This TV show about an ‘invisible’ older woman has become a hit for 76-year-old Kathy Bates

As women get older they “become damn near invisible,” Kathy Bates’ title character says in the pilot episode of the new TV series “Matlock,” adding that “it’s useful because nobody sees us coming.”
In truth, I’m not sure anybody saw the popularity of this spin on the 1980s legal drama coming, but the 70-something Bates and her 70-something character are damn well not invisible. 
The show, which premiered Sept. 22 on CBS and Global TV, garnered a 100 per cent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and brought the U.S. network its best ratings in years with 7.73 million viewers (and nearly 1.2 million on Global), a number that is growing as the show streams on Paramount Plus. 
Its second episode debuts in its regular Thursday 9 p.m. time slot on Oct. 17. 
In the original “Matlock,” which aired from 1986 to 1995, Andy Griffith, who was then in his 60s, played a highly effective defence lawyer who used his southern charm to disarm his opponents and win cases.
In the new series, Bates is Madeline “Matty” Matlock, a 75-year-old who is practising law for the first time in 30 years at a competitive corporate firm in New York. Matty, who presents herself as an impoverished widow from Georgia raising a 12-year-old grandson on her own, wears sensible suits and shoes, puts her grey hair in a bun, and hands out butterscotch candies and folksy sayings with grandmotherly aw-shucks appeal. 
But in a major twist at the end of the pilot that I won’t spoil here, viewers learn that Matty has an ulterior motive for taking the job at Jacobson Moore, and that she is as cunning as she is smart, empathetic and intuitive.
That duality is undoubtedly part of why the series has captivated critics and viewers — at least so far — combined with an old-fashioned procedural format, in which Matty and her fellow lawyers tackle a new case every week. Another reason is most certainly Bates herself. When an actor of her stature takes a part in a network TV show, attention must be paid.
Bates, whose early roles included appearances on “All My Children” and “The Love Boat,” became a household name after she won an Oscar in 1991 for playing an author’s deranged fan in “Misery.” More Oscar nominations followed as well as two Emmy Awards. Her notable roles include the Unsinkable Molly Brown in “Titanic”; a caretaker on “Six Feet Under”; a southern CEO on “The Office”; a defence lawyer on the short-lived “Harry’s Law”; and several villains on “American Horror Story.”
“When I first pitched this show, I literally said, ‘Imagine Kathy Bates,’” “Matlock” creator Jennie Snyder Urman told TV journalists during a Television Critics Association Q&A in July. “I’ve never had that experience of saying that in a pitch and ending up here.”
Snyder Urman, 49, previously the showrunner of “Jane the Virgin,” said she “wanted to write about how older women are overlooked in society, and I gave myself a challenge. I wanted our heroine to be constantly telling the audience that she’s being underestimated, and then I wanted the audience to enjoy watching her take advantage of that underestimation. And then, by the end, even though she said it constantly and we watched it happen over and over again, I wanted to still be able to shock the audience when they realize that they, too, have underestimated Madeline Matlock.”
At it core, she added, “Matlock” is a character study: “a deep dive into the mind of Madeline Matlock, our invisible woman, our fish out of water, our mastermind.”
“I just feel really lucky,” said Bates about portraying Matty. “I get to play all of those levels (of the character) with everything I’ve learned in the last 50 years.”
Asked why she wanted to take the part at this time in her life — Bates is 76 and reportedly had been pondering semi-retirement when “Matlock” came along — the actor responded, “Because a woman my age would never have such a role. Never. And the complexity of the role and the writing, I mean, I pinch myself every day … I’m glad I stuck around for it.”
It’s hard to say whether “Matlock” heralds an era in which older women will have a more regular presence on our screens, but senior actors have definitely made their mark lately. 
Jean Smart, 73, cemented her place as the reigning queen of TV comedy last month with her third Emmy for “Hacks,” in which she plays an aging Vegas standup who teams with a younger writer to reinvigorate her career.
Jeff Bridges, 74, just returned to TV as a retired CIA agent forced back into the game in Season 2 of the streaming hit “The Old Man,” while Harrison Ford, 82, a true delight in the comedy “Shrinking” despite the Emmys snub, is back, along with the show, on Wednesday. And Kelsey Grammer, 69, recently told me he hopes to do a decade of “Frasier,” the streaming reboot of his seminal ’90s sitcom.
In “Matlock,” Bates shares the screen with another veteran actor, Beau Bridges, 82, who plays the law firm’s wily senior partner.
Even reality TV has made room for older folks. Gerry Turner, who’s 73, gave new life to the moribund “Bachelor” franchise when he starred as the first “Golden Bachelor” last fall. And Joan Vassos, a relatively youthful 61, is currently presiding as the first “Golden Bachelorette.”
Whether this is a trend or a blip, Bates seems genuinely pleased to be a part of it. 
Comparing “Matlock” to her first TV starring role, in “Harry’s Law” (2011-12), Bates said Matty “is just a much more complex character. And although I loved playing Harry and I met some wonderful people … this is different, and I’m different than I was way back then.” Working with Snyder Urman is “incredibly collaborative,” she added, “which wasn’t really the style that David (E. Kelley, creator of ‘Harry’s Law’) had back in those days. So I’m just really excited to be (involved).” 
In fact, it seems reports that Bates was looking to retire after “Matlock” were greatly exaggerated, as the saying goes.
On the Emmys red carpet last month, she was quick to deny that she was looking for an out.
“I want it to run for years,” she said about her new show. “It’s that great.” 
“Matlock” returns Oct. 17 at 9 p.m. on Global TV. The first episode is streaming at globaltv.com and on Paramount Plus.