Matlock: Kathy Bates Reboot Casts Two Series Regulars

CBS’ Matlock reboot has cast two series regulars opposite Kathy Bates. David Del Rio (The Baker and the Beauty, Maggie) and Leah Lewis (Nancy Drew, Station 19) have been added to the growing cast that includes Skye P. Marshall (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Good Sam) as formidable attorney Olympia. Oscar and two-time Emmy winner Bates returns to TV as Madeline Matlock, who rejoins the work force at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases and expose corruption from within.

Deadline reports Del Rio plays Billy, described as “a charismatic young associate a few years out of law school and assigned to work on one of the firm’s biggest cases. He helps Matty navigate her new work environment as he seemingly knows more than he should.” Lewis has been cast as Sarah, “a junior associate eager to get ahead and not worried about being liked. Sarah is all ambition, determined to be seen for her smarts and willing to do anything to move up a peg at the firm. She is not pleased when she’s forced to work alongside Matty, lowering her position at the company even further.”

The gender-flipped reboot of the original series that starred Andy Griffith as defense attorney Ben Matlock hails from Jennie Snyder Urman (Jane the Virgin, Charmed). The new Matlock and Bates’ character, Matty, will have ties to the original series, according to Deadline.

Bates, Joanna Klein (Good Sam), Eric Christian Olsen (Woke), and John Will (Band of Robbers) serve as executive producers of the pilot from CBS Studios (Criminal Minds, The Good Fight). Kat Coiro (Marry Me, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) is directing the pilot.

In January, CBS ordered just two pilots this season: Matlock and police procedural Elsbeth, a spin-off of Robert and Michelle King-created series The Good Wife and The Good Fight. This month, the network renewed nine series for the 2023-2024 season: Survivor, The Amazing Race, Lingo, Tough as Nails, 48 Hours, 60 Minutes, CSI: Vegas, NCIS, and NCIS: Hawai’i.

The original Matlock is available to stream for free on Pluto TV as part of a library that includes 6,300 episodes of classic CBS shows, including Star Trek, Frasier, Mission Impossible, The Brady Bunch, Gunsmoke, Laverne & Shirley, The Andy Griffith Show, and more.