Why ‘Matlock’ Isn’t New for the Next 2 Weeks

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Matlock Season 1.]

Matlock stunned viewers with its last-minute twist in the series premiere, but audiences then had to wait a few weeks to find out what happens next. The new Kathy Bates procedural wouldn’t return with new episodes until October and at a new time on CBS after the September 22 premiere. Now, the show is on a short break again. We break down the release schedule below.

Matlock stars Bates as the titular character, Madeline “Matty” Matlock, which as it turns out isn’t her real name at all. The Matlock persona is a disguise Matty has adopted as part of an elaborate plan to unearth evidence of corruption at the prestigious Jacobson Moore law firm. Matty is really Matty Kingston, and she’s neither broke nor hated by the grandson she’s raising like she told her new colleagues at the firm in the first episode. The twist also revealed that the series is not recreating the 1980s Matlock TV show with Andy Griffith, but rather its characters have a deep love of it. Matty and her family used to spend hours watching the show together, which inspired her pseudonym.

The Kingstons are rich, and they’re using their considerable resources — and the help of Matty’s age that she says makes her “invisible” — to avenge their deceased daughter, who died of an opioid overdose. Their 14-year-old grandson is also in on the scheme, and he very much enjoys helping out his grandma on their mission to determine which Jacobson Moore attorney intentionally buried documents that would have gotten opioids off the market 10 years earlier. Should Matty be concerned about what lessons about morality this scheme is teaching her grandson? That’s something that Matty’s loving husband, Edwin (Sam Anderson), will worry about moving forward, showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman told TV Insider (see embedded link below).

Is Matlock new this week?

Matlock aired new episodes weekly following the encore of the series premiere on Thursday, October 10. Episode 6, “Sixteen Steps,” was the first major episode for Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) and her ex-husband Julian (Jason Ritter), with the episode ending with Matty finally being assigned to Julian’s pharma team.

There are 18 episodes total in Matlock Season 1, Marshall tells TV Insider, but now it’s on a short break for the Thanksgiving holiday. The new TV movie Nugget Is Dead? A Christmas Story will be airing in Matlock‘s place on Thursday, November 21 at 8/7c on CBS. The following Thursday is Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving episode of Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage will have an encore showing in the Matlock timeslot that day.

The Matlock midseason finale will air on Thursday, December 12, TV Insider has confirmed with CBS. Here’s a breakdown of the Matlock Season 1 schedule so far.

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Episode 1: Sunday, September 22, 8/7c (Series Premiere)

Episode 1: Thursday, October 10, 9/8c (Series Premiere Encore)

Episode 2: Thursday, October 17, 9/8c

Episode 3: Thursday, October 24, 9/8c

Episode 4: Thursday, October 31, 9/8c

Episode 5: Thursday, November 7, 9/8c

Episode 6: Thursday, November 14, 9/8c

Episode 7: Thursday, December 5, 9/8c

Episode 8: Thursday, December 12, 9/8c, (Midseason Finale)

Matlock Episode 7 will be a holiday-themed episode titled “Belly of the Beast.” In it, Matty works on a case with Julian in which a young woman sues after experiencing severe symptoms from a clinical trial. At the company holiday party, Olympia learns a secret about Julian’s past. Get a preview of the episode from Marshall here.

When does Matlock return?

Following the December 12 midseason finale, Matlock will return with the second half of Season 1 on Thursday, January 30 at 9/8c. See the full CBS 2025 midseason premiere schedule here.

Matlock, Returns Thursday, December 5, 9/8c, CBS