Kathy Bates recently announced that she will retire from acting once her new show, CBS ordered a Matlock reboot with the premise of a female version of Ben Matlock, now renamed Madeline Matlock. Despite being a contemporary re-telling of the iconic Andy Griffith series, it will take a different route than the original show. As the Matlock trailer indicates, however, there is a deeper connection between the original TV show and the reboot.
Matlock will premiere on Sunday, September 22, at 8 p.m. on CBS, but the official time slot will be Thursdays at 9 p.m. on CBS, beginning on October 9.
Matlock features an impressive cast of characters ing Bates in the new CBS series. It will see Madeline Matlock coming out of retirement to return to her legal career, planning on using her age as a secret advantage. The stakes for Matlock are high, considering the success of Andy Griffith's '80s show. However, if that isn't enough, Bates' personal career decision makes it more important than ever for CBS to nail this reboot of the beloved show.
Kathy Bates Plans To Retire After CBS' Matlock Reboot
Matlock Will Be Kathy Bates' Last Acting Role
Bates recently announced that the Matlock reboot will likely be her final project before she retires from acting. This announcement has a massive impact, given her lengthy filmography spanning over 50 years. Throughout that brilliant career, Bates has earned multiple accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress. Bates has countless great movies and TV shows under her belt, and it will be disappointing if she ends her stint in the industry with an underwhelming series.
Ideally, Bates' career should wrap up with a bang. She has an impressive acting history, with projects such as Misery, Titanic, Revolutionary Road, The Blind Side, and American Horror Story. More impressively, she has ventured into many different genres on the big and small screen, delivering the same level of acting quality. It will be dishonorable for both the legacy of Andy Griffith's Matlock and Bates' personal career if the CBS reboot ends up being a failure and is canceled after just one season.
How Bates' Matlock Can Replicate The Success Of Andy Griffith's Original
The Matlock Reboot Should Honor The Original Show While Keeping The Plot Fresh
Bates and her team's work is cut out to ensure that the new Matlock lives up to the quality of the original show. Sadly, despite their popularity, many reboots often fall short of recapturing the magic of their predecessors. The good thing is that, occasionally, some reboots have higher rankings than the original shows. Bates' Matlock needs to make its own statement while still honoring the original show. That could mean maintaining the premise of the series but updating the rest of its story elements in a way that makes it feel fresh for modern viewers.
...older viewers can enjoy this contemporary Matlock on Griffith's show without feeling like it's just a rip-off, while new viewers can fall in love with it despite not having any previous knowledge about the '80s series.
Another thing to focus on is attracting both old and new audiences. This way, older viewers can enjoy this contemporary take on Griffith's Matlock without feeling like it's just a rip-off, while new viewers can fall in love with it despite not having any previous knowledge of the '80s series. Luckily, CBS is already seemingly taking this creative route. The reboot isn't simply copying the original Matlock. Instead, it's taking its core storytelling trick and using it differently.

Matlock is a modern reboot of the classic series created for CBS that sees the titular role taken up by Kathy Bates. After years retired from her career, Madeline Matlock res the legal world in a powerful new firm where she uses her seasoned skills to win cases and expose the underlying corruption within the legal system.
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