“Matlock” isn’t exactly the hottest intellectual property in 2024. The original series premiered in 1986 and starred Andy Griffith as an aging, widowed criminal defense attorney who used to keep people in his homeland haunted by killing them on the stand and filling a boat full of money.
In that sense, the new “Matlock,” from “Jane the Virginia” creator Jenny Snyder Urman, is very much a classic, sex-swapped reboot of the old “Matlock.” Kathy Bates plays Madeline “Mattie” Matlock, a 75-year-old widow who returns to the legal world after decades. She has to get used to how things have changed since she last practiced law, and the entire law firm has to get used to her older lady’s strange ways that belie her sharp, unpredictable mind.
In other words, this new “Matlock” isn’t a reboot at all. The origin of “Matlock” as a show exists in the show’s universe and is referenced regularly as Mattie admits that she’s related to Griffith’s character and essentially uses pop culture references to demean her young coworkers and clients. This show doesn’t have the same overarching meaning as “Matlok.” This show is about an old woman who was inspired by watching “Matlock,” and it doesn’t matter that audiences never saw the original show. The only thing that really matters is that Madeline saw it and it means a lot to her.
The plot is more convoluted than it probably needs to be, but Bates is so charming and so good at switching between old man and smart lawyer that it’s incredibly watchable. Sometimes you forget you’re watching a master at work. This is the same woman who won Oscars and Emmys for her villainous roles in Les Misérables and American Horror Story: Coven, respectively. And here she uses the same quirks to play someone far more sympathetic, but just as cunning. The result is a show that manages to be many things at once: a standard weekly routine, a show for Kathy Bates, a fun ensemble show, and a thoughtful commentary on the state of the world and the role each generation of people can play.
Matty is by far the oldest employee at the firm he runs, and now he’s on a mission to impress his partners who are half his age. He works closely with millennial Olympia (Skye P. Marshall), whose confidence is desperately trying to rise in the firm, but he bonds and holds his own with his first-year partners Billy (David Del Rio) and Sara (Leah Machine Gun). They’re driven, ambitious, competitive, and Gen Z, so it takes Matty some getting used to, but a beautiful friendship eventually develops. And then there’s his ultimate target: Julian (Jason Ritter), Olympia’s ex-husband, the son of a big boss and a partner who specializes in pharmaceutical cases. That’s where the money is, and Matty wants to be there. He has a 12-year-old grandson to raise after his daughter died, and kids are a very valuable commodity these days. According to her, she’s left with no choice but to start over.
When it came time to return to television, Bates had more options. He’s 76 and has a long and illustrious career. If he decided to retire, no one would blame him, and in fact, he has said he had one foot out the door before the project could materialize. There’s something funny about a woman on the verge of retirement choosing to headline a CBS procedural, which traditionally lasts at least a decade (with the exception of CBS’s first-ever law show, Harry’s Law), but come on, thankfully he did. What other drama centers on a 75-year-old woman killed on the job?
Other shows have attempted to address the generation gap, with mixed success. Joel McHale tried to woo millennials in the 2016 CBS comedy “The Great Indoors,” which was canceled after one season. Hulu’s Building Alone is a sweet comedy about two 70-something men who form a sweet, innocent friendship with a 20-something woman, filled with plenty of harmless age-related jokes.
Seeing Martin Short and Steve Martin headline a show like this wouldn’t be too surprising, but “Matlock” feels like a big deal. Rarely is The Golden Girls afforded such a glowing perspective on older people, especially women, and they need it. Joe Biden was deemed ineligible to run for president again because he’s 81. Donald Trump is 78. The term “boomer” is rarely used kindly, as if to blame the generation they grew up in. But the more alienated people are from their era, the more they accept this alienation into their hearts. Matty Matlock may have a pop culture dictionary that hasn’t been updated in 30 years, but he’s more than willing to listen and learn. “Back in his day” things were different, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to live today.
With Bates front and center and Jenny Snyder Urman, there’s endless potential here, as long as they don’t get bogged down in the complex storylines involved. It would be a shame if Matty’s (and Bates’) second wind ran out of steam.
“Matlock” premieres Sunday, Sept. 22 on CBS, with Episode 2 airing in its regular time slot on Oct. 17. Episodes are also streaming on Paramount+.
