Why Osvaldo Benavides’ Exit From ‘The Good Doctor’ Probably Wasn’t in Bad Blood

There are a number of reasons why a talented actor or crew member would leave a production. Sometimes it just boils down to differences of artistic opinion. Other times there are rumors about an actor being difficult to work with or murmurs of a smear campaign against said actor to cover up the fact that production basically wanted to go in a different direction.

What's really disheartening for many fans is when a beloved character on a show bows out, like Dr. Mateo Rendón Osma (Osvaldo Benavides) on The Good Doctor. But why is he leaving the show?

While TV has no shortage of medical dramas, and there's always the risk that a show can be canceled, especially in such a saturated genre, The Good Doctor has enjoyed strong fan support over multiple seasons.

And while fans are delighted to see a series evolve and grow over time, on the business side of things, it's always really impressive and wonderful to see when actors themselves can grow in their roles.

Osvaldo Benavides is a prime example of this phenomenon. In Season 4, Osvaldo was a guest star on the show, and it seemed that production liked working with him so much that more was written for the Mexican actor after Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) left the series.

So the role of Mateo grew, but it seems that just as soon as Osvaldo got the regular gig, he is leaving the show. Why is that the case? Well, it seems pretty unlikely that production would entrust him with more responsibilities as a series regular actor if they planned on dumping him so soon after.

So it's entirely possible that Osvaldo had to bow out of the show due to personal reasons. Getting a series regular gig on a successful show with a demonstrated fan base is pretty much a dream come true for an actor, and it appears that Osvaldo was very happy to tackle the role of Mateo in the program.

It doesn't seem like there's any animosity between Osvaldo and the production team over at The Good Doctor. However, the "reason" as to his departure hasn't been clearly delineated yet.

It could be that the actor was offered up another role, or his contract with the series was only set for a single season and then production would see where things would go.

His IMDb page doesn't indicate any newer shows. It could be that there were filming conflicts between The Good Doctor and Loli's Luck, or maybe there were some creative differences between Osvaldo and showrunners that have yet to be aired out? The reality is that we don't know yet. However, Osvaldo is pretty seasoned when it comes to the TV business.

He's appeared in multiple novelas and series for tons of episodes, so it's not like he doesn't know how to hit his mark and be a working professional. It's hard to imagine that he dropped the ball on The Good Doctor, and he also appears to have a really big fan base who will be sad to see him go.

New episodes of The Good Doctor airs on ABC on Mondays at 10 p.m. EST. Will you miss Mateo?