CBS is asking a Los Angeles court to knock down a lawsuit filed by former Matlock writer John Lowe, sharply rejecting his claims of racial and sexual harassment as “fabrications and outright lies.”
The network’s legal response, filed by attorneys representing CBS Studios and defendants Jennie Urman Snyder, Nicki Renna and Jeffrey Lieber, pushes back against Lowe’s June lawsuit, which sought unspecified damages and alleged that the Matlock workplace allowed “sexually explicit and discriminatory conduct” to take hold.
Lowe’s complaint in L.A. Superior Court accused showrunner Snyder and producers of permitting misconduct. Among the allegations cited in the filing: that Snyder referred to the Juneteenth holiday using a racial slur, and that another producer made a sexually suggestive late-night call to Lowe.
CBS is now challenging both the substance of those allegations and Lowe’s account of his employment timeline. In its filing, the studio’s legal team states that Lowe was hired on the Kathy Bates-starring series in October 2023 and left in July 2024, not July 2025. The defense also says Snyder never used the racial slur Lowe alleged and that others did not witness the remark.
CBS argues the decision not to bring Lowe back was creative
In seeking dismissal, CBS is framing Lowe’s non-renewal as a protected creative decision. The defense argues that Lowe’s allegations that he was unlawfully terminated and is owed lost wages “implicate California’s anti-SLAPP statute” and support a motion to strike because the decision not to reengage him as a writer was, according to the filing, “a creative decision in furtherance of their exercise of free speech on a matter of public interest.”
The language marks a forceful legal and public rebuttal from CBS, which is not merely denying Lowe’s claims but accusing him of retaliating after he was not brought back to the show.
“Lowe was never subjected to race or sex harassment as he claims, and as this case progresses, Defendants are confident that Plaintiff’s malicious and unsupported attacks will be publicly exposed for what they are: retaliation by a desperate man who was not renewed as a writer because his performance deficiencies detrimentally impacted CBS’ ability to convey the messages it desired,” CBS’ legal team wrote.
The filing arrives as the 2026-2027 TV season approaches, putting the dispute over the behind-the-scenes culture of Matlock back in the spotlight. The case centers on serious allegations about the writers’ room and production environment, while CBS’ response turns on an equally direct denial: that the claims, as presented by Lowe, are false and unsupported.
Studio stands behind producers
A CBS Studios spokesperson also issued a statement backing the motion and the defendants.
“As stated in the motion and following a thorough investigation, we are confident that Lowe’s accusations are demonstrably inaccurate and maliciously fabricated, and will not allow them to go unchallenged,” the spokesperson said.
The studio added: “False allegations are deeply damaging, both to those wrongly accused, and to anyone with a serious and legitimate claim of discrimination. We stand firmly behind our producers and look forward to the truth coming to light.”
Lowe’s lawsuit remains rooted in the claims he brought in June, including the alleged use of a racial slur tied to Juneteenth and the alleged late-night sexually suggestive call. CBS, for its part, is asking the court to strike the claims tied to his alleged unlawful termination and lost wages, arguing that the decision not to rehire him belongs in the realm of creative judgment.
The next major development will be whether the court accepts CBS’ argument and grants the motion to strike, or allows Lowe’s claims to continue moving forward.