The 2020s have been lovely years for those who enjoy watching legal thrillers. From a lawyer working out of a chauffeur-driven Lincoln Navigator in Netflix’s hit series The Lincoln Lawyer to a prosecutor accused of murdering his colleague in Presumed Innocent, there has been no shortage of unique storylines. But even though every new show has been great (except Suits: LA… Sorry!), Matlock deserves the crown of the best so far this decade.
Created by Jennie Snyder Urman (Jane the Virgin), Matlock stars Oscar-winner Kathy Bates and has been on the air for two seasons now, with a third on the way. The CBS series, which has an impressive 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes, is a remake of the 1980s legal thriller of the same name starring Andy Griffith. However, this isn’t just a case of taking the same concept and planting it in the modern world. The remake lives in an entirely different lane.
‘Matlock’s Changes Extend Beyond the Gender-Flipped Protagonist
The original Matlock was a major hit and aired for nine seasons. However, with time, its glow faded. Many great legal thriller shows have come and gone, but none ever brought that “passing of the baton” feeling until the 2024 remake. The ‘80s series is about Ben Matlock, a widowed and highly respected defense attorney known for conducting investigations better than the investigators. Many episodes focus on courtroom confrontations, where he often exposed a witness as the actual culprit while cross-examining them.
The remake occasionally embraces the case-of-the-week approach but is mostly serialized and reframes the genre with a story built around an elaborate ruse. This makes it stand out. Additionally, the contrast between it and the original is underscored by the contrasting acting styles of the leads and the personalities of the lawyers. Here, wealthy retired lawyer Madeline Kingston (Bates) seeks justice for her daughter, who died during the opioid epidemic. Pretending to be an impoverished widow named Madeline “Matty” Matlock, she impulsively gets the job at the law firm she believes hid evidence and starts digging.
While Bates never has a bad day on set, her character has many bad days at the firm. Still, the legendary actor, who has been recognized for her performance (including a Golden Globe nomination), makes us envy Matty. Denuded of the robes of power and invincibility of her former life, the protagonist is reduced to a pretty standard specimen of humanity, swathed in delusions and surging self-belief. Any setback turns into a new opportunity, and Bates delivers all the right monologues and facial expressions. This is The Kathy Bates Show, and she handles it effortlessly.
‘Matlock’ Is Coming Back For Season 3
Although Matlock was left off the 2026 CBS fall schedule, it was recently announced that Season 3 will arrive in early 2027. According to Deadline, the choice was related to the narrative direction of the series. The outlet revealed that the show needs more time for a “creative revamp after wrapping the major storyline that dominated the first two seasons.”
According to The Wrap, the Season 2 premiere of Matlock brought in a whopping 11.9 million multiplatform viewers after only one week, according to data acquired from Nielsen. This was a 2% jump from the 11.7 million who watched Season 1. Now is the time to catch up if you haven’t started watching the show already. Hopefully, this legal thriller series will run for nine seasons like the original.
- Release Date
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September 22, 2024
- Network
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CBS
- Directors
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Kat Coiro, Brad Silberling, Gina Lamar, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Jennifer Lynch, Jude Weng, Tessa Blake, Yangzom Brauen, Marie Jamora, Daniel Willis
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Skye P. Marshall
Olympia Lawrence
