So, let's be real for a second. When CBS announced they were rebooting Matlock, everyone rolled their eyes. Another gender-swapped remake? Really? But then the pilot dropped, the twist happened, and suddenly we weren't watching a cozy mystery about a grandma in a floral vest. We were watching a high-stakes revenge thriller wrapped in a legal procedural.
Matlock Season 2 has officially double-downed on that energy. Kathy Bates isn't just playing a lawyer; she’s playing a woman named Madeline Kingston who is playing a lawyer named Matty Matlock. It’s layers on layers. Honestly, it’s the kind of performance that makes you realize why Bates has an Oscar on her shelf.
The second season kicked off on October 12, 2025, and it didn't waste a single second. If you thought the "Wellbrexa" drama was over, you haven't been paying attention to how Jennie Snyder Urman writes.
The Delicious Dilemma of Season 2
The core of the new season revolves around what the showrunners call a "delicious dilemma." At the end of the first season, we finally saw the mask slip. Olympia (Skye P. Marshall) found the stolen Wellbrexa documents in Julian’s safety deposit box.
That changed everything.
Suddenly, the person Matty was investigating—the one she thought was the villain—turned out to be Julian (Jason Ritter). But wait, it’s not that simple. Julian claims he was just a kid under pressure, trying to impress his father, "Senior" (Beau Bridges).
Now, in Matlock Season 2, we’re seeing a shift in the power dynamic. Olympia is stuck. Does she turn in the father of her children and destroy her family, or does she side with Matty to get justice for the thousands of people killed by the opioid epidemic?
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It’s messy. It’s complicated. It’s exactly what good TV should be.
Who’s In and Who’s Out
The cast took a bit of a hit recently, and it’s something everyone is talking about. David Del Rio, who played the fan-favorite associate Billy Martinez, was fired from the show following an investigation into professional misconduct.
The writers had to scramble.
In the show, they wrote Billy out by saying his partner, Claudia, had a miscarriage and he needed to step away to be with his family. It felt a bit abrupt, but considering the real-world circumstances, they handled it as "organically" as possible.
To fill that void, we've got some new faces:
- Sarah Wright Olsen joined the cast as Gwen, an efficiency expert who is basically there to make everyone’s life miserable.
- Henry Haber is playing Hunter, a "total bro" associate from the floater pool.
- Justina Machado is also in the mix as Eva, Senior’s fourth ex-wife, which adds a whole new level of "yikes" to the firm’s internal politics.
Why Matty Matlock Still Matters in 2026
What makes this show work—and why it’s pulling in nearly 17 million viewers across platforms—is the way it weaponizes age. Matty uses the fact that people look through her. She’s the "nice old lady" who brings butterscotch to the office.
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But as she says in a recent episode, she could burn the courthouse to the ground and still have them eating out of her hand.
That’s the genius of the character. She knows she’s invisible to the power players at Jacobson Moore, and she uses that invisibility to bug offices, steal files, and manipulate entire court cases. In Matlock Season 2, the stakes are higher because her grandson, Alfie, is getting more involved in the "tech" side of the operation.
Plus, there’s that massive cliffhanger with Alfie’s biological father showing up. Talk about a wrench in the works. Matty is trying to take down a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical conspiracy while her home life is literally imploding.
The Ratings Reality Check
Some folks on Reddit have been pointing out that the "live" ratings for 18-49 year olds have dipped a bit. People are worried it might get the axe.
Don't panic.
CBS knows that a show like Matlock lives on DVR and streaming. It’s currently the #1 new series on broadcast TV. Even if the "live" numbers look a little shaky, the delayed viewing is massive. People are finding the show on Paramount+ and bingeing the first season to catch up on the Wellbrexa twist.
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The show has successfully moved past being a "reboot" and turned into its own beast. It’s a study on grief, corporate greed, and the lengths a mother will go to for her child.
What’s Next for the Investigation?
If you're following the midseason schedule, the show is taking a brief breather and will return on Thursday, February 26, 2026.
The back half of the season is set to focus on the looming merger at Jacobson Moore. Mergers mean audits. Audits mean people looking into files that Matty has spent months trying to hide.
We’re also expecting a massive confrontation between Matty and Senior. Beau Bridges plays "Senior" with this terrifying, quiet corporate entitlement that makes you want to see him lose everything. Whether Matty can actually bring him down without losing her own soul in the process is the big question.
Actionable Insights for Fans:
- Catch up on the twist: If you haven't seen the Season 1 finale, "Tricks of the Trade," go back and watch it on Paramount+. It recontextualizes every single interaction Matty has had with Julian.
- Watch the calendar: The midseason premiere is set for February 26. CBS usually does a "previously on" catch-up special, which is worth watching for the small details they might have planted in earlier episodes.
- Keep an eye on the new associates: Hunter and Gwen aren't just background characters; the showrunners have hinted that one of them might be a "mole" for the firm's executive committee.
The beauty of Matlock Season 2 is that it doesn't treat its audience like they're stupid. It expects you to remember the names of the pharmaceutical reps from six episodes ago. It's smart, it's sharp, and with Kathy Bates at the helm, it's easily the best thing on network television right now.