Kathy Bates is riding on a high following the Season 2 finale of the hit CBS series Matlock.
The Wellbrexa case had a happy and unexpected conclusion, giving Madeline Kingston/Matty Matlock back a level of freedom she couldn’t have imagined. Leaving some of the heaviness of the past behind helped Matty view the world with fresh eyes.
Olympia (Skye Marshall) and Julian (Jason Ritter) were not her enemies, nor the people she sought to crumble to avenge her daughter’s death. They are good friends who went the extra mile, even after discovering Matty’s web of deceit, to help her find a resolution and healing.
Even though she did not want Julian to go to jail for his role, he chose to face the consequences of his actions. He, along with his father, Senior (Beau Bridges), was among those at the firm who were arrested by the feds for their role in the scandal. Julian took it all with aplomb, wanting to be a good example to his children and show them the importance of accountability.
Bates reflected on her change of heart in a recent chat with Deadline.
“When Matty comes in (in Season 1), she thinks that she’s going to make everything right for her daughter. She plays this character like an actress playing a role. She’s playing a lawyer. And she suddenly realized that these are real people that she’s dealing with, and it’s a whole new [ball game]. Her universe just keeps opening in ways that she never expected. Things that are terrifying. She gets lost. She tries to get things working. [Showrunner & EP] Jennie [Snyder Urman] really crafted a journey for [Matty],” shared the Emmy and Oscar-winning actress.
She added, “She never expected to meet someone like Olympia. And I think for Matty, too, the young people she’s working with remind her of her daughter. Looking at them, she thinks, ‘Wow, if my daughter had it together, she could be working in a firm like this.’”
(L-R): Jason Ritter as “Julian Markston,” Skye P. Marshall as “Olympia Lawrence,” and Kathy Bates as “Madeline Matlock.”
Michael Yarish/CBS
A part of that self-discovery was Matty also realizing that seeking out revenge in the name of her daughter was toxic and affecting her in ways she had not considered.
“Matty realized that she was addicted. It was important to me that when Skye and I did the scene on the crying patio, that Matty be defensive. It was important to me that she was really talking like an addict who does not want to face her addiction. At some point, she realizes that she can’t keep this going. Ultimately, it’s not satisfying,” Bates said.
Speaking of Olympia, her relationship with Matty blossomed through the ups and downs of the Wellbrexa case. In the finale of Season 2, the women have gotten past the lying and scheming and are in a new and more honest place. In one important scene, the ladies share drinks and laugh about all sorts of things, including Sam, a potential new love interest for Olympia, played by Marshall’s real-life husband, Edwin Hodge.
“It’s someone that you can really let your hair down with,” Bates said of Matty and Olympia’s friendship. “A friend of mine got in touch with me recently, and said we were laughing in a dream they recently had. I think it’s great to share that kind of relationship where you laugh so hard.”
Also in Season 2, there was more focus on Matty’s relationship with her husband, Edwin (Sam Anderson), including some insight into their romance. Bates expressed her elation at the inclusion of such storylines.
“I think about our future together, and I think that one thing I would love is if Jennie explores how they’re not old. She already does this, but I want even more of that. I think we see old people kissing or hugging or embracing or whatever, and we are turned off by it for some reason. I don’t know where that comes from, because it’s so lovely. I want more of that, the push and pull between the two of them,” the legendary actress said.
Further, she referenced a moment in Season 2 where Edwin was dressed up as the IRS guy pretending to audit Senior’s former flame Debra, played by Ritter’s real-life wife, Melanie Lynskey, while fishing for information. Bates noted that she found it interesting when Matty joked that she could perhaps have an affair with the IRS guy, meaning she and her husband could partake in some role-playing to keep things spicy.
“I thought that was wonderful. So maybe that’ll happen. That might be fun,” she said cheekily.
(L-R): Sam Anderson as “Edwin Kingston” and Kathy Bates as “Madeline Matlock
Michael Yarish/CBS
For over 5 decades, Bates has worked in Hollywood across TV and film and is behind many iconic characters, such as Annie Wilkes in Misery, Evelyn Couch in Fried Green Tomatoes, Molly Brown in Titanic, as well as characters for various Ryan Murphy projects like American Horror Story and Feud, to name but a few. But it’s her time on Matlock that stands out to Bates for a very particular reason.
“That I can do it,” Bates said, when asked what she’s taking from the experience so far from working on Matlock. “Also, I’ve lost weight, and now I move differently. It was wonderful to realize that I have the energy and the stamina. I have the brain power to remember lines, to learn lines. I’d rather eat glass, I swear to God. [Laughs] It’s like a pie-eating contest working on this show. It’s just cramming more dialog, more dialog, more dialog, because you have to learn it and just get that out of the way.”
She continued, “I’ve learned that I can still do this at 78 and feel good about it. In some ways, I feel like this is the best time of my life. When I look at photos from way back when, I think, God, I look so much better now. I feel younger. That’s all been part of this wonderful bouquet of unexpected pleasures.”
