The long-awaited Matlock reboot finally premiered on the 2024 TV schedule, and Kathy Bates' arrival as the titular lawyer was a surprisingly twisty one. Albeit later than expected, since the series was initially supposed to premiere on the 2023-24 schedule, but was pushed back due to Hollywood strikes. But even though the show finally debuted after that extended wait, fans will still have to wait a bit longer for the second episode.
The Matlock premiere on September 22 was just a special sneak peek, and the series won’t officially be back until CBS’ delayed premiere week, which takes place starting on Indigenous Peoples Day, October 13., which marks the arrival of the prequel NCIS: Origins. Matlock will settle into its time slot premiere later in the week on Thursday, October 17 at 9 p.m. ET, to be followed by the Season 2 premiere of Elsbeth.
While the wait is certainly a long one, there will be some encore airings of the premiere episode, which brought in 7.73 million viewers on the night it aired, according to Forbes. That total has since jumped up to 10.67 million viewers. The first episode will air again on Tuesday, October 8 and Thursday, October 10, both at 9 p.m. ET. It should be a good idea for those who have yet to see Matlock to watch the special sneak peek because the final minutes of the episode were a game-changer.
Spoilers for those who haven't yet watched!
In the Matlock premiere, it was revealed that Kathy Bates’ Matty was only acting like a “harmless old lady” at her job, as she arrived home to a mansion, reunited with her husband, and her affectionate grandson, who had set up a fake LinkedIn profile for her. And the reason she got the job was because an attorney hid documents that could have taken opioids off the market and prevented her daughter’s death.
Knowing this twist makes it all the more hard to deal with the fact that there’s a gap between the first and second episodes. It does make sense, however. Fans had already been waiting a long time for Matlock, so perhaps giving them the premiere episode early makes it so viewers can get a sense of what they’re in for. CBS is doing the same with new competition series The Summit. Since their premiere week is later than other networks, it’s possible they wanted to get some new series out of the way first.
That being said, with Matlock’s premiere already doing so well, it could even give others the chance to watch it who may have been on the fence. Since Bates is already hoping that Matlock goes on for several seasons, that might not be too far out of reach. She is also planning on retiring after the series comes to an end, so one can only hope that the show goes on for as long as possible and keeps bringing on viewers.
The wait for Matlock Episode 2 will be well worth it, especially if it’s anything like the sneak peek. It’s clear that the show is something special, and there’s no telling how the rest of the season will turn out. Fans will want to tune in on Thursday, October 17 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS for the second episode. The first episode is also streaming now with a Paramount+ subscription.
