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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Spoilers for Season 3: Will Trent’s biological father is Caleb, a sheriff. The series introduces the reveal in Episode 17, “Why Hello, Sheriff,” then expands on it in the finale, “Listening to a Heartbeat.” Caleb says he did not know Lucy Morales was pregnant with Will.
When does Will learn who his father is?
The reveal begins in Season 3, Episode 17, “Why Hello, Sheriff,” which ABC Press lists as airing May 6, 2025. Its episode description says Will uncovers surprising truths about his past. The story continues in Episode 18, “Listening to a Heartbeat,” which aired May 13, 2025, with the official description pointing to the complicated dynamics of Will’s family. ABC Press’s Season 3 episode guide provides the episode titles and dates.
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The finale gives Caleb’s account of his relationship with Lucy Morales and how Will was conceived. In an interview with TVLine, Caleb says he tried to call and write to Lucy but heard nothing back, and thought she wanted nothing to do with him. He also says, “I wanted to marry her from the second I saw her.” That is Caleb’s explanation, not independently confirmed history within the account. TVLine’s finale interview recounts his version.
Why did the show make Caleb Will’s father?
Co-showrunner Daniel Thomsen said the creative team had been considering Will’s father since the first season, but wanted to give the story of Will’s mother room before bringing his father into it. “We’d been thinking about Will’s father since Season 1,” Thomsen said.
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Co-showrunner Liz Heldens explained that the television series took a different path from the novels’ possible connection between Will and James Ulster. The showrunners wanted Will to have a law-enforcement father whose role could carry both positive possibilities and difficult qualities. Caleb is played by Yul Vazquez. The TVLine interview spells the sheriff’s surname inconsistently in one passage, so Caleb is the clearest name to use. TVLine’s interview discusses the adaptation choice; TV Guide’s finale coverage uses the surname Broussard.
Is Rafael’s debt part of the father mystery?
No. Season 3 also revisits Will’s past through Rafael Wexford and the debt between them, but that is a separate storyline. In a January 2025 interview, Ramón Rodríguez described an unresolved event from their youth. Thomsen said the arc looks at what happened when both men were 18, after Will aged out of foster care and before he found a sense of purpose. TV Guide’s interview with Rodríguez covers that thread.
How does the reveal fit into the Season 3 finale?
The family revelation unfolds alongside an attack on Atlanta by the domestic group Founders Front. TV Guide reports that the team stops a bacteria threat targeting the central nervous system. Amanda is shot and left in critical condition, while Ormewood collapses after a recent brain-tumor diagnosis. Those emergencies put Will’s new family information in the context of his fear of losing the people he already considers family. TV Guide’s recap covers the finale’s intersecting threats.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does the television reveal differ from the novels?
The showrunners describe James Ulster as a possible father connection in the books, but the television series chose Caleb instead. The novels are a separate continuity: they may offer a companion route into Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent stories, but they do not explain the show’s specific Caleb reveal. Season 3 was described by Rodríguez as the series’ longest season to that point, with 18 episodes, according to TV Guide. TV Guide’s Season 3 coverage reports the episode count.
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