‘Matlock’ Renewed For Season 2 At CBS

Kathy Bates will remain on CBS’ schedule in the 2025-26 broadcast season after the network renewed Matlock for a second season.

This is not a surprise given that the gender-flipped, twist-shocking drama series her performed well for the network.

Matlock premiered on September 22 with a sneak peak episode that drew 7.73M in time adjusted Fast National L+SD Nielsen ratings, which was its biggest audience for a non-post-Super Bowl series premiere in five and a half years, since The Code. Its timeslot premiere on October 17 also performed well with 6.38M viewers.

The show, which was already handed an 18-episode debut season, stars Bates as Madeline “Matty” Matlock, a brilliant septuagenarian who achieved success in her younger years and decides to rejoin the work force at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases all while investigating a deeply personal secret of her own. 

Skye P. Marshall, Jason Ritter, David Del Rio and Leah Lewis also star.

Jennie Snyder Urman, who serves as showrunner, broke down that hardcore twist in an interview with Deadline.

Urman exec produces the CBS Studios-produced series alongside Joanna Klein, Eric Christian Olsen, Kat Coiro and Bates.

“This reconceived Matlock was devised by Jennie Snyder Urman with a brilliant surprise plot twist, and we knew we had something very special the moment we saw the first episode brought to life by the incredibly talented Kathy Bates,” said Amy Reisenbach, President of CBS Entertainment. “The audience reception and critical acclaim for it has been overwhelming. We can’t wait to get started on a second season.”