The anticipation for Matlock‘s season finale is bigger than ever — but what should viewers expect?
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, director and executive producer Kat Coiro teased how the hit CBS series will wrap up its first season.
“I will say that it leaves all of our characters in positions where they have big decisions to make,” she hinted. “As the show progresses, we really get to know every one of our main characters, and they’re all really a huge part of moving the show forward.”
There’s already been a shift in the newest episode, which aired on Thursday, November 14. Matty (Kathy Bates) considered quitting her job at Jacobson Moore — and abandoning her mission to find which attorney hid evidence that could have saved her daughter’s life. Before she told her decision to Olympia (Skye P. Marshall), Julian (Jason Ritter) rewarded Matty for her hard work by bringing her on a case involving Big Pharma.
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“This was very pivotal. I do think after her health scare, there was a part of Matty that was ready to throw in the towel. From the pilot, one thing we discussed was how she thought that she was going to come in and it was going to be challenging and it was going to be hard,” Coiro noted. “But she didn’t anticipate her deep connection to the people that she’s working with. From Olympia to Billy to Sarah — and even the people in the cases she’s working on. She’s such an empathetic person that it becomes quite all-consuming.”
Matty had to hit a point where she felt “emotionally” exhausted. “What happens at the end of that episode feels like a message from the universe that she has to keep going,” Coiro added. “And I do think she was ready to give up.”
Introduced as Madeline “Matty” Matlock, the titular character initially stands out because she shares the same last name as the iconic Matlock from the ’80s series. Matty, meanwhile, is a former lawyer hoping to get hired at a prestigious law firm after falling on hard times — or so it seems.
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The series later revealed that it was all an act. Matty is actually the wealthy Madeline Kingston, who went undercover at the firm to track down who is responsible for her daughter’s death. The current suspects on Matty’s list include Olympia, Julian and Senior (Beau Bridges).
While Matty has slowly been chipping away at the case, there’s no rush to get all major questions answered by the end of the season. Luckily, Matlock has already been renewed by CBS for a second season.
“[Creator] Jennie [Snyder Urman] holds the entire show in her head. She’s like our Matty Matlock, where everything is connected. There are so many different nuances and steps. And we talked about it a lot along the way,” Coiro shared with Us. “And she would bounce things off me.”
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She continued: “What I respect so much about her writing is that it always falls back to character development and it never relies on big plot moments. It really is about watching these people get to know each other and having these two parallel stories run alongside each other. That is what’s so fun about the show is that it moves in increments.”
Matlock is currently streaming on Paramount+. New episodes return on CBS Thursday, January 30, at 9 p.m. ET.
