Jason Ritter has been a fixture on television for years and aware of the Hollywood ecosystem for decades, being an actor and the son of acting greats the late John Ritter (Three’s Company) and Nancy Morgan (Grand Theft Auto). Some viewers might know Jason from his Emmy-nominated role on the hit NBC series Parenthood as Mark Cyr, the loveable English teacher and eventual love interest of Sarah Braverman (Lauren Graham) while others might know the actor from A Million Little Things, Kevin Saves The World, Drunk History, and the list goes on.
Throughout his career, Jason Ritter has seen many eras of television evolve and change, from the days where A-listers wouldn’t touch broadcast network television to the rise of streamers and the “golden age” of television, where top executives were greenlighting exciting projects, with actors previously relegated to film, to now, where network television is seeing a bit of a resurgence, and audiences seem to want longer episodic-seasons.
Of going through the different characters of the business with the own ebbs and flows of his career, Ritter said, “It’s been interesting to watch everything change over the course of the period of time that I’ve been trying to do this. With technology comes a lot more access. I think it’s wonderful that in a certain way, it’s leveled the playing field, and you can have White Lotus in the same world as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. People are able to get more things made, but it’s also then harder to stand out because there are so many shows, and it is impossible to watch. I think this is such a wonderful time for television, and we have the ability to tell so many stories and sit with characters for long periods of time.”
“The thing that I’m the most grateful for is that there’s less of a stigma between film actors and television actors. There’s more of a feeling of everybody does everything. So, you have Meryl Streep and Kathy Bates, these absolute movie stars coming and getting to do television and showing everybody what they got. So that part is exciting, too. It’s all become quality of story wins over any kind of stigma or money and I really appreciate that about this new chapter.”
The actor has started yet another exciting new chapter on the CBS show Matlock. The show is among the most exciting new additions to CBS’ lineup. While Hollywood is all about remakes and reboots, this isn’t your grandmother’s Matlock. The show marks the return of the great Kathy Bates, who is truly stellar as Mattie, a lawyer who comes out of retirement to seek justice for her late daughter, who became a victim of the opioid crisis. While her new colleague at Jacobson Moore thinks she’s an out-of-touch elder who needs to relearn the ropes, in reality, Mattie is hoodwinking each colleague, investigating who at the firm hid evidence that might have spared her daughter’s life.
On Matlock, Ritter plays Julian Markston, an attorney at Jacobson Moore, and divorcé, who has a complicated relationship with his father Howard (Beau Bridges). You get the impression that Julian spent the majority of his life seeking the approval of his absent father and managing partner of the firm. For most of season 1, we see him grapple with seeking acceptance from his father, navigating his relationship with his on-again-off-again-ex Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) — who also works at the firm — all the while vying to make partner at the firm. At the same time, there’s a feeling that there’s more to Julian and that I might just be hiding one of the season’s biggest secrets.
Ritter spoke about playing out that complicated father-son dynamic with actor Beau Bridges, “Beau is such a truly warm and wonderful person. You can see that in the show when he’s talking to Olympia, or Matty. It’s such a strange feeling as Julian to be cut off from that warmth. It almost feels like it’s for everyone in the world except for him. It’s this sort of tragic thing where I feel like no matter how angry or hurt Julian is in that relationship, there’s a part of him — and I think of a lot of people who have complicated, painful relationships with their parents — there’s still this strange part of them that you want your parents to say, ‘I’m really proud of you.
Julian is in close proximity to Mattie’s investigation as it’s highly believed he was hiding documents that would’ve aided in getting opioids off the market for good. On working with the legendary Kathy Bates, Ritter points out her collaborative spirit, “You try to put her on a pedestal because she’s Kathy Bates, and she’s been giving incredible performances for as long as I’ve ever seen her, and yet, if you try to talk about her in that type of way, she’ll truly get you to stop. She doesn’t want to hear it. She’s such a true collaborator in that sense.”
“Your impostor syndrome kicks into high gear. There’s just a part of you that’s going to think she’s gonna have a sense of, ‘Wait, this guy’s not the real deal. What am I doing across from this guy?’ But she was so warm and welcoming, and it was just incredible. I think the hardest thing for me is being one of the people that she’s not only hoodwinking, but one of the people who takes her for granted.”
