‘Matlock’ Star Kathy Bates Dishes on How Matty Has Evolved & What’s Next

Matlock star Kathy Bates recently dished on her character, Matty, and what she hopes is next beyond Season 2.

During an interview with Deadline published on June 10, the actress, 77, reflected on the journey Matty has been on so far.

“When Matty comes in, she thinks that she’s going to make everything right for her daughter. She plays this character like an actress playing a role. She’s playing a lawyer. And she suddenly realized that these are real people that she’s dealing with, and it’s a whole new [ball game],” Bates explained. “Her universe just keeps opening in ways that she never expected. Things that are terrifying. She gets lost. She tries to get things working.”

Bates also opened up about a couple of plot lines she’d like to see in her character’s journey following the Season 2 finale on April 23. They both focused on Matty’s relationship with her husband, Edwin (Sam Anderson).

“I think about our future together, and I think that one thing I would love is if [creator and showrunner] Jennie [Sunder Urman] explores how they’re not old. She already does this, but I want even more of that,” Bates shared. “I think we see old people kissing or hugging or embracing or whatever, and we are turned off by it for some reason. I don’t know where that comes from, because it’s so lovely. I want more of that, the push and pull between the two of them.”

Additionally, she pointed to a Season 2 moment when Edwin pretended to be someone from the IRS auditing Senior’s (Beau Bridges) former lover, Debra (Melanie Lynskey). Bates said she was amused by Matty’s joke about having an affair with the IRS man, effectively adding role-playing in their marriage.

“I thought that was wonderful,” Bates said. “So maybe that’ll happen. That might be fun.”

Related

When Does 'Matlock' Season 3 Premiere?

Matlock is a reboot of a legal drama of the same name, starring Andy Griffith as Ben Matlock; it aired for nine seasons from 1986 to 1995. The original also featured Nancy Stafford, Kene Holliday, Julie Sommars, Clarence Gilyard Jr., David Froman, and Daniel Roebuck, among others.

In addition to Bates, Anderson, Bridges, and Lynskey, the new Matlock stars Skye P. Marshall, Jason Ritter, Leah Lewis, Aaron Harris, and David Del Rio.

What would you like to see from Matty in Season 3 of Matlock?

Matlock (2024), streaming on Paramount+; Matlock (1986), streaming on Pluto TV and Frndly TV