Matlock has a lot of questions to answer after multiple shocking reveals in the finale — but will every fan favorite character return for season 2?
During the Thursday, April 17, finale of the hit CBS series, Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) realized that her ex-husband, Julian (Jason Ritter), was responsible for hiding the Wellbrexa documents. He begged Olympia not to expose him — not knowing she actually found the documents because of Matty’s (Kathy Bates) mission at Jacobson Moore.
Matty, meanwhile, was waiting for an update from Olympia when a stranger showed up at her door. All signs pointed to him being Alfie’s father, who Matty’s husband didn’t want them to reach out to after their daughter’s death.
Creator Jennie Snyder Urman teased exclusively to Us Weekly how the overwhelming support for the show allowed the onscreen twists and turns to evolve.
‘Matlock’ Burning Questions Answered After Surprise Pregnancy, Final Twist
“It was both difficult and interesting to be in this bubble where we were shooting episode 17 when the first episode aired. We were already down the road and now we are airing and so we are in conversation with the audience and I try to be aware but not be beholden so that we are still telling the story,” she explained in April 2025. “But I always think if there’s a problem — and they’re finding a problem — I can fix that more and more. I want the story to be as good as possible and as airtight as possible.”
Urman warned Us that viewers shouldn’t get too “comfortable,” adding, “It allows for the formula to change and for that to be its own stock. We have a lot of fun structural stuff like that next year that I think is going to really surprise the audience in really fun ways because the finale leaves us in a really loaded position on a bunch of different story lines.”
Keep scrolling to see which Matlock characters are returning for season 2 — and which aren’t:
Matty Matlock
Not only is Bates coming back, the list of guest stars has only grown because of the lead.
“I’ve gotten a few people who have reached out to me and a few people have reached out. I don’t want to say who,” Urman teased to Us in April 2025. “But it has definitely been exciting that there are people that are reaching out and saying, ‘I want to be on Matlock.’ And I know why they want to be on Matlock. They want to act with Kathy Bates. She is a legend. So I am eager to say yes to all of those asks.”
Olympia Lawrence
“I am not even exaggerating. When I read the finale script, I was like, ‘Here is take off. Here we go.’ And I mean take off as our characters are fully developed [by the end]. Everyone has their own angle, their own goal and their own ambition — whether it aligns with their original alliance or not,” Marshall told Us in November 2024 about how Matlock has been “shooting for the stars.”
“Based on how season 1 ended, I’m pretty sure we’re going to get some amazing guest stars to just continue where this is all going to make it all make sense,” she continued. “With the success of Matlock, we got a lot of people’s attention. I’m really excited to see what other incredible talent wants to come and explore these other characters.”
Julian Markston
After Julian turned out to be at fault for hiding those documents, Ritter is expected to have an even larger role going forward.
“Olympia has such a strong moral center that if they didn’t have children together — even if they were married — she would say, ‘I’m sorry, but you did this.’ If Julian goes to jail or if Julian is outed, I don’t know what she will do,” Ritter teased to Us in April 2025. “I’m so interested to see. But I wonder if once she hears the reasoning being connected to his dad, will that be enough to refocus the energy on Senior? Or is that too far removed to actually ever get him in trouble?”
There’s also the topic of Olympia and Julian’s potential reconciliation.
“I don’t know where that leaves their romance. I think Olympia being such a good person and a morally straightforward person, it would be really hard for her to trust him again,” he told Us. “After the affair and now this huge, devastation, trust is such an important part. It’s so easy to destroy and so hard and painful. You can build it up, but it’s a lot of hard work for both people.”
Which TV Shows Are Renewed in 2025-2026?
Billy Martinez
Urman teased that Claudia’s pregnancy doesn’t mean Billy has to go back to pleasing other people over himself, telling Us in April 2025, “You’re asking the questions that we ask in the writers’ room. But I can’t give it away because it’s all in the season 2 premiere.”
Sarah Franklin
“There might have been twists and turns along the way but she showed up in court and she did it. It was amazing. She feels celebrated and seen and it’s such a moment of triumph and we understand it emotionally,” Urman detailed to Us. “Then of course we understand there’s going to be some drama that follows it. But I want to live in Sarah feeling like she’s in a good place and celebrate that before the rug gets pulled out from under her.”
Elijah
Now that Olympia’s trust in her ex-husband has been completely blown up, Elijah could easily swoop in and win her back, right?
“Honestly, I did not know what was going to happen between Olympia and Elijah. I hope we get to see more of him as well. But the idea of these two relationships isn’t where we ping pong back and forth. Olympia and Elijah had a goal that once the divorce was finalized, they were going to move forward,” Marshall exclusively told Us in November 2024. “Then a wrench was thrown in that plan and it completely took Olympia offline with that relationship with Elijah. But I am interested to see what could have happened there.”
Senior
“We’re going to see a lot more of Julian and get to know not only him. We got to meet his mother, which was very exciting for me. We may meet more members of his family. Julian is not Junior. So I’m very excited to meet my brother,” Ritter explained to Us in April 2025. “He has a completely different relationship with our dad than Julian does, which is also painful.”
Ritter is also excited for “more backstory,” saying, “Olympia talked a lot about his family, but we haven’t gotten to see a lot of it. It’s a really fun character to play. There’s so many different elements to him and it’s fun to be free of having to be one thing.”
Spring TV Preview 2025: Inside Must-Watch New and Returning Shows
Alfie Kingston
With Alfie’s (Aaron Harris) paternity being brought up in the finale, it feels safe to assume Matty’s grandson isn’t going anywhere.
Edwin Kingston
The same could be said for Matty’s husband, Edwin (Sam Anderson), who has made it very clear he didn’t want Alfie’s father in their lives.
“The season 1 finale sets up everything,” Urman teased to Us in April 2025. “In season 2, you’ll get the answers that we’ve been promising.”
Alfie’s Dad
Niko Nicotera was introduced in the final moments of the season 1 finale as Alfie’s potential father.
“Bringing Alfie’s dad back is going to change and destabilize the family life. This one place where everything was on firm ground — suddenly there’s this other element that is out of Matty’s control, which is not a place that she likes to be,” Urman noted to Us in April 2025. “She’s not comfortable when they’re out of her control. They have to do a DNA test and see if this guy is the father. Suddenly they have to incorporate him into things. When did he know Ellie? What’s his status with addiction? Do they want to get involved?”
She continued: “It brings all of that to the forefront. It definitely brings Ellie back into the story in a real way. You will definitely see more flashbacks that examine some of the joy of Ellie and her mother and their relationship — not only the pain.”
