The new Matlock has turned out to be a major hit for CBS. Featuring Kathy Bates in the lead role, the series is a quasi-reboot of the original Matlock, and following a successful first season, another is currently in the works.
Per Variety, Bates recently opened up about her role in Matlock. She confirmed that she “didn’t watch” the original Matlock beyond just a few episodes to prepare for her role, though she also noted that it wasn’t exactly necessary. The series is not set in the same universe as the original show, and it has a unique style of its own that’s very different from the classic series. That wasn’t always the plan, however, as Bates shared how the original concept for the reboot was to have someone in her 30s playing a relative of Andy Griffith’s Matlock.
“Well, let’s say it was a conscious choice [not to watch the original Matlock],” Bates said. “I watched a couple to see what I could get out of it, but our show is just so different. I feel like this part was written with me in mind. Jennie Snyder Urman created it. And I’m lucky because I heard, originally, they wanted to make [my character] Andy Griffith’s great-great-granddaughter. So she’d be 30-something. But Jennie took a walk, and it came to her that she wanted to write something about older women and feeling invisible.”
And I’m lucky because I heard, originally, they wanted to make [my character] Andy Griffith’s great-great-granddaughter.
Bates continued, “When I first read the script, I thought, this is just episodic, and I’m not interested in doing that. And then I finally got to the end, and there’s this twist. I said, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m in. I’m in.’ Because I really had one foot out the door.”
In the new Matlock, Bates plays Madeline “Matty” Matlock, though it is revealed that her real last name is actually Kingston. When she takes a job at a law firm, she takes on the Matlock name because of the classic TV show starring Andy Griffith. However, there’s something much deeper going on, as the series reveals that Matty has a hidden agenda as to why she took on the job. To keep up the ruse, however, she must also use her high intellect to help the others at the firm with their challenging cases.
Kathy Bates Nearly Retired Before Matlock
“I just felt that I was getting small roles in films that I loved that people were not seeing,” Bates also said, sharing how this role came at just the right time in her career. “I just began to ask myself, ‘Is this what I want to keep doing? Do I want to sell the house and maybe move to France and call it a day?’ And then I got this script. It just fit me like a glove.”
