Kathy Bates has said " At my age, I didn't know that I would have an opportunity to do something like this, and I sort of had one foot out the door because I've played a lot of supporting roles over the years."
The show does not have direct connections to the original series Matlock (1986), which starred Andy Griffith, other than the name and similar execution. However, the original series exists as a "TV show" in this series' universe. Ellie Kingston loved the original series, and this love inspired the alias that her mother Madeline takes in her job.
Partially filmed in Oshawa, Ontario Canada. Watch for the outer entrance to the Kingston home, its Parkwood National Historic Site, former home of Robert Samuel McLaughlin.