When CBS first announced its modern reboot of Matlock, audiences were skeptical. Could anyone truly follow in the footsteps of Andy Griffith, the folksy yet razor-sharp defense attorney who once dominated daytime reruns and anchored a generation of courtroom drama? As it turns out, the new Matlock isn’t trying to follow in his footsteps—it’s blazing an entirely new path. And at the center of it all is Kathy Bates.
A Radical Reinvention Led by Experience
Rather than rehashing the original formula with modern polish, creator Jennie Snyder Urman (Jane the Virgin) crafted a new vision for the franchise. Bates plays Madeline “Matty” Matlock—not Ben’s granddaughter, as was once planned, but a wholly separate character who co-opts the famous surname as a disguise. Her goal: infiltrate the law firm Jacobson Moore to uncover the truth about her daughter’s death, which she believes was covered up.
Bates’ Matlock is not a seasoned courtroom warrior from the start; she’s an outsider. But what sets her apart isn’t just her legal cunning—it’s her age. As she says in the show’s opening narration, “I feel damn near invisible.” Yet in that invisibility lies her greatest strength.
Not Just a Crime Drama—A Meditation on Age, Power, and Gender
Unlike most network legal shows, Matlock places its commentary front and center. It’s not just about legal twists or whodunits. The reboot has become one of the few shows on prime time television that dares to tell stories about older women as complex protagonists—not wise grandmothers or comic reliefs, but calculating, driven, and emotionally layered individuals.
In doing so, Matlock doesn’t just challenge the conventions of the genre—it quietly revolutionizes the expectations of its network. CBS, historically known for its procedural comfort food, now has a prestige-leaning legal drama that centers real-world social issues, particularly the intersections of sexism, ageism, and justice.
Kathy Bates: A Masterclass in Understatement
Bates, an Oscar winner for Misery and Emmy winner for American Horror Story, is giving one of her most grounded performances in years. She’s not playing Matty with theatrical flair. Instead, she smolders beneath the surface, conveying pain, loss, and strategy with the smallest glance or pause. It’s the kind of performance that requires an actor with decades of skill—and it works because it never asks for attention.
Behind-the-scenes interviews reveal that Bates wasn’t intimately familiar with the original Matlock, which may have helped her approach the reboot with fewer expectations. “I watched a couple [of episodes] to see what I could get out of it, but our show is just so different,” she told Billy Bob Thornton in Variety’s Actors on Actors. That distance seems to have liberated her from mimicry—and allowed her to fully inhabit a new kind of legal icon.
The Verdict from Critics and Audiences
While some critics were initially wary of yet another reboot, Matlock quickly won over viewers with its slow-burn mystery and character-driven arcs. The show avoids flashy spectacle in favor of methodical, high-stakes storytelling. With each episode, Matty peels back a layer of the firm’s secrets—and her own.
The reception has been overwhelmingly positive. Fans have flooded social media with praise for Bates’ nuanced performance, with comments like “Kathy Bates is a national treasure,” and “Finally, a show that understands how to write for someone over 60 without making them a joke.”
Meanwhile, television critics have noted that Matlock’s ability to marry legal drama with emotional storytelling makes it stand out in a crowded field. It’s not just good—it’s timely. In a media landscape that often sidelines older women, Matlock insists on their power, their agency, and their stories.
The Future of ‘Matlock’
CBS has already greenlit a second season, and insiders hint that future episodes will deepen the show’s serialized arc. While Matty continues to take on new cases in court, the mystery of her daughter’s death remains the spine of the narrative. As she gets closer to the truth, the show promises even more high-stakes drama, ethical dilemmas, and explosive reveals.
Jennie Snyder Urman has hinted that the second season may also expand Matty’s world, including more about her past and the events that shaped her sense of justice. “We’re not just reinventing Matlock,” she said in an interview, “we’re showing that reinvention is possible at any stage of life.”
Final Thoughts: A Quiet Triumph
Matlock isn’t just a reboot. It’s a reclamation. Of narrative space for older women. Of nuance in legal storytelling. Of the possibility that television—network television, no less—can still surprise us when it puts character first.
And in Kathy Bates, the show has not only found its anchor but a beacon. Her performance doesn’t ask to be remembered. It demands it.
