Kathy Bates’ ‘Matlock’ Is a Clever, Meta Spin on the Reboot: TV Review
variety.comAlison Herman TV Critic CBS aired the pilot of its “Matlock” revival, penned by Jennie Snyder Urman of “Jane the Virgin,” weeks before the rest of the season begins its rollout this week.
That’s given audiences time to absorb a twist that’s more like a premise. Spoiler-phobes, this is your final warning: Kathy Bates‘ heroine may go by “Matlock,” but that’s not her given name.
Instead, it’s an alias she assumes to infiltrate a law firm she suspects of covering up the addictive nature of its pharmaceutical client’s opioids.
Un-retired attorney Madeline Kingston has a folksy affect and the trademark gray suit, but her deception is the first of many indications that this clever, winning show is not your father’s “Matlock.” For one thing, the Andy Griffith version already exists in this narrative universe.
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