The Big Picture
- Andrea Londo joins the CBS reboot of Matlock as a “key recurring role,” playing former law school classmate Simone.
- Kathy Bates stars as gender-swapped Matty Matlock, solving mysteries with wit and genius in a new legal drama.
- Londo’s role in Matlock could be her biggest TV role since Narcos, potentially shaping mysteries in Season 1.
This Narcos star is headed to new horizons. Andrea Londo was confirmed this afternoon to be playing a “key recurring role” in the upcoming CBS reboot of ‘90s legal drama Matlock. The drama series, which will star Kathy Bates as its titular main character, is currently slated for a September 22 premiere.
Matlock will follow Kathy Bates in a gender-swapped twist on the original series, which starred Andy Griffith as its main character. In the new CBS edition, Madeline “Matty” Matlock is a senior citizen and former prodigy who re-enters the work force by earning a position at a distinguished law firm. Bates’ character will begin the series working under Skye P. Marshall’s Olympia, a justice-driven powerhouse and senior attorney whose ex-husband Julian (Jason Ritter) is compelled by Matty’s impeccable wit. Just as sharp as ever, Matty plays up her inconspicuous appearance and weaponizes her own genius to win her cases and solve the trickiest of mysteries.
In addition to Bates, Marshall, Ritter and now Londo, Matlock will feature David Del Rio as the well-liked associate Billy Martinez, as well as Leah Lewis as the ambitious junior associate Sarah Yang, who is none too pleased to be working alongside Matty. Londo will reportedly play the part of Simone, a former classmate of Sarah’s from law school who is hired on a new junior associate at the firm. While Londo’s character seems happy to reunite with Sarah, Sarah quickly finds herself suspicious of her motives — leaving Simone’s true personality a mystery.
Where Else Have Audiences Seen Andrea Londo?
Londo is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Narcos’ Maria Salazar. Salazar was introduced in Narcos Season 3 as the wife of high-ranking cartel member Claudio Salazar, later becoming the mistress of the powerful drug lords Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela and Orlando Henao Montoya. Londo’s character played a key role in shutting down the infamous Cali Cartel in the Narcos Season 3 finale.
Londo’s work in Narcos took her career to new heights, earning her an appearance in the 2018 crime thriller Superfly and a starring role in the 2021 horror film The Free Fall. While she has appeared briefly in a smattering of shows such as The Winchesters and Snowfall since Narcos, it seems that Londo’s character in Matlock has the potential to be her biggest television role since the Netflix drama that originally launched her to stardom.
It is not yet known how many episodes of Matlock Londo will appear in. But since her character is said to be a recurring one, it looks like Simone will be an important staple of Matlock Season 1 — and that she could just have an essential part to play in how its mysteries unfold.
Matlock will premiere September 22 on CBS. Stay tuned to Collider for more news on casting and any other legal drama updates.
