Kathy Bates Explains Matlock Episode 1’s Big Twist About Matty

The series premiere of Matlock, the 2024 gender-flipping reboot of the classic TV show of the same name featuring Andy Griffith, ends with a big, shocking twist. It reveals (spoilers warning) that Kathy Bates’ Madeline Matlock or Matty isn’t the widowed and broke lawyer she claims to be. She is Madeline Kingston, a wealthy and affluent woman whose husband is very much alive. Further, she didn’t randomly walk into the Jacobson Moore law firm looking for a job. Instead, she wants to expose the firm for concealing documents that ultimately resulted in the death of her daughter due to an opioid overdose. Recently, Bates and showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman broke down the Episode 1 twist in separate interviews.

Kathy Bates on why Matty’s big twist in the Matlock Episode 1 is important

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bates reflected on why she agreed to portray the titular character in the CBS series, which the Oscar Winner announced would be her last acting project.

“I thought it was important to see how these opioids affect the individual, no matter how poor or how wealthy you are,” Bates explained. “It’s a long-term battle, and people get involved just through no fault of their own,” she added.

According to Bates, returning to work and being surrounded by people as young as her daughter used to be, has made things complicated for her character. “Every day she goes in to work, to continue the mission, to not be discovered, but then to discover all these things she didn’t expect to discover. Her relationships, the people that she begins to feel close to, and she sees her daughter in the young people,” the Summer Camp actress elaborated.

Matlock showrunner reveals how Matty’s Twist came to be

Jennie Snyder Urman revealed in an interview with Deadline that the twist was part of the original pitch. She added, “When I was thinking about what I would do if I were to adapt this title, I was like, what would be different? Of course, I was going to start with a female protagonist, but I didn’t want to just do a gender-swapped version that wasn’t interesting. So I started to think that maybe she is using the name Matlock. I gave myself sort of a challenge.”

Urman especially wanted Matty to have “a spine of steel throughout the show” and the series to delve deep into grief, loss, and the responsibility of a legal professional to the public health as opposed to the one they have to their clients. “Why would a woman like that [Matty] want to go back into the law firm? What could be deep and meaningful enough? Then the story unfolded. So I pitched it, from beginning to end,” she said.

Apart from Bates, the reboot’s cast also features Jason Ritter, Skye P. Marshall, and Aaron Harris.