Kathy Bates stars as the brilliant septuagenarian Madeline Matlock in the new drama series, “Matlock,” inspired by the classic television series of the same name. Madeline achieved success in her younger years and decides to rejoin the work force at a prestigious law firm, where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases and expose corruption from within. “Matlock” premiers in the 2023-2024 season on the CBS Television Network and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. CBS

Well, there she is again — Kathy Bates. You remember Kathy? Of course you do.

SERIES INFO

“MATLOCK”
Crime, Drama
Follows Madeline Matlock as she rejoins the work force at a prestigious law firm, where she uses her wily tactics to win cases and expose wrong doing.
Creator: Jennie Snyder Urman
Stars: Kathy Bates, Skye P. Marshall, David Del Rio

She made us hold our breath when she tied up the late James Caan and broke almost every bone in his body in “Misery.”

Kathy has been around charming us in “A Family Affair,” scaring us in “American Horror Story,” making us laugh as she gave out weed in “Disjointed” and, well, just about everything. Stephen King was so impressed with her that he wrote two more roles for her. So there.

Here she is, being charming, cute, old and mysterious in “Matlock,” based on Dean Hargrove’s old “Matlock” series that starred Andy Griffith after he stopped fishing with the kid who grew up to be one of Hollywood’s great producer/writer/directors, Ron Howard. Yes, that Ron Howard.

She is Madeline “Matty” Matlock, pretending to be a penniless widowed ex-lawyer with a grandson who hates her, looking for a job at the Jacob & Moore Law Firm.

Okay, that is absolutely all I can tell you, because the last five minutes contain the biggest OMG surprise of the season. I’m not kidding. So watch it before you read another word about it.

The new series gives us a young, delightful cast:

Skye P. Marshall as Olympia, a senior partner at Jacobson & Moore who becomes Matlock’s boss. David Del Rio as Billy, an associate at Jackson & Moore working with Olympia. Leah Lewis as Sarah, another associate at Jacobson & Moore working with Olympia.

I can tell you this: Kathy has announced that “Matlock” will be her last acting role before she goes into retirement.

The new “Matlock” was developed by Jennie Snyder Urman, and has nothing to do with the late Andy Griffith’s old “Matlock.”

The new “Matlock” gave us a sneak peek on Sept. 22 before its time-slot premiere on Oct. 17 on CBS. You can catch up with episodes the next day on Paramount +.

J.P. Devine of Waterville is a former stage and screen actor.