<p id=”par-1_25″><em>Matlock </em>is back on <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/cbs/?swcfpc=1″>CBS</a>. Oscar-winner Kathy Bates stars as Madeline “Matty” Matlock in the new gender-flipped reimagining of the popular <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/how-murder-she-wrote-played-role-creation-andy-griffiths-matlock.html/”>Andy Griffith legal drama</a>. </p>
<p id=”par-2_41″>In the new show, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/matlock-reboot-twist-explained.html/”>Bates plays a woman</a> who talks her way into a job at a prestigious law firm. Her goal? Uncover the truth about who covered up information that could have prevented her daughter’s death from a drug overdose. </p>
<p id=”par-3_61″>The new <em>Matlock </em>has earned praise from critics and is a hit with audiences. The show’s second episode attracted 6.38 million viewers, according to the <a href=”https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/matlock-renewed-season-2-cbs-1236041530/”>Hollywood Reporter</a>, and it earned a swift season 2 renewal. That means we have plenty more Matty Matlock to look forward to. But what if the new show has you wanting to revisit the original <em>Matlock</em>? </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-you-can-stream-the-original-matlock-for-free”>You can stream the original ‘Matlock’ for free </h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Matlock-Andy-Griffith.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Andy Griffith in a white shirt and tie and standing by a computer in ‘Matlock'” class=”wp-image-3731717″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Andy Griffith as Ben Matlock in ‘Matlock’ | ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
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Who’s Who In the New ‘Matlock’ Cast </a>
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<p id=”par-4_55″><em>Matlock </em>premiered in 1986. It starred Griffith as a <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/andy-griffith-loved-working-matlock-always-always-singing.html/”>folksy Southern lawyer Ben Matlock</a>. A criminal defense attorney, Matlock was committed to doing whatever it took to prove his clients innocent in court. In each episode, he investigated the case, meticulously gathering evidence that would exculpate the defendant and get the guilty person to confess. </p>
<p id=”par-5_48″>Nearly 200 episodes of <em>Matlock </em>aired between 1986 and 1995. All nine seasons are available to stream for free, with ads, on Pluto TV. Pluto also has a <em>Matlock</em> channel that airs old episodes of the show. Season 1 episodes are also available for purchase on Prime Video. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-matlock-was-different-from-andy-griffith-s-other-roles”>Matlock was different from Andy Griffith’s other roles</h2>
<p id=”par-6_33″>When Griffith was cast in <em>Matlock, </em>he was already an established TV icon thanks to his role as Sheriff Andy Taylor in <em>The Andy Griffith Show. </em>But <em>Matlock </em>was a departure for him. </p>
<p id=”par-7_22″>“It was different from anything I ever played,” he said in an interview with the <a href=”https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/andy-griffith?clip=19090#interview-clips” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Television Academy Foundation</a>. “It’s a great role.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_32″>According to Griffith, he got the role after the head of NBC saw him in the 1984 miniseries <em>Fatal Vision, </em>where Griffith played a lawyer. Initially, he wasn’t impressed with the script. </p>
<p id=”par-9_18″>“Cindi [Knight, his wife] said, ‘Oh, that’s awful.’ I said, ‘Honey, that’s the way television is,’” he recalled. </p>
<p id=”par-10_22″>But after some script revision, <em>Matlock </em>eventually found its “foothold,” Griffith said. And the actor eventually grew very attached to the character. </p>
<p id=”par-11_42″>“I love the character of Matlock,” he said. “I would like to do some <em>Matlock </em>movies. We may one day. Matlock is very bright, he’s very cheap, he’s very vain. All the things I’m not. And I enjoyed that character a lot.”</p>
<p id=”par-12_16″>Unfortunately, those movies Griffith dreamed of never materialized before he died in 2012, at age 86. </p>
<p id=”par-13_16″><em>For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to </em><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWmTM34h0-P7FcCwuA6h6sw/videos” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”><em>Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel</em></a><em>.</em></p>