Matlock (2024 TV Series)

''Matlock'' is an American legal drama television series that premiered with a sneak peek on September 22, 2024, before its timeslot premiere on October 17 on CBS. The show was developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, and draws from the original '' Matlock'' TV series which starred Andy Griffith, but with a gender flipped lead character played by Kathy Bates and a vastly different premise overall. In October 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.

Premise

Wealthy retired lawyer Madeline Kingston returns to practice seeking justice for the death of her daughter Ellie in the opioid epidemic. Kingston gets a job under the persona of needy widow Madeline “Matty” Matlock, at the law firm she believes hid evidence that could have saved her daughter's life. To gain the firm's trust, she must first apply her intellect to help her colleagues with other challenging cases.

Within the universe of this series, the original ''Matlock'' series aired as it did in the real world, and Ellie's love of the series inspires Madeline's alias.

Cast and characters

Main

* Kathy Bates as Madeline "Matty" Matlock / Madeline Kingston, who claims to be a widowed lawyer, returning to the workforce following decades of retirement due to financial distress from her husband's gambling troubles, and having to raise her grandson following her daughter's death in a car accident. Matlock takes a job at the law firm Jacobson Moore, working with Olympia, a junior partner at the firm who becomes her boss. In fact, Kingston is wealthy and happily married, though indeed grieving the loss of her daughter who died from an opioid overdose and seeking retribution. She gave herself the alias of “Matlock” after the original television series.
* Skye P. Marshall as Olympia Lawrence, a junior partner at Jacobson Moore who becomes Matlock's boss. In the pilot episode, she is in the midst of divorcing Julian while aiming at a senior partner role with the support of her father-in-law. Olympia is reluctant to take Matty under her wing as she acknowledges that Matty is the threat of her promotion in the law firm due to her exceptional skills.
* Jason Ritter as Julian Markston, a senior partner at Jacobson Moore. In the pilot episode, he is in the midst of divorcing Olympia and engaged in a major settlement action involving a large pharmaceutical corporation.
* David Del Rio as Billy Martinez, a first-year associate at Jacobson Moore working with Olympia
* Leah Lewis as Sarah Franklin, a first-year associate at Jacobson Moore working with Olympia

Recurring

* Eme Ikwuakor as Elijah Walker, an attorney at Jacobson Moore who was in a romantic relationship with Olympia
* Aaron Harris as Alfie Kingston, Madeline's genius grandson who is in charge of the family's technical operations
* Sam Anderson as Edwin Kingston, Madeline's husband
* Beau Bridges as Howard "Senior" Markston, a managing partner at Jacobson Moore, father of Julian, and soon-to-be ex-father-in-law of Olympia. He guardedly supports Olympia's career and efforts to develop a new revenue stream for the firm, telling her how he believes being father-in-law is a forever role.
* Patricia Belcher as Mrs. B, an administrative manager at Jacobson Moore. It is later revealed her full name is Emmalyn Belvin.
* Yael Grobglas as Shae Banfield, a jury consultant at Jacobson Moore.
* Piper Curda as Kira, a woman who works at the information technology (IT) department at Jacobson Moore who begins a relationship with Sarah.
* Andrea Londo as Simone Delgado, a recently hired junior associate at Jacobson Moore who attended the same law school as Sarah

Episodes

Production

Development

On January 31, 2023, it was announced that a remake version of '' Matlock'' was in development, and Jennie Snyder Urman signed on to write a pilot episode to be aired by CBS. Urman is expected to executive produce alongside Joanna Klein, Eric Christian Olsen, and Kathy Bates. On May 9, 2023, the ''Matlock'' remake was given a series order. The series is developed by Urman. John Will and Kat Coiro were added as executive producers. Coiro also directed the pilot. Production companies involved with the series are Sutton Street, Cloud Nine, and CBS Studios. ''Matlock'' was moved to the 2024–25 season due to strike-related production delays. It was later reported that it was an 19-episode order. On October 22, 2024, CBS renewed the series for a second season. Though set in New York City, the show is filmed at Paramount Studios in California after the pilot was shot in Toronto.

Casting

Upon the pilot order announcement, Bates was cast to star. Skye P. Marshall, Jason Ritter, David Del Rio, and Leah Lewis joined the main cast upon the series order announcement. On February 8, 2024, Beau Bridges was cast in a recurring capacity. On April 1, 2024, Yael Grobglas joined the cast in a recurring role. In August 2024, Andrea Londo and Piper Curda were cast in recurring capacities.

On September 8, 2024, Bates said that ''Matlock'' was to be her final role before retirement. On October 9, 2024, she walked it back, saying that "I think that they got a bit confused."

Broadcast

''Matlock'' premiered with a sneak peek on September 22, 2024, before its timeslot premiere on October 17 on CBS. In Canada, the series airs on Global and is available to stream on StackTV.

Reception

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 7.7/10, based on 24 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Case closed—this ''Matlock'' reboot is a winner thanks to the ever reliable Kathy Bates and the intriguing wrinkle it puts on the legendary series' original concept." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 73 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Ratings

Accolades

References

External links

*
*

{{CBSNetwork Shows (current and upcoming)

2020s American crime drama television series
2024 American television series debuts
American English-language television shows
American television series reboots
CBS television dramas
Matlock (1986 TV series)
Television series about lawyers
Television series by CBS Studios
Television shows filmed in Toronto
Television shows set in New York City
Television shows about the opioid epidemic
Fiction about the opioid epidemic