While I am usually down deep in my endless list of streaming shows, that bubble often fails to recognize that yes, people watch things outside of the Netflix top ten list of what HBO airs on Sundays. One of those series? Matlock, starring Kathy Bates.
The series has instantly become a massive hit for CBS and streamer Paramount Plus, CBS’s best premiere in the last five and a half years with 7.73 million viewers. The show above it, The Code, got 8 million viewers with the help of airing after the Super Bowl, so that doesn’t really count.
After that, Matlock’s audience has kept growing with a 38% increase over the course of the next three days, now 10.67 million viewers. It’s a big boon to Paramount Plus, where the series airs in addition to CBS. It will eventually head to a regular timeslot of Thursday at 9 PM, starting on October 17.
The show is also doing exceedingly well with critics, as it has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with 19 reviews in, something you don’t see every day, and something you certainly do not see often with too many Paramount Plus shows. It’s getting solid scores among its audience too, and I would expect to see it have solid retention over time. Here’s the official synopsis for the gender-flipped reboot of the original Matlock concept where the character was first played by Andy Griffith:
“Brilliant septuagenarian Madeline “Matty” Matlock, who, after achieving success in her younger years, decides to rejoin the workforce at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases and expose corruption from within. Matty is assigned to Olympia, a senior attorney and key rainmaker with a thirst for justice, while Olympia’s ex-husband, Julian, the son of the head of the firm, is intrigued by Matty and her clever skills. Matty works alongside the firm’s younger associates — the charismatic Billy and the uber ambitious Sarah — as she endeavors to establish herself in her new high-stakes world.”
There is a “twist” in the first episode that had everyone buzzing and indicating this will be a very different version of the character. I grew up watching the original Griffith Matlock as my parents were obsessed with it, and still watch it to this day, recording it with their DVR whenever it’s on. I’m going to recommend this one to them and see what they think, as they are the ultimate Matlock arbiters.
Expect Matlock to be a longrunning hit for CBS and Paramount Plus at this rate, with more seasons to come.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
