It looks like the classic legal drama Matlock is the next TV series to get rebooted. Per Variety, CBS has ordered pilots for a couple of new TV shows, one of them being a reboot of Matlock. Directly inspired by the original TV series, the new Matlock will genderswap the Andy Griffith role of Ben Matlock with Kathy Bates starring as Madeline Matlock. Like Ben, Madeline will have a uniquely effective approach to the way she handles her cases.
As the show's logline reads, “After achieving success in her younger years, the brilliant septuagenarian Madeline Matlock (Bates) rejoins the work force at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases and expose corruption from within. Based on the classic television series of the same name.”
Jennie Snyder Urman is writing the pilot for the Matlock reboot. She also executive produces with Joanna Klein for Sutton Street Productions. Bates is also executive producing with Eric Christian Olsen and John Will.
CBS has also ordered a pilot for a spinoff of The Good Wife, dubbed Elsbeth. The show will follow Carrie Preston's character Elsbeth Tascioni, whom previously appeared in The Good Wife and The Good Fight. The network is also moving forward with production on the Sherlock Holmes series Watson and a medical drama called The Pact.
While reboots of popular TV shows would make any fan leery, it's good news that someone as talented and beloved as Bates was cast for the show. The veteran actress has garnered a slew of prestigious awards throughout her career, including an Oscar, Golden Globes, and Primetime Emmy Awards. In more recent years, she starred in her own Netflix series Disjointed and had acclaimed performances in multiple seasons of American Horror Story. She can also be seen back on the big screen soon when Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret hits theaters in April.
Matlock Gets Reimagined
Dean Hargrove created the original Matlock. The series stars Andy Griffith as Ben Matlock with some of its other starring cast over the years including Linda Purl, Kene Holliday, Kari Lizer, Nancy Stafford, Julie Sommars, Clarence Gilyard Jr., Brynn Thayer, Daniel Roebuck, and Carol Huston. Griffith and Hargrove executive produced with Fred Silverman. The show was a big success, spanning nine seasons and nearly 200 overall episodes. It concluded in 1995 after originally premiering in 1986, having an impact on pop culture during its run that endures to this day.
If you'd prefer to stick with the original Matlock, you can find all nine seasons of the series streaming for free on the free streaming platform Pluto TV.