Pilot

Such a joy to see Kathy Bates back on TV. New show had a great punch for an ending and it was wonderful to see Beau Bridges too. Great way to spend early Sunday night. Super good supporting cast Reminded me a little bit of suits. Like the intergenerational attorneys who were bickering and solving. Really interesting good writing definitely a winner. Definitely will watch this life.

Finally new shows are back on and this one was a good one. I never saw the old Matlock and I'm trying to figure out the ending a little bit which I will not give away, but I really like that surprise welcome back Kathy.

The show goes to great pains to tell you that it has nothing to do with Andy Griffith's Matlock. Makes you wonder why the new show is called Matlock.

The legal drama revolves around a case of wrongful imprisonment, with the plaintiff seeking compensation for his years in prison due to police corruption. Thus, it incorporates most every legal trope known, especially the idea that if you hire a new lawyer the day before a trial is to begin you can assign her to that trial team, and even though the trial is going on she and team members can travel to prisons, New Jersey, etc., to develop new evidence because they are not needed in court, because that's how you conduct trials.

The law firm, supposedly one of New York's best, is run by incompetents who hire someone off the street with no background check. Is her license valid? They don't care. Does she have a bad history? Once again, they don't care. They have this thing these days called Google. You can actually find out stuff. This law firm? Nope. It got to the top in New York by being clueless.

The legal issue that got me is that there was some discussion of not putting the plaintiff on the stand to tell his story (how he felt being locked up for a crime he did not commit) out of fear that his prior criminal record would come to light. Hey, producers/writers: this is a civil case. He's the plaintiff. He's been exonerated. The defense (the State of New York? City of New York? NYPD?) would have taken his deposition. They can introduce a copy of his record. The arresting detective (who testifies) can explain what about his prior record made them think he was the perp. He may not even be able to take the Fifth anymore as he has no fear of prosecution. You don't need to be a lawyer to deal with the holes in the story the writers have set up.

Last, the twist ending added to the end felt like after the show wrapped, someone said, this show needs to head in a different direction. So let's slap on a twist.

Kathy Bates returns to the courtroom in the 2024 reboot of Matlock, and I'm pleased to report: so far, so good.

This isn't just a retread of the Andy Griffith classic; it's a smartly repackaged legal drama with modern sensibilities, a confident tone, and Bates at the helm doing what she does best: commanding every scene with quiet ferocity and zero fuss.

If you've seen her in Harry's Law (and I did, and liked it), you'll feel at home. She brings a sly wit to Madeline Matlock, paired with enough gravity to keep things compelling. Ep 1 walks the fine line between setup and substance... it introduces us to a corporate legal setting, plants a few intriguing side characters, and gives us a decently layered case to chew on.

The writing isn't reinventing the wheel yet, but it's clean and efficient, with hints of richer character arcs down the road. Direction is solid, and the pacing thankfully doesn't drag.

I'd give the premiere a confident 7.5/10 - good, not brilliant - but there's genuine potential here. If the writers dig deeper into the ethical grey zones and give Bates more room to unleash her layered performance, this could grow into something quite special.

For now, it's a welcome return to courtroom drama done with class. Let's hope the show builds its case episode by episode.

I never even saw an episode of the original "Matlock" sure I knew it was a thing but one doesn't (didn't?) watch much TV as young adults back in the day whenever that was.

I've always loved Kathy Bates and knew she had comedic as well as murderous acting chops. Here she can show them all. As a woman "of a certain age" I'm learning to make invisibility work for me too. Just like our new Matlock.

Check it out. The beginning sequence is perfect. Of course Matlock enjoys a white age-based privilege that not all have but that doesn't make the scene any less humorous.

Add in Beau Bridges who was fabulous in the comedy "Black-ish". I have high hopes and have now met the minimum character limit here.

I can imagine the pitch meeting at CBS -why not resuscitate the old Andy Griffith '80s hit TV series with a new version, after all, so many golden oldies have been resuscitated successfully for perhaps nostalgic Baby Boomers out there in TV land (like "Magnum P. I.", "Quantum Leap"). And how's this for a hook -we'll make the folksy old lawyer a woman this time! My musing was off-target, however, as the original show ran on NBC and later ABC -it wasn't a CBS property at all.

This typical high-concept Hollywood gimmick sounds dumb, but as with most properties, the secret is in the casting. Kathy Bates takes the role and runs with it Her folksiness is disarming and makes the pilot episode of her pulling many a fast one to finagle her way into a leading law firm job so much fun to watch. The twists and turns of the case are delightful, with a solid supporting cast fighting (mainly in vain) to compete with Kathy as center of attention. But that's obviously a lost cause -she completely dominates the screen and that spells HIT.

Watching the sneak peek preview of the pilot I was bowled over by the surprise ending which takes the series in a completely different and satisfying direction from the homespun set-up scenes preceding. And having Kathy herself make a Hitchcock (or William Castle?) styled plea to the audience not to reveal the surprise secret to anyone, as the actual series debut is several weeks away, was priceless.