“Matlock” is not exactly the hottest piece of IP of 2024. The original series premiered in 1986 and starred Andy Griffith as an older widowed criminal defense lawyer who caught people off guard with his down-home country vibes before, destroying them on the stand and charging a boatload of money.
In that sense, the new “Matlock” — from “Jane the Virgin” creator Jennie Snyder Urman — is very much a classic gender-swapped reboot of old “Matlock.” Kathy Bates plays a 75 year-old widow named Madeline “Matty” Matlock who returns to the world of law after decades away. She has to get used to how things have changed since she was last a practicing lawyer, and an entire law firm has to get used to her quirky old lady ways, which hide a sharp and unexpectedly brilliant mind.