Kathy Bates Admits She Was 'One Foot Out the Door' Before Reading the Script for UpcomingMatlockReboot (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Kathy Bates in ‘Matlock’.Brooke Palmer/CBS

Brooke Palmer/CBS

“What I meant was I had one foot out the door until I read the script forMatlock,” she explained. “And then I read someMatlockand I went ‘Okay, close the door we are going to do some more!' I want it to run for years, its that great.”

Though the 1987 series follows defense lawyer Benjamin Matlock (Andy Griffith) as he charges hefty prices to fight for people’s cases, the new reboot will tell the story of Bates’ character, Madeline Matlock, who rejoins the law workforce as a senior, using her unassuming persona to win cases.

Kathy Bates.Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty

Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty

“We’re so excited,” Bates told PEOPLE of the highly anticipated series. “Its unlike anything you have ever seen, theres a whole other thing going on, theres a whole twist that people will really be surprised at. We got a great cast.”

Matlockpremieres on Sept. 22 on CBS.

Kathy Bates.Robin Marchant/Getty

Robin Marchant/Getty

Earlier this month, the actress toldThe New York Timesthat the new series would likely be her “last dance.”

Bates revealed that she was ready to quit after she was driven to tears on her couch after working on an unnamed movie shoot.

“It becomes my life,” she told the outlet. “Sometimes I get jealous of having this talent. Because I can’t hold it back, and I just want my life.”

“Everything I’ve prayed for, worked for, clawed my way up for, I am suddenly able to be asked to use all of it,” the Oscar winner continued adding “It’s exhausting.”

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source: people.com