The ‘Matlock’ Reboot Is A Fun Yet Predictable Watch
Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers for the premiere episode of “Matlock.”
The legal procedural is a staple of network television, so it’s no surprise there are several new additions to the genre premiering this fall.
The most high-profile is the CBS series “Matlock,” starring the legendary Kathy Bates as Madeline “Matty” Matlock, a lawyer who has come out of retirement and conned her way into working at a high-powered New York firm.
If the original “Matlock” was before your time, fear not: CBS is billing the show as a “reimagining” of the original series. It mostly comes up as a running joke among the characters and has no real bearing on the plot.
While the show premiered Sunday night as “a sneak peek,” it will not return until mid-October, when it will then air in its actual time slot: Thursdays at 9 p.m. (It will also stream on Paramount+.)
HuffPost’s Erin E. Evans and Marina Fang have seen the first six episodes of the series. Below, we discuss what we make of “Matlock” so far, its strengths and weaknesses, the big reveal at the end of Sunday night’s episode, and the perplexing release schedule.
The Show’s Strengths So Far
Erin: Look, I’m always going to show up for Kathy Bates. She’s a legend, and it’s very cool to see a show built around her. (I’m still living for her line on the Emmys the other night: “Do you know how hard it was to get a date after ‘Misery’?”) To think that she was about to retire before this “Matlock” reboot came along!
Anyways, she’s great in the role, as you might expect. I like the bonds she’s building with her colleagues (but I’ll talk more about them later). I also love that she stars opposite Sam Anderson (whom I loved as Bernard on “Lost.”) It’s also been nice to see other aging actors on the series like Hal Williams (“227”) and Patricia Belcher, who has been a working actor since the early ’90s and whom I’ve seen in everything from small roles in “Sister, Sister” to “Martin” to “One on One.”
Like several procedurals, it follows one main case each week, so we get to see a variety of issues explored through the legal system and this law firm. Also, Eme Ikwuakor is so handsome, and it’s really nice to have some eye candy on the show.
Marina: Kathy Bates is the best. She’s one of those actors who make me lean forward in my seat and pay greater attention when they show up on screen. I mean this sincerely, but in addition to her signature roles, I’ve watched a lot of average-to-bad movies simply because she was the best part of them. She really elevates everything she’s in, so naturally, she’s the biggest draw of this show. In the hands of a lesser actor, I think Matty would seem too outlandish, but Bates really nails the balance of the character.
Yes, Bernard from “Lost”! I don’t know why it took me, like, three episodes to realize why he looked so familiar. That’s a wonderful thing about network TV casts: They’re filled with people you may recognize from popping up on various shows and in various roles. Jason Ritter and Skye Marshall as Matty’s new colleagues (and bickering ex-spouses) are great, as is Leah Lewis from “The Half of It” as a more junior lawyer at the firm.
One of the show’s central themes is how Matty is an older woman who is often invisible or not taken seriously. In each episode, she’s able to subvert that and use her apparent invisibility to her advantage, like going somewhere undetected to find a key piece of evidence in the case or using her disarming presence to build trust in a potential witness. I’m curious to see how the show keeps building on that throughout the season.
The Predictable Patterns Of The Network Procedural
Erin: I absolutely love a network procedural. I think the predictability of them is what keeps me watching. The format of it helps me categorize these kinds of shows into a box: “Watch this when you’re trying to chill, or watch this on a Saturday morning when you can multitask and wash your dishes. Sure, it’s not a show that I’m going to be telling everyone to watch, but it is the kind of show that I’ll occasionally turn on when I need a bit of entertainment.
I had a hard time deciding if I liked the young lawyers at the firm, portrayed by David Del Rio and Leah Lewis. They started to grow on me later on in the season, but something about their energy was off in the beginning of the series. Perhaps that’s by nature, since they are really just peons in the firm who are trying to make their way in what seems like their first professional jobs. Obviously, there needed to be other coworkers along with Matty who weren’t the partners, but I kind of want them to have more to do.
One change I would have made to the series? Not every show needs to be 43 minutes. I think the pacing could have been better if the show fit into a 30-minute time slot. We need more 30-minute shows!
Marina: I totally see your point. I have to remind myself that the predictability of network procedurals can be comforting, as you said. In covering TV, we often have an outsized focus on what’s new and fresh, especially when it comes to “prestige TV.” But it’s worth remembering there’s a lot of value in the tried and true, and there’s a reason network TV schedules are filled with the old standbys: crime, legal and medical procedurals.
Your point about pacing brings me to another pet peeve of mine on network shows: Some of the sluggishness is due to those moments when a character explains exactly what is going on, or what big issue the episode is covering, often in a kind of clunky, inefficient way. It’s such a cliché! But I get it — we all need shows where we don’t have to pay attention to every single second or frame or wonder if we missed some crucial detail.
I like the actors playing the young lawyers, but I’m a bit tired of the “generation gap” dynamic between them and Matty. A lot of their interactions are predicated on: “Look, they’re young and Matty’s old!” A bit overdone.
This is a small quibble, but the running joke about how Matty has the same name as “Matlock” the original show, and then the subsequent banter about it, gets old after a while. But I get that I’m not the target audience for that joke.
What To Make Of The Twist
Erin: I’m pretty easy to please when it comes to stuff like this, so I love the twist! I actually think the show picks up really good energy when Matty is trying to uncover details about the partners and their involvement in a case about opioids. She’s sneaking around, figuring out ways to be tech-savvy and repeatedly outsmarting the people around her. I’m curious to see how they keep this going — and if it ever changes Matty’s approach to her work at the firm.
Marina: The twist threw me for a loop. Infiltrating the corporate law firm that represented the opioid company responsible for your daughter’s death seems like a roundabout way for Matty to seek justice for her daughter. It requires a lot of suspension of disbelief — but I get that I’m overthinking this a bit. Narratively, it makes sense: It gives the show a season-long arc alongside the “case of the week” episodes. How will Matty keep up the deception? Does her secret come out? Stay tuned!
What’s Up With The Release Schedule?
Marina: We need to talk about the bizarre release schedule! Network TV is all about regularity: You know exactly what time your show is on, and you sit down each week to watch it. But the release schedule for “Matlock” — excuse me while I look this up — seems counterintuitive to the goal of making people actually watch this show.
Ah, here’s the email CBS sent us. I’m pasting the explanation of the schedule in full so people can see that it’s kind of ridiculous.
A layered launch of the series, beginning with a Sneak Peek of the pilot, followed by an encore of the pilot in the series’ regular Thursday night timeslot, followed by an original episode during CBS’s official premiere week, will roll out as follows:
So, if you’re trying to keep this straight: It’ll air Thursdays at 9 p.m. — eventually. CBS keeps doing this, and I wonder whether it has worked for them. It seems like a lot of unnecessary confusion.
Erin: Right, CBS also did this with “Elsbeth” for its first season. As a fan of Carrie Preston and her character from “The Good Wife” franchise, I was really looking forward to that series, but then it seemed impossible to keep up with when the series was actually airing. Why not just wait until October to officially launch “Matlock” weekly? The “sneak peek” of it all seems strange enough. But also, there is SO MUCH TV coming on in September that I really could have used a few more weeks to wait for this series to premiere. Fall TV seems to be starting later and later anyway, so we could have just kicked this off in the second week of October.
Will We Keep Watching?
Marina: I know network procedurals are not meant to be watched this way, but “Matlock” is the kind of show where I might watch a few episodes every couple weeks to keep tabs on it, but not make it appointment viewing. In other words, there’s enough to keep me somewhat intrigued, but not enough for me to deem it a must-watch.
Erin: I’ll keep watching for sure. We got the first six episodes to screen, and the show is finally getting a bit more energy to it. I’m looking forward to seeing how Matty accomplishes her goals at the firm. Will I watch on Thursday nights? No. But I’ll definitely pencil it in on my weekends.
