Charismatic lawyer Billy Macon makes his DC Universe debut in “Lanterns,” but Jason Ritter should look familiar to avid TV viewers. Billy is the son of militia leader William Macon (Garret Dillahunt) and the husband of Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald). In the “Lanterns” Season 1 premiere, Billy represents Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) in court, bringing him directly into the episode’s main story.
Ritter’s first major TV role came in the CBS fantasy drama “Joan of Arcadia,” where he portrayed Kevin Girardi in every episode across both seasons from 2003 to 2005. A year later, he starred as Ethan Haas in the CBS comedy “The Class,” which lasted just one season. He later played main character Sean Walker in NBC’s 2010 sci-fi thriller “The Event.”
Ritter may also be familiar to animation fans as the voice of Dipper Pines in “Gravity Falls,” a role he held from 2012 to 2016. He also earned a 2012 Emmy nomination for guest-starring as Mark Cyr in the popular NBC family drama “Parenthood,” appearing across all six seasons from 2010 to 2014. More recently, Ritter appeared as the villain Pat Rollins in both seasons of Netflix’s “Raising Dion.”
Jason Ritter also stars in a hit CBS legal drama
One of Jason Ritter’s most prominent recent projects also sees him play a lawyer. Starring alongside Kathy Bates in the CBS series “Matlock,” Ritter plays Julian Markston, an attorney at Jacobson Moore, and has appeared in every episode across Seasons 1 and 2. Julian has a complicated moral compass and eventually becomes an ally to Bates’ Matty Matlock by the end of Season 2. “Matlock” Season 3 is slated to premiere in early 2027 as of this writing.
Ritter has also been cast in “The Last of Us” Season 3 as a Washington Liberation Front soldier named Hanley. It’s a full-circle moment for Ritter, given that he cameoed as a clicker in Season 1 of the video game adaptation. With “Lanterns,” “Matlock,” and “The Last of Us” all on his current slate, Ritter is quite the booked and busy TV actor.
HBO Max subscribers can stream new episodes of “Lanterns” Season 1 on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.