambrano was far less measured, declaring that CBS should be ashamed for allowing the conduct to persist and that Lowe was fired without written cause or any performance-based justification, despite previously being praised as a model writer and a welcomed addition to the room.
This is not the first controversy to shadow ‘Matlock’, as series regular David Del Rio exited the show abruptly following an investigation into a sexual assault allegation, with a source telling Deadline the alleged incident occurred in a trailer involving fellow cast member Leah Lewis. With allegations now mounting on multiple fronts, the question looming over ‘Matlock’ is whether CBS will take meaningful action beyond a legal defense, and fans of the show who love seeing Kathy Bates in this role deserve to weigh in on what accountability should actually look like here.
