As soon as I saw Kathy Bates was going to star in a reboot of Matlock, I texted my mother asking her if this was something we would be watching together. We live in different states, but occasionally watch shows together. And I thought this would be an excellent choice. I love the idea of an older woman returning to the world of work. Especially a woman in her 70s!
Let me be clear. I am not a fan of legal shows, and while I'm sure at 54 years old before DVRS when we were at times captive audiences of shows we'd rather not watch, I've unintentionally, accidentally watched an episode or two of the original Matlock. But I definitely was not a fan of the show. That being said, I jumped right in--because everything I've watched with Kathy Bates, *Misery*, *Primary Colors*, *Dolores Claiborne*, etc., etc., etc., has been excellent. So I trusted that *Matlock* would be stellar as well-or Kathy Bates would not be involved.
I watched the pilot and loved the whole thing. Since I did not watch the original *Matlock*, I had nothing to compare it to. I have watched law shows and police procedurals that went so fast and were so complicated I got lost. But *Matlock* is easy breezy, and I was right with all of the twists and turns. Thankfully, none of the characters are annoying or extremely unlikable. As other reviewers said, there is a surprise at the end that we can't talk about, but clues were dropped all along.
If I had to compare the show to another show, I'd say it's like *Columbo*. There are times when "Mattie" struggles with the changing times, she has not practiced law in many years, and then there are times when she seems to be bumbling-so the person can walk right into a trap. It's like Mattie said, "Nobody sees us coming..." YASS the super power of the older woman!
