Kathy Bates IS Matlock!

Will she be bringing her Annie Wilkes sledgehammer?

Wait, didn't she try this before with a similar character?

Just what we needed.

Another Hollywood re-boot of a crappy show, starring an ancient and long-forgotten actress.

And they say Hollywood is out of ideas....

I like both Kathy Bates and Matlock, curious to see if this works.

So will she wear the same blue suit every week like he did? For her sake I certainly hope not.

Yawn.

Save your time. Watch "Midsomer Murders" (23 seasons and counting) available On Demand and on Brit Box.

You're welcome.

I love Kathy, but this sounds awful.

She's also set to play Mr. T's character in The A-Team reboot.

[quote]Another Hollywood re-boot of a crappy show, starring an ancient and long-forgotten actress.

Bless your heart, r3.

It's fine. With any luck Kathy Bates will have a reliable ratings performer with a long life. A new "Murder She Wrote" kind of thing.

Old people need old detectives and gentle, non-violent, old-timey mysteries where they can doze off and not really miss anything.

I liked her short-lived show Harry’s Law.

I mean, why not? They’ve rebooted everything else, Kathy Bates deserves a steady paycheck, and the olds need something to watch.

I feel attacked, r10

[quote]starring an ancient and long-forgotten actress.

Are you kidding? Kathy Bates works constantly in high-profile projects.

Kathy deserves better than a reboot of some mediocre tv series from yesteryear.

At her age, r15, she's lucky it isn't a Snoop Sisters reboot.

[quote] Another Hollywood re-boot of a crappy show, starring an ancient and long-forgotten actress.

My, my, my.

Get a load of Little Miss Youthquake 2023!

R14 what was the last high profile project she starred in? I'm not knocking her but I am knocking your awareness of who is starring in what and when. Kathy Bates hasn't been bankable for years, she could use the work.

[quote] Old people need old detectives and gentle, non-violent, old-timey mysteries where they can doze off and not really miss anything.

This show was made for Dataloungers!

R17, you’re a fabulous bitch!

When was Kathy *ever* bankable, r18? What movie did she ever do that was sold on her name?

What is the point of a "reboot"? Why not just write a new show about an older female defense attorney?

I hope they'll keep the old theme song

Name familiarity, r22. How long did Harry's Law last?

[quote] What is the point of a "reboot"? Why not just write a new show about an older female defense attorney?

That's too much work.

We'd rather just do an easy re-boot and collect the cash we'll make from this crap show.

If we're lucky, we'll get four or five seasons out of it, and everyone involved will be financially set for life!

It's "inspired by", it isn't a reboot.

R21, around the time she won an Oscar as Best Actress was her most bankable and that was in 1991.

They could be twins

Lol R28.

[quote] Old people need old detectives and gentle, non-violent, old-timey mysteries where they can doze off and not really miss anything.

Hilarious, but true. A long time ago, an older friend (now deceased) and I were talking about Columbo. He said you can watch it, forget it, then watch it again.

I met Miss Kathy Bates once. She was extremely funny and kind. I’ll always root for her. (But her Netflix weed comedy was TERRIBLE.)

They really do look alike!

That's over 30 years ago, r27. She's worked steadily since then. Bankability really doesn't apply to her career (or to most character actresses) What you know you'll get from her is a quality performance which will enhance your project as opposed to her personally being responsible for the box office.

Aunt Bea sure did clean up nice, didn't she R32?

[quote] Another Hollywood re-boot of a crappy show, starring an ancient and long-forgotten actress.

Long-forgotten? What are you smoking. Even the under 30s know her thanks to Ryan Murphy.

She has to earn a living and it's steady work. Good for her. I think she's fantastic.

When are they rebooting In the Heat of the Night? That oughta go over well these days.

Who is the audience for this? Because the original show was a notorious "old person's show" and that was 30+ years ago. I don't know a single Gen Xer who has nostalgia about Matlock, a show that no one I knew watched at the time because we were all in high school. Even Boomers aren't old enough to be Matlock fans. I can't even form an opinion about this casting because all I know about the show is "old white southerner lawyer wears seersucker suits every week." Like, sure, Kathy Bates maybe could pull that off with aplomb but I'm not giving up an hour of my life to watch it.

[quote]Because the original show was a notorious "old person's show"

Which is the audience this version is aimed at. I'm looking forward to it. It doesn't sound like this is the show for you, dewy ingenue @ r38.

[quote]I met Miss Kathy Bates once. She was extremely funny and kind. I’ll always root for her.

I worked with her ages ago, r31. She's a doll.

I never watched the original, r39, but I'm in for anything Bates is in, even if it sucks, which this probably will..

She's a performer I'll watch in anything. What happened to that thread here, btw? It dropped off my "watched" radar, and now I can't find it.

One of my favorite shows is Only Murders in the Building, and after finishing Season 2 I still can’t figure out why they cast Selena Gomez of all people. She adds nothing to the show and I don’t even think she’s drawn in a younger audience as intended.

For that reason I think the role of Mabel could’ve easily been played by Kathy Bates.

R41 I would’ve had the Jackie Hoffman character be the third person, but make her the profane and loud Jewess she played on “Difficult People.”

She would’ve been a great fool to the other two, telling Oliver to “Shut the fuck up, you unemployable little queen,” and mocking Charles’ pretentious postmodern art collection as “the world’s lamest Viagra substitute.”

She wore out her welcome with me on HBO's Six Feet Under. Plus, she has a bush the size of West Philly.

A great FOIL. Goddamned greasy fingers!

[quote]but I'm not giving up an hour of my life to watch it.

We would expect nothing less from your ever so busy schedule. After all, those pics aren’t going to load themselves up to IG.

R45, I'm 55. Not sure where you're getting "instagram ho" from but not wanting to watch a Matlock reboot hardly makes me one.

Dial it down a notch, hon.

You could possibly dial down your condescension, r46.

The only thing I remember about Matlock was, the character was obsessed with eating hot dogs, constantly. Will Bates be huffing hundreds of wieners?

R48, 'ol Kath will be going to town on massive kielbasas.

She would be better as “Hazel”.

[quote]Will Bates be huffing hundreds of wieners?

I don't think that word (huffing) means what you think it does, r48, and you aren't half as funny as you think you are.

Here she is in Come Back to the 5 & dime, Jinny Dean, Jimmy Dean.

or post menstrual “Patty Duke Show”.

Why not Barnaby Jones?

Or Ironsides?

R10 I bet your mother dropped you on your head as a baby. Old people grew up during the golden age of violent film..1965-1980ish. It was far rawer than the watered down PC Pablum we are fed today.

[quote]One of my favorite shows is Only Murders in the Building, and after finishing Season 2 I still can’t figure out why they cast Selena Gomez of all people.

🌈Diversity🌈

A show starring two old white males without a POC? Forget it, bubbie. Not anymore.

r42 Jackie Hoffman would've been a much better fit for Only Murders In the Building. It's set on the UWS, after all. And Jackie Hoffman is fucking hilarious. I've seen her at Joe's Pub several times and she was a laugh riot.

R54 they tried an Ironside reboot in 2013 wit Blair Underwood. It lasted 9 episodes.

^^ with^^

I love her in that, r51. She was so like a Texas girl I went to college with.

[quote]I love her in that, [R51]. She was so like a Texas girl I went to college with.

Full disclosure, r60: I'm r40 and I worked with Bates on the Broadway version of Jimmy Dean. Met her recently and she was still a sweetheart. A great person and actor.

She deserves every dime she gets, and none of the cheap shots on this thread.

She elevates everything that she's in. Even Titanic.

[quote]She elevates everything that she's in. Even Titanic.

Agree, r61

I'm interested, op. I will tune in.

Good lord, R3: "Just what we needed. Another Hollywood re-boot of a crappy show, starring an ancient and long-forgotten actress."

The original show starred a person who was no spring chicken himself. Judges and detectives don't have to be young; they have to be wise. You want a show about a hot 26-year-old judge? LOL

And Kathy Bates in not long forgotten; she's one of the most talented actresses around, and she has been for years. Because she works constantly.

[quote]And Kathy Bates in not long forgotten; she's one of the most talented actresses around, and she has been for years. Because she works constantly.

It's not the 1st time she's played a lawyer, either, r64. Harry's Law was a decent show.

I wish I could've seen her opposite F. Murray Abraham in the original production of "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune."

It's a beautiful play, and she was just right for that part.

[quote]I hope they'll keep the old theme song

It sounds like Geritol!

Jason Ritter joins cast of reboot:

I fucking love Kathy Bates.

Gross!

Her casting is just another example of disrespect toward black women!

I'm still a bit puzzled about this reboot. It's not called a remake. So there is a chance that there some form of light continuity. The name of the show is the same, an older lawyer is solving crimes. Perhaps she is a niece or long lost daughter of Andy Griffith's Matlock. But that's pretty much where the similarity ends. The setup seems to be very different.

But why create this follow-up scenario? As mentioned upthread, the original show is probably not pulling in that much of the original audience. The concept has been altered. So why pay somebody royalty to use the old Matlock name when there isn't even that much anticipated pay-off?

Anyway, I'm probably watching for Kathy Bates but despite the Matlock name, not because of it.

I always got lesbian vibes from Kathy Bates.

Trailer. Hillary Clinton vibes.

It looks dreadful.

She looks so different. Is it just age, makeup/lighting, surgery, or ozempic?

I’m disappointed by the trailer. It lacks the charm the original show had. I wanted her to be a small town southern lawyer in a small town.

This is like when Jessica Fletcher moved to New York. It lost the Cabot Cove charm.

I’ll watch it. Loved her in Harry’s Law and Six Feet Under.

R76 her cancer has thankfully been in remission for some time. That'll age anyone.

I adore Kathy Bates and will sit through a bit of this Matlock reboot for her. She's from Memphis, TN and worked her way to an Oscar without knowing a soul when she first started her career.

Talent will out, r79.

Really? Matlock in the big city? What the hell is the point? You might as well have just made a whole new show. There won’t be anything charming about Matlock in a skyscraper.

And where’s the fucking music? They couldn’t keep the original Matlock theme song? I watched that video expecting to hear it for sure. Instead that generic shit sounded like something from a Swiffer mop commercial.

"Yes, Matlock, like the old TV show."

So, per the trailer they make sure to let people know that this is not the same universe. It's completely unrelated from the show or the character back then. So, why use the name then? To lure people in who remember the name? They will be as disappointed as r77 and leave right away. Somebody please explain this choice from a marketing point of view.

Bates is a first-rate actress, but this is doomed to failure.

There’s a new trailer out and it’s actually more intriguing than the older trailer because it’s obvious Matlock is hiding a secret.

But am I crazy? Didn’t they release the pilot a year ago online? I wonder if they refilmed scenes to add some mystery as it wasn’t testing well.

I hope they explain this is the same Matlock, only after gender confirmation surgery.

I'm going to give it a try.

I also need to catch up on Elsbeth.

Anything that isn't the usual CBS cop/military porn or death/murder/sexual violence procedurals is worth a look.

Harry's Law was decent. I remember enjoying it, though it seemed to be a little confused about what it was trying to be. David E Kelley was the creator but it seems like either the network or some other creative team member must have been a cook in the kitchen, too - it couldn't quite land on an identity and veered from very quirky Kelley style characters/details to tedious, boring legal stuff.

[quote] Didn’t they release the pilot a year ago online?

It's a bit of a blur after a year, but I think the writers strike was the reason. Last year's season started so late that all drama shows could only have started as mid-season replacement. The show's season would have been way too short to make a lasting impression. As a result some shows started mid-season with only few episodes and other shows got pushed out for an orderly roll-out. May have been marketing speech about a stinker, but that's what I read.

R88 is right. It was supposed to be midseason for this past season but with the strike it was pushed to fall.

I gotta admit, Kathy looks pretty good.

I think it looks fun. I also like Elsbeth, R86, which is basically Columbo.