The Good Doctor is only a few episodes into its fifth season, but there have already been big changes to the status quo, and now another one is one the way when it comes to a series regular. Shortly after Antonia Thomas departed The Good Doctor in the Season 4 finale, the show’s newest series regular is departing as well. Fans will have to say goodbye to Osvaldo Benavides as Dr. Mateo Rendón Osma.
Osvaldo Benavides made his debut on The Good Doctor to close out Season 4, when the doctors of St. Bonaventure flew to a rural town in Guatemala to help patients in need. He was a guest star at that point, but was later promoted to series regular for Season 5 to fill the vacancy left by Antonia Thomas’ Claire Browne, who decided to stay in Guatemala and continue the good work there. TVLine reports that Benavides is leaving The Good Doctor.
Although Osvaldo Benevides is the newest series regular with the fewest major attachments to the rest of the hospital (and still dealing with some red tape despite his relationship with Christina Chang’s Dr. Audrey Lim), his reported departure is still a big deal for the show. Mateo’s romance with Lim was a big step forward for her, as she – like Claire – was deeply affected by the death of Dr. Melendez, and she got pretty serious about Mateo pretty quickly. Depending on how The Good Doctor handles the character’s departure, he could have a lasting impact on her, at least.
At the time of writing, production studio Sony Pictures Television has not commented on the reports of Osvaldo Benavides leaving, nor has ABC. For his part, Benavides hasn’t weighed in via a statement or social media just yet either. The show has still been working to incorporate Mateo into the story at St. Bonaventure, so news of the actor leaving comes as a surprise.
That said, the uncertainty about Mateo’s future could make it easier to find a reason to write him out, in case the departure came as a surprise on set. For now, only time will tell what reason will be given (if any) for the series regular leaving shortly into his first season on the hit ABC show. It’s not clear at this point when the decision was made or how many episodes remain with Osvaldo Benavides.
Hopefully, the show will have the time to give him an on-screen goodbye, even though his exit undoubtedly wouldn’t pack the same emotional punch as Claire’s when she left as an original series regular. The news comes after The Good Doctor took two weeks off, and just hours before the fourth episode of Season 5 debuts. The show premiered around the same time as plenty of other big shows back in September, but the two weeks off means that it’s a couple of episodes behind some of the other biggest series on television.
The Good Doctor returns with new episodes starting on Monday, October 25 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC, following a new episode of Dancing with the Stars in the fall TV lineup. More change is coming to St. Bonaventure, so be sure to tune in!
