Matlock made an airtight case in its pilot episode. Supported by great performances, a strong premise, and a killer twist, the show has continued to attract more people days after the episode aired. Deadline reports that the pilot episode of the Kathy Bates-led series has grown 38% within three days of airing. The three-day number stands at 10.67 million viewers, a significant rise from the series premiere, which drew 7.74 million viewers in live+same-day ratings.
Matlock‘s impressive success is even more remarkable given that it did not launch with a Super Bowl boost like other new CBS series. The three-day window ratings put the show second behind Justin Hartley‘s Tracker, which had a Super Bowl boost. Matlock remains CBS’s most-watched non-post-Super-Bowl series premiere of the past five years. A seven-day report should show even more growth, and the network plans to release those figures on the first day of October.
The pilot episode introduced Madeline “Matty” Matlock, a brilliant septuagenarian who returns to the workforce at her more advanced age. She slyly gains employment at a prestigious law firm and uses the same tactics she used to gain employment to win cases. Most people underestimate her, including her coworkers. The premiere delivered a wild twist in the final minutes as it revealed that the story Matlock had fed everyone was bogus, and she was there on a mission. Even if they were aware that it happens to women her age, the firm also did not see her. She aims to expose the lawyers who played a part in her losing her daughter.
When Does ‘Matlock’ Season 1 Return to CBS?
The series is on hiatus after launch, with a new episode set for Thursday, October 17. In “Rome, in a Day,” Matty settles at the firm as she and the team tackle another case while Olympia and Julian’s parenting issues persist.
“As Matty settles into her new role at Jacobson Moore, Olympia and the aptly nicknamed “Team You Three” (Matty, Billy and Sarah) take on a lawsuit involving a developmentally delayed teenager whose family claims he’s been wrongly accused of murder. Also, Olympia and Julian disagree on a parenting matter.”
Matlock stars Bates as the titular character, Skye P. Marshall as Olympia, Jason Ritter as Julian, David Del Rio as Billy, and Leah Lewis as Sarah. It is executive produced by Jennie Snyder Urman, Joanna Klein, Eric Christian Olsen, John Will, Kat Coiro, and Bates.
Watch the second episode on CBS as the series settles its regularly scheduled night and time, beginning Thursday, October 17, at 9 p.m.
Watch on Paramount+
