If you have been missing Matlock since the end of its hit debut season, you're in luck. The show is officially coming back for a second season, with Kathy Bates reprising her role as Madeline Matlock, in almost exactly a month, on October 12. Now, with just a month away from its return, CBS has shared some of the first images of the first episode, plus its unusual premiere schedule. Though Matlock, which usually airs on Thursdays, will return on Sunday, October 12, it will then premiere its second episode just days later on Thursday, October 16, to fall back into its regular air time. The first episode of the season is titled "The Before Times."
Per Deadline, a description of the episode reads: "Matty questions the paternity of the man claiming to be Alfie's father. Also, the team takes on an arson case while Olympia tries to protect Julian's involvement in the Wellbrexa case, on the second season premiere of Matlock."
Returning to the show are Skye P. Marshall, Jason Ritter, David del Río, Leah Lewis, and Beau Bridges, plus newcomer Justina Machado, who is known for her roles in One Day at a Time and Jane the Virgin. She will play Eva, a formidable, smart, and ambitious attorney, and Jacobson Moore managing partner Howard "Senior" Markston's (Beau) 4th ex-wife, "the one who made him swear off marriage." Justina's character runs Jacobson Moore's Miami office, and she arrives in New York for an emergency meeting… which she uses to her advantage.
Her addition to the cast makes for a Jane the Virgin meeting in more ways than one; she is reuniting with creator Jennie Snyder Urman, who also worked on Jane the Virgin, as well as fellow Jane the Virgin alum Yael Groblas, who joined Matlock last year as Shae Banfield, aka "the Meerkat," the law firm's insightful jury consultant, known as a human lie detector, and for her ability to suss out character and sniff out the truth using her mastery of body language.
Of the special reunion, HELLO!'s resident TV expert Abby Allen told me: "It's so exciting to see Justina Machado reuniting with Jane the Virgin creator Jennie Snyder Urman on Matlock season two. Not only does this collaboration promise the same smart, layered storytelling fans know and love, but with her joining such a powerhouse ensemble – including Yael Grobglas, another Jane The Virgin alum – this season is bound to be unmissable."
Justina was most recently starring in Real Women Have Curves on Broadway, which earned her a Tony nomination, plus she also recently starred in Netflix's medical drama series Pulse.
Among the executive producers of Matlock, which is based on the 1986 series created by Dean Hargrove and starring Andy Griffith, is Eric Christian Olsen, who previously starred on NCIS: Los Angeles for its 14th season, and who is the CEO of Cloud Nine Productions, which developed the show for CBS.
Kathy was awarded with the best actress in a drama series nod at the Critics Choice Awards earlier this speech, and paid tribute to Eric during her speech, who at the time had lost his home due to the wildfire crisis in Los Angeles in January.