Season 1 of Matlock provided a fresh take on a legal procedural, but season 2 is set to be even more exciting than the first season. Kathy Bates stars as Madeline “Matty” Kingston, who changes her name to Matlock and takes on a hefty investigation into the circumstances that led to her daughter’s death. She is often underestimated by other lawyers, but uses that to her advantage. Her own investigation is hidden by the case-of-the-week format of a procedural while still allowing the show a serial narrative structure.
Bates brings a certain amount of charm and ruthless determination to the title character that helps to build the intrigue in the first season as Matty tries to find the person responsible for a legal cover-up. Much of the fun of the first season is in watching Matty escape detection as she completes her own investigation alongside the case of the week. Season 2, however, will see a change to that, and that makes the series even more exciting.
Matlock’s Original Premise Limited The Series’ Future
Season 2 Could Have Been Very Repetitive
The original premise for the Matlock reboot involves a story with a clear endpoint. Matty, tipped off by anonymous posts online, knows that someone working at the law firm of Jacobsen Moore hid documents for a pharmaceutical company that could have led to the very opioids her daughter became addicted to being taken off the shelf. Every episode features Matty getting just a little bit closer to uncovering who at the firm hid them. Every episode, however, also gets Matty closer to the end of that particular story and edged toward becoming repetitive for the fans.
That’s because each of the season 1 episodes is set up in a similar way. Matty seemingly makes mistakes that are actually a cover for her investigation, while everyone around her underestimates her value as a lawyer for the team she is assigned to at Jacobson Moore. While the episode follows a court-case-of-the-week, Matty gets a new piece of information, and how she does it is revealed near the end of the episode via flashback.
The first season did slowly transition to Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) trusting her and realizing they could use others underestimating Matty to their advantage, but the formula for the episodes was very limiting for the future of the show. There is only so long that Matty can keep up the ruse concerning who she is and what she is looking for before she is either found out or the mystery comes to an end and the guilty party is taken to court. The flashbacks being utilized in every episode also mean fans are simply looking for the next twist.
The Matlock Season 1 Finale Sets Up A More Exciting Season 2
Matlock Has All New Secrets In Play
…a fresh and exciting spin to the show moving forward.
Luckily for all of us watching at home, Matlock season 2 will see Olympia in on Matty’s secret and with a new one of her own. After Olympia is cleared of any wrongdoing, she also believes her ex-husband, Julian (Jason Ritter), is in the clear, but finds proof that he is actually the person who hid the documents at his father’s instruction. During the season 1 finale, Olympia even has an entire conversation with him about just why he did it and holds the incriminating documents in her hands. This brings a fresh and exciting spin to the show moving forward.
What will Olympia do with the documents, and how will she handle this newfound knowledge of Julian are just two of the questions fans have going into the new season. Olympia is someone who has proven herself as the person who goes after the big fish instead of taking the bait, though. Setting up class action lawsuits has become her specialty. She is going to want to go after Julian’s father, Senior (Beau Bridges), directly, which will be complicated by the fact that she just made partner at his law firm.
Though Olympia and Matty are on the same page about wanting to bring Julian’s father down, they are definitely going to be coming at that idea from very different places. Olympia is going to want to protect her family to the best of her ability, and Matty is seeking justice for her own. There is going to be a whole new secret looming between them, but they will also be united in keeping Matty’s secret from others at the firm. It creates new layers for the actors to play in ensemble scenes, and adds a whole new kind of drama to the storyline.
It begs the question of just who else might end up involved in the investigation as the show heads into its sophomore season. The series will likely slowly let more characters into Matty’s secret, and season 2 should certainly add another ally to her side besides Olympia. Whether Julian will cooperate with Matty and Olympia’s investigation to help take his father down is unclear right now, but that could be a way for Olympia to get Matty to work with Julian in season 2.
How Matlock Can Maintain Its Storytelling Quality For Season 2
Matlock Season 2 Has To Maintain Its Previous Balance
Part of the reason the first season of Matlock is so successful is that the series manages to balance the heartbreaking investigation Matty is undertaking with its new case each week. Each of the cases Matty helps Olympia and her team with in the first season has an aspect that underscores part of Matty’s own secret investigation. It’s a useful narrative device for the writers of the show, but beyond that, it makes every story the series tells just a bit more emotionally hard-hitting.
Matlock season 2 has to maintain that balance between those cases and Matty’s own work to prove Senior is culpable in hiding critical documents in a court case. The first season did a fantastic job of making corporate law interesting to the average viewer by making the weekly guest stars into relatable characters who found themselves taken advantage of by large companies. Every single case, despite the themes being the same, was drastically different.
Each of the cases informs the larger arc.
Matty is able to understand what kind of documents might be hidden thanks to a case involving the concealing of a study about the marketing of alcoholic energy drinks in episode 15. She is also able to better understand addiction when someone suffering from it is a witness in a case in Matlock episode 5. Each of the cases informs the larger arc.
Those weekly cases help provide a way to flesh out Matty’s plight and keep the audience engaged with fresh stories every week. Matlock season 2 will have to continue to maintain that balance to maintain the quality of its longer story arc as well.
