DaCosta played prosecutor Andy Freeman in seasons 2 and 3 of the Netflix legal drama.

Why did Yaya DaCosta leave The Lincoln Lawyer? What we know about her exit (and possible return)

DaCosta played prosecutor Andy Freeman in seasons 2 and 3 of the Netflix legal drama.

By Allison DeGrushe

Allison DeGrushe

Allison DeGrushe is a timely SEO writer at **. She has been working at * *since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Distractify.

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February 12, 2026 1:32 p.m. ET

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Yaya DaCosta as Andy Freeman on 'The Lincoln Lawyer'. Credit:

Courtesy Of Netflix

- *The Lincoln Lawyer *season 4 hit Netflix on Feb. 5, 2026.

- Yaya DaCosta's Andy Freeman wasn't part of the fourth season.

- The actress said her absence came as a total surprise.

Since it first hit Netflix in 2022, *The Lincoln Lawyer* has emerged as one of the streamer's best legal dramas. The series returned for season 4 on Feb. 5, following Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) as he finds himself in the hot seat after being framed for murder.

As he fights to clear his name, viewers will notice one big absence: Yaya DaCosta, who played Mickey's foe-turned-lover Andrea "Andy" Freeman.

Before season 4 premiered, it was confirmed that DaCosta wouldn't be back. Here's everything we know about why she left *The Lincoln Lawyer*.

Who did Yaya DaCosta play on The Lincoln Lawyer?

Yaya DaCosta as Andy Freeman on 'The Lincoln Lawyer'.

Courtesy of Netflix

On *The Lincoln Lawyer*, DaCosta played prosecutor Andy Freeman. Introduced in season 2, Andy quickly became one of Mickey's fiercest opponents in the courtroom.

DaCosta previously told Tudum that Andy is a "believer in justice" who thrives on seeing the truth prevail. "Andrea got into this in order to serve," she said. "She didn't get into it to become a famous hotshot lawyer. She's not interested in the glitz and glamour [like] Mickey seems to be. She's used to being on top, but her drive isn't entirely selfish … She wants to be on the right side of these stories."

By season 3, Andy's relationship with Mickey turned romantic, which made things a bit complicated given her friendship with his ex-wife, Maggie McPherson (Neve Campbell).

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Showrunner Ted Humphrey told TV Insider that the decision to expand Andy's role came down to the "great chemistry" between Haller and DaCosta.

"Yaya's performance is fantastic as Andrea," he shared. "Andrea is not even a part of this story in the book, but we so enjoyed that performance from season 2, and we so enjoyed the chemistry between the two characters that we just felt this was one of those ways that we expand the books."

Why did Yaya DaCosta leave The Lincoln Lawyer?

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller and Yaya DaCosta as Andy Freeman on 'The Lincoln Lawyer'.

Lara Solanki/Netflix

When Netflix released the season 4 cast list, fans immediately noticed that DaCosta was missing. And when the season premiered, the character was only referenced in passing, never appearing onscreen.

One possible explanation comes from the source material. Season 4 adapts *The Law of Innocence*, which finds Mickey being framed for murder. It leaves very little room for any personal subplots, including his romance with Andy. Season 4 does, however, bring Maggie back in a larger role and even hints at possible reconciliation between them.

In April 2025, DaCosta spoke about her abrupt season 3 exit with TV Insider. "Andrea's absence was not expected or explained to the audience," she said. "Sometimes when things like this happen, the writers will give an explanation in a conversation between two characters who are on the show. Or someone will make a phone call and pretend the disappeared character is on the other end. Who knows what they'll do? I'm just focusing on the now and future."

Humphrey addressed her absence following the season 4 premiere. “Especially when you’re doing shows on a platform like Netflix and you only have 10 episodes to work with, your storytelling is necessarily very constricted," he told TV Insider. "If it were a network show and we had 22 episodes a season, there’d be a lot of room for a lot of side stories with a lot of different characters and you really have to be focused in 10 episodes. And so we’d love to have all of our great characters on all the time. There’s just not enough stories to tell with them.”

He did, however, say that he's open to bringing her back in the fold in future seasons. "We feel like we have a really great palette of characters to play with, and so you can bring them in and out of the stories,” he said, adding that "Andrea is a great tool in our toolbox that we would love to find another way to use.” **

Where can I watch The Lincoln Lawyer?

Yaya DaCosta as Andy Freeman on 'The Lincoln Lawyer'.

Lara Solanki/Netflix

*The Lincoln Lawyer *is now streaming on Netflix.

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